God is Moving in India: “I only knew one word—hallelujah. But I knew Jesus was real.”

We’re living in a time where people run to social media for justice. They speak out, protest, and raise awareness. In places like the West, you can go to the police, tell your story, and expect someone to listen, but what do you do when none of that is available? Today, I want to share a story where the only place left to turn is God.

Living in the west, while staying connected to believers in remote parts of the world, honestly feels like living in two completely different realities. It’s hard to explain unless you see it up close. Last week, I spoke with a brother named Victor. He had just come back from a gathering where he met a pastor from a remote tribal area in Chhattisgarh, India. He told me, “You should really talk to this man.”

So I did. I’ll call him Brother Joseph. The first thing he said to me was simple: “Please pray for us… that once we come out of this trouble, we can continue serving the Lord as a family.”

“What trouble?” I asked.

Then he began to share. About 25 years ago, he was just a farmer, newly married, living in a tribal village, following the beliefs he grew up with. After their baby was born, his wife became severely mentally ill. He didn’t know what to do and at one point, he even had to send his baby away just to keep the child safe. He cared for his wife day and night—taking her to doctors, temples… anywhere that might help.

Nothing worked, until one day, a rickshaw driver told him, “There are two women who pray… and when they pray, things happen.”

Out of desperation, he went. Within a month, his wife was completely healed. He told me, “I didn’t know how to pray. I only knew one word—hallelujah. But I knew Jesus was real.” That moment changed everything. They brought their baby back home and their family was restored. As a family they chose to follow Christ, but it came with a cost. Both his family and his in-laws rejected them. Still, they didn’t turn back. They grew in their faith, stepped into ministry, and raised four children.

Years passed and his eldest son became passionate about God, went to Bible college, and returned to serve alongside his father. Together, they reached villages where people had never even heard the name of Jesus. Life was simple… until everything changed. In January 2025, his eldest son was suddenly taken by a group of men on a motorbike. Later, they found out he was beaten, pressured, and even drugged—forced to give fingerprints and sign false statements. He was framed in a murder case. A man who had never even met the victim was now sitting in prison.

The family was shaken to the core and just a few months later, it got worse. Joseph’s second son went for a walk one eveningand never came back. The next morning, they found his body near a river. The authorities called it suicide, but his father told me quietly, “There was nothing wrong but I have no proof. I cannot accuse anyone. I fear God.”

I didn’t know what to say. One son in prison. One son gone. And yet, his prayer wasn’t anger or revenge. He said, “Please pray that my son will come out of jail… and that we can continue God’s work.”

I asked about the rest of the children. He handed the phone to his teenage daughter and I asked her how she was doing. She said, “Since 2025… everything has changed. With all these problems, how can I even think about studying?”

I asked what she had once dreamed of becoming. “A nurse,” she said. That stayed with me, because this is what often gets lost in stories like this—the quiet dreams that slowly disappear. In that moment, I knew we had to do something. Through BTJ’s Martyrs Scholarship fund, we can at least support her education. At least one dream doesn’t have to end like this.

But this isn’t just one family. In India, the Constitution—Article 25—guarantees freedom of religion: the right to believe, practice, and share your faith, but on the ground, it often looks very different. In places like Chhattisgarh, anti-conversion laws are frequently misused. Praying for someone, sharing your faith, or even gathering for worship can be labeled as illegal. Recently, there were reports of a Christian man attacked with a bow and arrow in a nearby tribal area. These kinds of sporadic attacks still happen.

And then there’s another layer. Christian schools and mission institutions—places that once served the poorest—are being targeted. So families are left with the impossible choices of follow Christ and risk losing government benefits tied to their identity, or stay silent, and remain in systems that keep them stuck. The children are left without resources or opportunities, expected to compete in systems they were never given access to. They’re pushed to the margins from every side and still they hold on to faith.

Thank you to everyone who prays, supports, and gives toward the martyrs fund. Because of you, we’re able to reach people whose stories would otherwise never be told.

And even in all of this, the Gospel is still moving forward.

BTJ Martyrs Scholarship Fund