An Indian pastor, Ramesh Kumar, has lamented the increasing difficulty Christians in the country are finding it difficult to express their faith due to persecution they encounter daily, Christian Post reports.
“Things have become far more difficult for pastors like me,” he told International Christian Concern (ICC). “Almost daily, I encounter a situation where I am asked to stop preaching the Gospel and recant my faith in Jesus.”
Kumar, is a church planter and leads house churches in 12 villages outside of Varanasi, Utter Pradesh. He rides a bicycle to the villages to conduct prayers, lead Bible studies and preaches the gospel to people he meets on the way.
Kumar said in the last few weeks he had experienced many incidents of persecution, adding, “Some days, it is only a mild warning but other times, it turns into a frightening physical assault.”
He further said on March 10, he was leaving his house when four people approached at the door, adding that the discussion soon turned violent when he said he “preaches Jesus to people who want to hear.”
The pastor recounted: “When the four men asked if I received money for converting people, I immediately sensed the trouble was going beyond control. I immediately called my landlord, who is a Hindu, and he came to my rescue. He dispersed the four men by explaining that I am not doing any harm to everyone.”
Kumar narrates another encounter: “It was around noon after I had completed Sunday worship in Puran Patti village. Suddenly, a four-wheel vehicle full of young men stopped in front of the church. These young men entered the church shouting anti-Christian slogans and started to hurl abuses at the Christians who had gathered.
“After an hour of intense abuse, the Hindu radicals looked and sealed the door of the church. They told my congregation and me that we were no longer allowed to assemble in the church.
“It was a very painful thing for my congregation and me. However, we took the matter to the village president. He came to the church and opened the locked doors. According to the village president, the people who attacked the church were outsiders, and the village president knew we were not harming anyone by holding worship in the church.
Kumar said despite the persecution, God has been very faithful, just as he vowed not to stop preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He said, “I am not going to stop witnessing and will continue to serve Jesus even though things are not favourable at the moment.
“I don’t get worried every day when I go out. But I do know that God will help me.”
India ranks 10th on the list of 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted, according to 2020 World Watch List compiled by Open Doors USA.
Christian Post reports that Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India with about 200 million people. The state however has about 350,000 Christians.
The police have reportedly connived with Hindus extremists to persecute Christians and other minor religion.