Indian Church Burnt; Christians Arrested

INDIA – On December 23, 2006, Hindu extremists burnt down a church and disrupted services in several Indian states. They continued their harassment and arrested carol-singers on Christmas Eve.

According to Compass Direct News, on Christmas Eve, Dharma Sena, a militant Hindu organization, announced they would close all church services scheduled for Christmas Day. Later, extremists burned down a church preventing its members from celebrating Christmas there.

In a separate event, a pastor and 10 other missionaries were beaten and arrested for singing carols. They were later released. In another incident, Hindu extremist group, Bajrang Dal, attacked 20 Christians gathered in a church. “They stormed into the church, beat some of the Christians and destroyed hymnbooks and Bibles. Five Christians were injured in the attack, three suffered hearing loss due to a blow to the head, and a Bible school student’s hand was fractured,” Compass reported.

These recent incidents show the challenges our brothers and sisters in India face for believing in Jesus Christ. Pray God will strengthen them as they stand for Him.