Indian Church Planter Tells About His Unique Ministry to the "Hidden People" of the World's Second Most Populous Nation

By Dan Wooding Founder of ASSIST News Service

TRIVANDRUM, INDIA (ANS) -- Dr. A. Selva Raj is one of the leaders of the Indian Christian Research Organization (ICRO) and already some 30 teams from the Indian Christian Research Organization (ICRO) are fanning out through parts of the country and have already set up 358 new churches amongst the "hidden people" of the world's second most populous nation. The Home Church of Campbell, California supports this work.

Dr. Raj has agreed to be interviewed about his life and his unique ministry that is already seeing great fruit in India.

He says that he was born on April 15,1952 at Kottayam, which he describes as "a rich and beautiful city in Kerala." His father was a merchant doing business over there. Later our home is shifted to Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala that has a population of 31,838,619 people.

Dr. Raj went on to say, "My parents were Christians, so I was raised in a Christian family. In my youth, God led me through many problems. My father suddenly lost his business and had to sell all his property, as he was not able to pay his income tax. The family became very poor. At the age of twelve, I was stricken with a disease brought about by the power of the evil one. I was fully under the control of devils. At times, I did not even know what I was saying. Many pastors and evangelists prayed for me and because of these prayers, for some time, I became free of these devils, but not fully healed.

"One day, during my high school, the devils once again became active, and during one of the classes, I began to beat the teacher, the headmaster and also the students. No one could subdue me. At last I was caught, my hands and legs tied and I was taken home. This kind of episode filled my family members with fear and they were without peace, while they wept. Then my family made a vow to God that, if the Lord Jesus Christ healed me, they would make me God's worker and so they prayed to this end. It was then that these evil spirits left my body by the great power of Christ the Lord and I once again became normal.

"During my college days my life became increasingly sinful and I told my parents, friends, and even pastors that there is no God. I also studied books on Communism, such as Communist Manifesto of Marx and Engels. I participated enthusiastically in communist party work. I also attended Hindu temples at festival periods and played musical instruments for them. At that time, my father fell ill because of worry over loss of business and property. He was a godly man, with much faith in God. He entered into his eternal bliss with the Lord with much joy."

Dr. Raj said that his father's death led him to think about "my sinful ways and I confessed my evil deeds to God." He went on to say, "I told my mother and sisters my decision that I would like to do God's work. They happily agreed. My elder brother told me about the Madras Bible Seminary and I applied and was selected during the academic year 1972. The classes seemed excellent, especially the theological classes taken by the principal Dr. Graham Houghton in reference to the subject of the Holy Sprit. Here, God equipped me to do His work effectively."

He is now married to Rachel, aged 44, who is an English lecturer. "She has done her PhD in English. Her topic of the thesis is, "A Study Of Motives In The Leading Characters of Joseph Conrad". They also have a daughter, Divya, aged 13.

Dr. Raj then spoke about how he started his church-planting ministry". "God has used me tremendously in the area of church planting ministry," he said. "In my experience over 358 Churches were planted among the unreached people group through team ministry. In the year 1994, I successfully completed my Doctor of Missiology (D.Miss.) degree through SAIACS, Bangalore. This study provided me great challenge to involve vigorously in the church-planting ministry to transform India.

"However there is number of obstacles and helplessness and hopeless situation which confused me and I wept. From here God guided me to think on the line of research about the unreached people group in India to plant Churches among them. The Spirit of God led me to start the Indian Christian Research Organization (ICRO). EMOS is the project of ICRO to reach the unreached people group of India to plant Churches among them. EMOS is designed as a form of intensive and extensive evangelism effecting Church planting and dynamic Church growth.

"EMOS teams aim to concentrate their work in a specific area for a specific period of time to lead the people to Christ and to establish them in Christian faith and congregate them into a local Church. When a Church has been planted the team will move into the next location. There are 4635 people groups in India. Of these around 4000 people groups do not have a witnessing church in their communities. The efforts of EMOS are directed to areas where the gospel is neither heard nor seen. EMOS strives to fulfill the great commission (Mt. 28:18-20) through Evangelistic Outreach by teamwork."

Dr. Raj said that planting churches among the unreached people group is his goal. "We are successfully doing it through EMOS team work," he stated. "We are following Biblical strategy for the successful church planting ministry. EMOS is set to enter into the modern society in order to ignite a spiritual transformation and social reformation. The traditional mission and evangelistic works by and large, have been aiming to reach the poor. But EMOS aims to reach the poor and the rich and both the oppressed and the oppressors because both need to be redeemed by the gospel of Christ.

"EMOS believes that, this kind of total approach to the entire society only can bring a spiritual transformation. This alone can address the issues of impoverishment of dependency and communal tensions. Also our Evangelistic approach is to evangelize the people group by the team of same people group. So people are accepting Christ without facing much of social and cultural barriers. For instance, there is team of Banjara working among Banjara people groups. Its team leader Rev, David Naik himself is a Banjara.

"However EMOS team facing unusual experience with Banjara (Lambadis) who still practicing human sacrifice as a part of ritual and fertility cult. They do this sacrifice in the month of June. Children in between the age of eight will be the victims of the sacrifice.

"When I have visited the area in the last month called Big Tamdom (Hamlet) in Gooty, the team leader Rev. David Naik explained the way how they do the human sacrifice. Once the family determined to give their daughter or son as sacrifice, the parents with special honor and love will look him after. All the relatives and friends will be invited to celebrate the joy of sacrifice. The relatives and friends will bring sweet meals to feed the child. The family considers it as a prestige to give their child for sacrifice.

"On the day of sacrifice the whole village immersed in festivities, eat and enjoy. The child will be dressed with new dress, shoe and cap -- like a bride or bridegroom. Then they will bring the child in procession. They will laid him in a stone alter for sacrifice. With loud noise of drum beating and people's amusement the main priest will cut off his head. They will burn the body in that alter but carry the head of the victim in procession and burn it in another alter of their main temple, which situated in the entrance of the hamlet.

"They consider the temple as the holy of holy place, so they will do not permit any stranger in the temple premises. I just photographed the premises, the place, where the head used to burn and the alter where the human sacrifice used to take place. The team leader Rev. David Naik told me how the body of victim writhe in pain once the head is cut off. But when the headless body throbbed like that, the crowd enjoyed it and says, "He is very joyful in heaven so his body is dancing."

"The team leader Rev. David Naik also belongs to Banjara. But miraculously he accepted Christ as his personal savior. He faced a series of opposition from his people due to his conversion. He has a beautiful daughter. When she was about eight years old, Naik's mother decided to sacrifice her to the spirits. When it was about to take place, Naik went to the village and saved the child and ran away from the village. I have seen the child's photograph, which is taken just before the sacrifice. She was decked with lot of ornaments, new dress like a new bride.

"I have asked the attitude of child when they taken in procession for sacrifice. He said, "Usually the child will be happy. Because he/she don't know whether he or she is going to be killed. Further he compared it with the story of Isaac when he was taken away for sacrifice, he asked innocent questions and no symptom of fear is realized. The fact is the human sacrifice still exists in India even in the state like Andhra Pradesh where there is high-tech cities and so forth. This evil practice is remaining among the Banjara people group. There is over 70 million Banjara people group in India."

Dr. Raj then spoke about the situation in Madhya Pradesh where the Banjaras practice prostitution and therefore there is a high-risk of HIV. "It is a socially-sanctioned system (like child sacrifice) wherein a minor girl born in a Banjara caste is forced by her own parents and relatives into prostitution and enjoys to live with it throughout her life," he said. "Male Banjaras are even known criminals and engage in several offences, more particularly thefts. With the passage of time, about 25 percent of them have become agriculturists and a good number of them work as farm laborers, nowadays many of them also act as pimps and procure customers for female prostitutes. The Banjaras women remain engaged in this flesh trade normally up to the age of 35. The Banjara continue to struggle with poverty, illiteracy, social ostracism and unemployment.

"When I have visited Banjara hamlet in Gooty, there is no symptom of cooking take place in any of the house. Because there is no smoke appeared in any roof of the houses. Virtually they are all underfed and live in utter poverty. Behind it is the greed of some people who treat the babies as a merchandising commodity. They find ready sellers in the helpless parents steeped in abject poverty and who treat their children, particularly the girl child as a burden. The Banjara families do not prefer selling the eldest daughter or even the second one. For they play a key role in taking care of the other children and doing house chores in the absence of parents who go out for work. Literacy rate among the Banjara is an abysmal 6 to 10 percent and among girls it is much less. Among their women hardly 2 percent are illiterate. Development does not reach 'tandas' (hamlets) of Banjaras, which are far out from the villages. They all underfed and live in utter poverty.

"During my visit, in one of the house a child died, and the mother was weeping. The fact is when if anyone dies a natural death people all will lament for him but when a child is given for sacrifice no one will weep but the people will dance in tune with the songs and rhythmic beating of drums."

He said that the EMOS team has been commissioned to find the exact causes behind these inhuman practices especially the child sacrifice in Tandom and to come out with some plan of action to stop that evil practice.

"We do not want to see any more child sacrifice take place in the coming month of June 2002," he said. "To stop the child sacrifice Rev. G. David Naik advised us to perform 3 days campaign meeting. This campaign meeting will cost us Rs.50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand only). We have to do it because the Banjara festival related to child sacrifice will take place in the month of June. So the urgency of the campaign meeting to convince the people about their great sin and wickedness involved in child sacrifice. They have to experience the salvation of Jesus who became the perfect sacrifice. The team there planted 15 churches already.

"This is just one example of Church planting teams and the kinds of people they are working with. Now we have 30 teams working in various states in India."

He then spoke about some dramatic examples of how God has used his teams.

"Team number 4 is working in a village called Banai," he said. "Brother Julson Kongari is the team leader there. The whole village became Christian due to the teamwork. This news was reported to the Hindu fanatical group, Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS,) by 3 men from this village. The RSS became very angry because of this mass conversion. So they attempted every possible way to disturb the new converts, and enticed them with false promises such as job, education, hospitals, if they back to Hinduism. But the villagers who run a peace club came up with a strong resolution that at no cost the outsiders must be allowed to disturb the peace of the village set up.

"Because RSS activists were the outsiders who were invited by the three men of that village. So the peace club fined these three men with penalty a sum of rupees 10,000/- for they being responsible to disturb the peace of the village. Hearing this judgment, one among the three men, became mad. Another one man ran away from the village, because he couldn't able to pay the penalty imposed by the peace club. Last October 24, the villagers conducted new converts festival and 3000 were gathered for that meeting. They enjoyed the experience of salvation for day and night through various program. The RSS camp attempted to reconvert them. But the whole villagers stood firm in their faith in Christ and turned the RSS away.

"Team number 17 is working at Sindegarh where Rev. Manmashi Surin is the team leader. This team is working among the Touri people group. Within 6 months of teamwork, the Touri people group of that village completely became Christian. Soon they became Christian; there is problem of marriage raised. Because the non Christian Touris do not give their girls to Christian Touris. So the Christian Touris developed a strategy to evangelize all Touri people. So these villagers en-masse went to next villages in order to evangelize the other Touri people group into Christian, so that their problem related to conversion such as marriage problem etc., all solved. Because now the entire Touri people are Christians."

Dr. Raj concluded by outlining the situation for his church-planters in India at this time.

"Christians are facing great difficulties in India," he said. "There is an anti-conversion bill (Freedom Of Religion Act) already passed in four states such as Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Now with the new trend of the BJP government who sponsoring Hindu fanatic group such as RSS (Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh) VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad), Bajrang Dal and Siva Sena, they were empowered now, much more than before to attack Christians in order to stop the conversion. For instance in Orissa Kendrapura district, 10 families who are in Mahakalapada block have been converted to Christianity. The conversion comes to light when one Kalicharan Patra and his family of Chhapali village attended a Christian prayer session. Under the Orissa Freedom of Religion Act any person who wishes to change his or her religion must first obtain official permission. Meanwhile, state Bajrang Dal coordinator Bhuban Mehan Jena said the Bajrang Dal is committed to bring 10 families back to Hinduism. They were later reconverted to Hinduism. Since Graham Stains and his two minor sons Martyrdom in Orissa, number of murders of missionaries came to light. Since last year hundreds of churches were destroyed in Gujarat and other states. Also the government attempts to promote Hinduism through school education.

"To arrest the conversion further, government stopped all reservation benefits for those who became Christians. The Dalit (untouchables) movement is now become very strong in India. But if any Dalit, if become Christian they loose all benefits including job, education, housing and various facilities. Due to this harassment number of them do not want to become Christian. Those who become Christians also do not want to publicly witness due to government harassment. So there is number of silent Christian who does not go to Church or publicly witness but remain in the homes as secret Christians.

"Further if any Dalit get any government job, serious inquiries were made by the government officials to check whether they are Christians, or if anyone give even some false complaint, as that particular person is Christian he will be immediately terminated from the government job. Such is the harassment faced by Christians in India.

"There is some difference in the persecution in India and elsewhere. In other countries where there is persecution if anyone becomes Christian, they will cut the throat and kill him. But in India they will not cut the throat but the tails of Christians, i.e. if anyone become Christian, the government will cut all the reservation facilities, such as job, higher education etc.

“Our teams are facing number of threat from the Hindu fanatic groups. Sometime it is dangerous too. Sometime our teams even risk their life in order to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Killing of Christian in India is now seemed like everyday affair. The militant fanatics killed Christian missionaries and Christian priests. Christian nuns were raped. Poor believers, too, under the attack. Their houses and Churches were torched down. Our EMOS teams are facing severe opposition and persecution. However there is mass conversion reported in number of places. Most of our teams working among the unreached people group who never heard the name of Jesus before. Number of times the people misunderstood that the team doing election campaign for Jesus. Here we have to convince the people about Jesus' great salvation.

"We need support to start more teams. We have hundreds of applicants who want to go in the field. But we are unable to send them due to lack of financial resources. What we are doing now is very microscopic, because there are vast areas, which need team work to plant Churches. Our teams are working in such places, where no one is brave enough to go.

For instance, Dr. Samanta Naik did a survey among Kutia-Kondh people in Orissa. The Kutia-Kondhs are the most primitive people of Orissa. They are the animistic people who worship the hill or the earth for the crops. They sacrifice the buffalos to the earth goddess. Even some times secretly they have human sacrifice too. Their economic condition is very low. Total population of Khutia Kondhs in Belghas region is 30,000. We need three teams in the first phase to put them near by Belghar who can visit near by villages. Likewise there is tremendous amount of needs to set up more team.

"How much I praise God and how much I appreciate Home Church support to EMOS. Home Church doing a unique job in supporting the mission work of EMOS. As a result 58 Churches were planted among the unreached people group. I want to appreciate my dear brother and friend Eric Thoreson for his great encouragement in our ministry. God has raised him in the right time to do the right work in India.

"In the last EMOS leaders meeting, the subject was discussed about how to bring transformation in India. Every one agreed that, if each state has 20 EMOS teams, we could easily brought transformation in India. Now we have 28 states in India. If each need 20 teams means, altogether it would be 560 teams. So to set up 560 teams is my biggest prayer need."

For further information, please contact Dr. Raj at e-mail: selvarajicro@yahoo.com.