In western India, as restrictive laws targeting Christian ministry have gone into effect, Christians have faced challenges in maintaining fellowship. A 300-member church has been partially closed since Hindu radical groups began to oppose it. The pastor conducts early morning services and house visits to navigate the challenging situation. Another church has completely stopped services since radicals barred anyone not related to the pastor from entering the building; its members scattered to other churches in different villages.
Read MoreA pastor and his family remain faithful to Christ despite persecution from radicals and police. When Bhaskar placed his trust in Christ, he immediately started witnessing in the villages around his hometown in West India. He was attacked seven times for the sake of his faith, including once when he was brutally attacked by Hindu radicals before being sent to jail for six months. In October 2025, the police came to Bhaskar’s home and found several copies of the New Testament. They beat him until he was unconscious before taking him into custody and jailing him for two days.
Read MoreWhen Tanmay, a tribal Christian in western India, and his household gathered with another family to pray at his house, their meeting was disrupted by Hindu extremists who burned down his house and shop. All the family’s belongings were destroyed, and they had to move into Tanmay’s brother’s house. The global body of Christ is helping rebuild the house and store at the same location, and Tanmay expressed a bold desire to begin a fellowship at his new house despite the opposition he and his family have endured.
Read MoreFour Christians, including a former extremist, are in hiding after being harassed. As a young man, Mukesh joined a Hindu extremist group but became interested in dating a Christian woman who shared the gospel with him. After he placed his trust in Christ, they married and began a church that grew to more than 60 Christians. In 2025, Mukesh, his wife and two associates were returning home from a ministry trip when three vehicles followed them. The men in the vehicles were armed with bamboo sticks and forced the four to stop, accusing Mukesh of changing the religion of other men and harassing Mukesh’s wife.
Read MoreChristians in western India have experienced ongoing persecution since the arrest of a faithful pastor on conversion charges. Pastor Lakshya and his family moved to a remote village to begin a church that, over three years, grew to include house fellowships in 12 nearby villages. In December 2025, police arrested Lakshya during a family celebration and jailed him for three days. After he received bail, police arrested him again the same evening and filed other false charges.
Read MoreNine Christians were arrested after a mob attacked their pastor and destroyed their church. Pastor Aravind and his wife, Anjali, have served among a tribal group in western India for 15 years. Since 2014, police have worked with the Hindu militant group Bajrang Dal to oppose their gospel work, and Aravind has been beaten several times. In October 2025, their church service was interrupted by a mob who beat Aravind severely and destroyed the temporary church structure and the couple’s house.
Read MoreTwo Christian couples in northern India were assaulted by a Hindu mob when they visited another Christian family to pray for them. Pastor Jehovah Das, 65, and Vinod Masih, 42, and their wives visited another family’s home to pray for their new baby. A group of radical Hindus found out about the visit and gathered a mob of about 50 people. They broke into the house and dragged the Christians out, slapping, punching and kicking them for several hours. They then searched the visitors’ car, pulled out Bibles and Christian literature, and forced the Christians to set fire to the materials.
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“Pastors are only asking for prayer for the ministry to continue, and prayer for conversion of [their] persecutors,” Brother Vijay says, “No one is asking that the persecution would stop.” Brother Vijay, a gospel worker in India, is back to share what it means to follow Christ in India today, and how pastors and believers there take persecution in stride. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees any Christian gathering as a crusade—an attempt to convert people. Authorities even send spies to monitor Christian gatherings. But spies in church still hear the message; listen for the story of a former spy who is now an ambassador for Jesus Christ. As more of India’s states enact “anti-conversion” laws that outlaw gospel preaching, Vijay says in some states it has become virtually impossible for church congregations to gather for Sunday worship. Dozens of pastors are currently in prison in India. Yet, God is still at work, building His Kingdom. “The most interesting thing is I see the kingdom of God prospering in a situation like this.” Vijay says, “The more pressure, the more victories.” You’ll also hear how Vijay and other gospel workers train up pastors (and “Timothys”) to lead the church, how he prepares for persecution, and more stories of persecuted Christians in India. Brother Vijay knows he could face persecution at any time; he willingly risks his safety to serve the Lord. “I want to continue to be faithful. I know that I, too, have been called to pay the price. And I’m willing to pay the price anytime.” Revisit Brother Vijay’s first conversation on VOM Radio, and listen to a Christian human rights lawyer in India who is also prepared to face any trial, knowing it is from the Lord. Pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in India as they follow Christ, no matter the cost. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.
Read MoreVillagers in Chhattisgarh state reacted violently against local Christians who buried a non-Christian man on their property. The burial of Chamru Ram Salam on Dec. 16, 2025, was conducted according to the rites of a traditional tribal religion. However, because half of Salam’s family, including three of his five sons, are Christian, the mob called the burial an insult to their deities. More than 500 villagers with wooden sticks and slingshots attacked mourners at the grave. Several people were injured, and the family and other Christians fled the village for weeks.
Read MoreAfter months in prison for sharing the gospel with Hindus, Pastor Paul’s health was failing. He offered a desperate prayer: he asked God to allow another pastor to be arrested who could come to the prison and encourage Paul. “Lord, arrest one pastor and bring him to be in prison so we can have fellowship.” God answered Paul’s prayer, and four days later, he read in the newspaper that a pastor had been arrested. Two weeks later, that pastor was with Paul in the prison, and he brought him great encouragement: “My church has been praying for you!” After his fellow pastor arrived to the prison, Paul says his tired faith became, “like concrete.” They began to pray together in prison. Soon, other prisoners were asking for prayer. The two pastors would often raise their hands in prayer, claiming spiritual victory. When prison guards asked what they were doing, the two pastors said, “We are praying for you!” The two pastors had the opportunity to pray with 70 other prisoners who came to them asking for prayer and to know more about Jesus. One of those was an American prisoner named Daniel. He went to India on a quest for spiritual enlightenment; inside that Indian prison, Daniel found what he sought—in Christ. You’ll also hear how the Lord moved pastor Paul’s wife to bring his bail application to the Supreme Court, and how God answered their prayers that a specific judge would hear his case. Hear how you can pray specifically for Pastor Paul, including that all charges against him will be dropped, and go to www.PrisonerAlert.com to learn how you can pray for other persecuted Christians still imprisoned for their faith. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily in 2026 for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, Iran and Bangladesh, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.
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