A Growing Radio Work in India
TRIBAL PEOPLE PRAY AND SING PRAISES TO JESUS
'JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SALVATION'
'THE LORD JESUS IS ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF ALL YOUR TROUBLES'
God is at work in India. Since 1996 the Amazing Grace ministry have been producing a
weekly programme called Anugrah for broadcast to India by FEBA Radio. The Lord has
blessed this ministry with an incredible letter response of more than 40,000 letters per
year. As well as thousands of testimonies, people are pouring out their hearts looking
for salvation, deliverance, healing, prayer and guidance in the face of
unemployment, growing violence and discrimination.
Hearing the concerns of the listeners and seeing the growing persecution in the country,
the staff at Amazing Grace felt they should encourage people to listen to the broadcasts
in expectation, with fasting and prayer. They also felt that worship should be a vital
part of the radio programmes, as for many this was the only 'church' they knew. This led
to a new dimension, uniting and organising listeners to come together in their villages as
'Anugrah Radio Fellowships'.
Within 18 months 110 such radio fellowships have formed across India, each with
between 40 and 200 listeners. For thousands of people radio has truly become their
church. As their spokesperson told us: "These groups are being encouraged to develop
leadership from within them to bring the Good News to their own areas. As a result, in
some villages where not even a single person knew the Lord, only one man and woman
listened to the broadcasts, accepted the Lord, and now the entire village is exposed to
the Good News."
In conjunction with the Anugrah broadcasts, Amazing Grace has booked venues where
listeners can come together to worship and hear the word of God. In October 2001 a
Radio Worldwide staff member attended one of these Anugrah Festivals in Jharkand
State, where numbers were estimated at more than 300,000 attending for each of the
four days.
At the time he sent this email report back to Radio Worldwide: "There are about 50
thousand listeners of FEBA Radio here and when asked to raise their hands last night
most of them indicated that they listen to 'Akanksha' (Radio Worldwide's Hindi
programme). People sit on the ground in the scorching sun listening to God's word
preached with power and compassion. There are loud speakers everywhere and dust
flying from thousands of people walking about. People have come from about 13
different states; some have travelled four days to attend these meetings. The Holy
Spirit is moving, with people under conviction of sin and being delivered from evil
spirits. A number of people have thrown cigarettes and other drugs on the ground,
which they had in their pockets. It is wonderful to see - a touch of revival."
As well as receiving spiritual help, Amazing Grace is keen to equip the Christians with
tools they can use for employment. It has been in this capacity that Radio Worldwide
has been involved, providing media training.
Such gatherings naturally attract attention, and the headings above are typical of the
headlines appearing in local papers covering the Anugrah Festival.
Radio Worldwide are thrilled at what God is doing through the ministry of Amazing
Grace and at what they have come to know of this team of dedicated volunteers who
give freely of their time and money to keep this ministry going. Their commitment to
God's work is an inspiration to us all.
RW has also been challenged by their heart for the people of India and have sensed
something of the burden they are carrying. We are keen to support the work of Amazing
Grace in any way possible- and one thing they have asked for is that RW let Christians in
the West know what God is doing. If you want to know more about this exciting
ministry, please Contact us
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