"I enquired about the possession of the Christian spirit and the reply came… that it was the Holy Spirit. Well, at any cost I didn't want to be robbed of this new life and hence started learning Christianity." Thus began the journey of Reverend Chander Mani Khanna from high-caste Hindu devotee to dedicated Christian pastor who was arrested for baptizing Muslim converts.

Pastor Khanna converted to Christianity at 22 years old in 1969. He later became a minister in the Church of North India, an Anglican denomination, and was assigned to serve at the All Saints Church in India's Kashmir region. While most of India is Hindu majority, because of its proximity to Pakistan, most people in Kashmir are Muslim and Muslims in India make up the world's third largest Muslim community. The region is governed unofficially by Islamic courts.

Lately Islamists have been stirring up trouble for the few hundred Christians in Kashmir. Churches are surrounded by Muslim trouble-makers during worship services. Young believers are constantly watched and threatened. Islamists also circulate hate literature with a racial undertone against Christians. The media also participates in this bias, portraying an image of Christians as people who use women, alcohol and swine blood (deeply offensive to Muslims) in their religious practices.

As the leader of a mainline church, Rev. Khanna was well-known in the community. He was involved in community-wide reconciliation events between Muslims and Christians. In 2011, several Muslim young men began attending the church and asked Khanna to baptize them. He warned them there would be no financial incentive or other benefit for conversion, but they insisted. Khanna baptized the seven men, in a public event that someone filmed and eventually posted on YouTube. Word began to spread that the pastor was converting Muslims through allurement.

Khanna was summoned to appear before the Grand Mufti, an Islamic religious leader with no formal legal authority but with great influence in the region. Khanna was arrested Nov. 19 and police searched his home for further evidence of conversion by allurement. The youths who were baptized continued to assert that they were not given anything to convert, but local newspapers ran reports citing anonymous police sources that said they were financially rewarded. "You would hang your head in shame at what was written about his family," said a VOM partner.

Khanna spent 40 days in prison. "I had the strange experience of boldness and believed the Lord had given me a job, and I did it with grace," said Khanna. He was released on bail on Dec. 1 and expelled from Kashmir. His case was eventually halted Feb. 16 when investigators could not supply enough evidence.

Though he was not eventually convicted, the ordeal took a toll on Khanna's church position and his family. His wife, deeply disillusioned at the lack of support from the church, got sick. Denominational leadership subtly communicated that they felt Khanna should not have baptized the converts from Islam.

When he retired Jan. 16, he was let go without a pension. VOM's partner in India, who had been assisting Khanna with legal representation after lawyers in Kashmir refused to represent him, offered Khanna a job at their office in Bangalore. These days, Khanna spends his time speaking on behalf of persecuted Christians in churches around India. The new job is a great encouragement to him and he has new confidence. His wife's health is improving. He said, "I am not bothered by what happened to me, but I glorify the Lord."

This month VOM released a new book, Saul to Paul: From Persecutor to Christ Follower, which shares the story of seven men who once tried to destroy the Bride of Christ, but ultimately succumbed to the power of the Holy Spirit. One of those men is Pastor Gowda, a former radical Hindu in India who today passionately serves Christ and His church. Here is a portion of his story, when he decided to read his mother's Bible.

"Where is it?" Gowda asked.

His mother rolled over, rubbing her eyes.

"Go away," she said. "It's midnight."

She cringed, afraid he would hit her again. But something seemed changed, she thought, though she couldn't be sure.

"Where is it?" he repeated.

"Where is what?" she asked, stalling for time. How do I escape? She thought. How do I get away if he becomes violent again?

"Where is the book?" he asked calmly.

She shook her head involuntarily. She would never let him have it. She couldn't let him destroy it.

"Please, mama," he said quietly. "I won't hurt it and I promise I won't hurt you anymore. I just want to see it. I want to read it. To see if what you said is true"

Still she hesitated.

"I will not damage it," he said. "You are telling me that Jesus is God who sacrificed His life, so just let me go through it."

She got up and grabbed it from a secret hiding place. She placed it in his hands. His hands were covered with bruises; his arms had large welts from his many needle marks. His face was drawn, and his eyes bloodshot. This man was not her son, she thought. But he could be soon.

Gowda took the book and climbed up onto the roof of the house. By the light of the moon he read the Gospel of John. He saw the words again: Sin. Forgiveness. Love. Jesus Christ. He read all night without stopping. It was as if he was in a trance.

Gowda thought about all the terrible things he had done. "God is living," his mother had told him. "Jesus died for your sins."

Suddenly, Gowda put the book down and stared at the cross on its cover. He somehow felt unworthy, unclean. He knew he shouldn't touch it. But he couldn't help himself. He searched in vain for all the things the [radical Hindu] RSS camp had taught him about Christ. He tried to find the part where Jesus forced people to convert. He looked for the country Jesus came from, to see if Jesus was really a foreign God. But Jesus didn't come from America. He was born in Israel—but He had a virgin birth. And then he read it—the verse that made all the difference. It was the phrase that clicked, that unleashed in him a powerful desire for the Lord. He knew before he finished reading it that it was the truth.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12)

Hope. Belief was the only price. And another one…

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24)

Hope. Forgiveness was available. Jesus could wash away all Gowda's sin and suffering.

Order your copy of Saul to Paul and read the rest of Gowda's incredible story, and how God transformed him from a persecutor into a pastor.

"He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken" (Psalm 62:6).

Do you ever feel assaulted by life? Life is difficult. As human beings, we all experience physical challenges, emotional upsets financial tests and deep spiritual questions. Others willingly suffer persecution because of their readiness to take risks for Jesus. I have met many sisters and brothers who report that their hope is secure in Christ alone and that they experience spiritual security, exceptional peace and lasting significance He offers to those who fully trust in Him.

A few weeks ago, I traveled to India to meet with persecuted members of our "extended family." In Bangalore, I met a man who had almost all of his teeth knocked out in a vicious attack. In spite of intense personal suffering, he continues to boldly serve in an influential ministry. His wife shared that even though she is sometimes scared when he travels to minister in dangerous places, she is learning to trust in God. In Psalm 62, David was learning how to trust as well. He refers to God as his "fortress" twice, as a "rock" three times and as his "refuge." Clearly, David believed that God would be there for him in the midst of the assaults he faced.

A part of the "Elephant Gate" at Agra Fortress in India.

I was reminded of this Psalm when our team visited Agra Fortress, a few hours south of Delhi. It was overwhelming to walk through the massive "elephant gate." To get to the heart of this amazing fortress, you must cross two moats. When the fortress was built, the outer moat was filled with water; the inner moat was filled with tigers. As you cross a giant drawbridge, you encounter an inner gateway called Hathi Pol, the "Elephant Gate." This gate was specifically engineered to defend against attackers using elephants to crush the gates of a fort during a siege. The drawbridge, slight ascent, and 90-degree turn between the outer and inner gates made the entrance impregnable by preventing the elephants from gathering enough speed to crush the gates.

David is remembered as a warrior, but he is also remembered for the deep intimacy he shared with our Father, as reflected in so many Psalms. One of the essential elements of this deep intimacy was his absolute reliance and rest in the Lord. David felt free to go to the Father, to openly share his most personal struggles, to process his pain and to receive healing and hope from his "fortress" God, Who is able to withstand any assault.  

Martin Luther expressed this shared hope beautifully in one of the Church's most beloved hymns, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Throughout Christian history, millions of other followers have run to God to find spiritual security, exceptional peace and lasting significance. "Resting" in Him is like placing your soul in an impregnable fortress, so place your trust in Him alone today!

Dr. Jason Peters serves in VOM's International Ministries department, traveling frequently to meet with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. He lived overseas for five years and has ministered in 28 countries as diverse as Cuba, Nepal, Iraq and Indonesia. He and his wife, Kimberly, along with their five children, count it a great honor to serve with the persecuted church.

We thank our friends at Morning Star News for this important news coming out of India concerning  pastor Lal Mani Prasad of Immanuel Believers Fellowship who was beaten for approximately 30 minutes.  The pastor's son also was beaten and his hand was broken.  You can read the full story here.

Here's a snip:

Police slow to respond to Hindu extremist attack.

Special to Morning Star News        

 NEW DELHI, October 20 (Morning Star News) – Hindu extremists attacked a pastor and his family at their home in North West Delhi on Sunday morning (Oct. 14), continuing to beat him even after he fell unconscious, according to area Christians.

 Samuel Prasad said about 10 extremists began by hurling stones and woodblocksat the house of his father, pastor Lal Mani Prasad of Immanuel Believers Fellowship, at about 7 a.m. in the Naya Bans area of Narela. Two men then broke into the house and started to verbally abuse them for their faith in Christ, before beating both father and son.

 

“They used a steel water bucket to hit my father on his head,” Samuel Prasad, 21, who suffered a broken hand, told Morning Star News. “They continued beating my father even after he passed out, and he was soaked in blood.”

The attack lasted about 30 minutes.

The pastor received 18 stitches on his head, said the Rev. Rajesh Jonathan Singh, a Christian leader in the area

Please keep these believers in prayer and pray for those who are persecuting them.