India Evangelical Mission

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Winning The Lost

Did you know that thousands upon thousands of men, women, and children in India are dying, and most of them die without a Savior?

The India Evangelical Mission, Inc. (IEM) is a multifaceted ministry with the goal of winning the lost, building and equipping the saints, and then sending them forth to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord. (Matthew 28:19-20). IEM was founded in 1966 by Dr. G.V. Mathai, being burdened that millions of Indians were headed toward a Christless eternity.

Following the strategy of the Apostle Paul, "Being made all things to all men, that I by all means he might save some" (I Cor. 9:22), IEM is reaching the lost by meeting the spiritual, physical and material needs of the people. Large evangelical crusades, tract distribution, Christian Reading Rooms and Bible Correspondence Courses have all proven very effective in leading the spiritually hungry to Christ. In addition, IEM cares for people's physical and material needs through the following programs.

• IEM Medical Clinics - Children's Home - Slum and leper colony ministry
• Disaster Relief - Food/Clothing distribution - Financial aid to the poor

Through these programs, and others, Christ's love is exhibited in a real way and many are drawn to him.

Since foreign missionaries are not allowed to preach the gospel in India, an important part of IEM's ministry is training Indian nationals in the word of God that they may take a "fully equipped" role in winning souls for Christ and establishing churches. The IEM Bible College exists to meet this challenge. Read more about it on our Bible College page.

God willing, IEM intends to continue it's work in India by establishing a strong Christian witness, and planting churches in this predominantly Hindu/Muslim nation. By winning the lost, building and equipping the saints, and sending them forth we will be obedient to our Lord, for the furtherance of His kingdom.

Persecution of Christians in India

If you were asked to name a country where it is dangerous to be a Christian, you would probably name an Islamic country or a dictatorship like China. You probably wouldn’t name the largest democracy in the world, India. Yet some of the most horrific persecution of Christians is taking place in its state of Orissa.

On August 23, 2008 a Hindu nationalist known as “Guruji” was shot to death along with four of his followers. While Guruji had many enemies and was mostly likely killed by Maoist guerillas, a local newspaper blamed Christians for his death. The result was a wave of anti-Christian violence that has killed at least 25 people, burned at least 50 churches, and destroyed at least 4,000 Christian homes.

Even more shocking than these numbers is the savagery of the attacks. There are reliable reports of priests being burned alive and nuns being raped. Hindu fanatics were caught trying to poison the water supply at a camp set up for Christians fleeing the violence.

Standing For Jesus In Orissa

"Nothing will happen to me. They know and respect me. Nobody will harm me."

Those were the last words Pastor Kantheswar Digal spoke to his son Rajendra and his wife, Karpul.

Christian for more than 50 years, Pastor Digal was one of the few believers living in the small village of Sankarakhole, in Orissa state, India. He was well-known by the Hindus who shared his neighborhood. Yet, his son says, the family lived there in relative peace.

We had no enemies there," Rajendra told our VOM workers about his small hometown. "We could practice our faith in Christ comfortably with no problems with anybody locally."

Nonetheless, on Aug. 24, 2008, when religious radicals began violent attacks against Christians throughout Orissa, venomous threats by agitators forced the Digal family to leave their village.The Worst of the Worst

The brutality against Orissa Christians spawned by Hindu fundamentalists was unflinchingly complete. Homes were burned. Churches were destroyed. People were killed. The entire Digal family fled their small village in the Kandhalmal district to the slums of the state's capital. All eight members were forced to live in a one-room, wooden shack.