India (MNN) — Dedication pays off for one ministry in northeast India, but challenges remain.

Set Free Ministries’ Dave McIntyre says their partners celebrate 20 years of Gospel work this year, and the future looks bright.

“The government of India [makes] it very difficult for NGOs outside the country to work with people inside the country. Fortunately, Set Free India is almost 100 percent self-supporting,” McIntyre says.

“They are the poster child of sustainable ministry.”

Set Free India is headquartered in Mizoram state near the Myanmar border, a region quite distinct from the rest of India. “When you think of India, you think of Hindus and Muslims. Mizoram is 98 percent Christian,” McIntyre says.

“The hill people there were headhunters [that] converted to Christianity.”

Many in Mizoram claim to know Jesus, but their lives show a different truth. “A lot of people there are Christian in name only,” McIntyre says.

“They are Christians because their grandparents went to church, and [they] grew up going to church. They haven’t connected with their faith, so their prison population is maxed out.”

Set Free India disciples the downtrodden, teaching them what it means to have a relationship with Christ. More about that here. Pray for Gospel growth as believers reach out to addicts, prisoners, and orphans.

“I was there for two weeks and spoke in six different churches; most men would put their heads down and go to sleep. It was indicative of the state of the Church there in Mizoram,” McIntyre says.

“In total contrast, when you talk to the addicts and convicts, they are listening and eager to hear the Word of God.”

 

Header image courtesy of Set Free Ministries.