May 2019
Pathways of Hope in India
An Amazing Fact: Media in India is exploding! Rising consumer demand is growing nine times faster than in America, and social network users in India have doubled in one year—that’s the fastest rate in the world. Yet while 300 million now have smartphones and over 835 million have access to a television, something sinister has begun to happen in the land of the tiger …
Dear friend,
Melvin took a beating for Christ … and you were responsible. But wait! Let me tell you what I mean.
The apostle Paul, who was beaten many times for sharing his faith, wrote, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). That’s why Melvin, a former Hindu, counts it a privilege to suffer for His Savior.
And he was led to the full Bible truth because of your compassionate giving to Amazing Facts. Not only that—he felt compelled to share his faith with others, even if it cost him his life. And I thank you for helping to make even more people like him in India.
Because India desperately needs the message of Jesus Christ—now more than ever.
Did you know that nearly 1.4 billion crowd into this land of a million idols, but only three percent claim the name of our Savior?
India is also one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. But while that means less poverty, a new generation is growing up in materialism, feeling utterly empty and searching for something better.
Moreover, many in India despise the gospel, which Melvin learned firsthand.
But God is still preparing the way for millions in India to know Christ’s precious truth each week. Will you step up with me to meet this challenge and bring an explosion of faith to this land through Amazing Facts? Your loving gift today can lead more hungry souls like Melvin to become bold witnesses for Christ.
“Show me the right church!”
After a friend led him to Christ, Melvin began attending a Sunday church. But he wondered, “Why are there so many denominations?” He prayed that the Lord would reveal to him the right church to attend. Amazingly, two days later, a pastor passing through the area stood on his doorstep and proclaimed the seventh-day Sabbath.
Then the Lord sent graduates, whom you helped train, from the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism (AFCOE) in India to hold evangelistic meetings in his town. Melvin attended, and God opened his eyes to greater Bible truths about prophecy, healthy living, and more.
I’m thrilled to report that because of your compassion for God’s people in India, Melvin and his family were baptized into the remnant church!
I certainly love hearing testimonies of God’s children coming to Him, but I can’t stop thinking of the millions of dissatisfied families in India who are still looking for answers—while persecution there continues to rise.
Time is not on our side.
Emergency Evangelism Is Underway
That’s why Amazing Facts has urgently sent an Amazing Facts media evangelist specialist, Ryan and his family, to India—and he has hit the ground running in the city of Hyderabad. Working with Adventist World Radio, he’s already helped put the Telugu-language translation of The Final Events of Bible Prophecy onto USB drives to be distributed across 2,000 locations.
Your investment in our work is also making it possible to offer the Amazing Facts Bible Study Guides in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu, the most widely spoken languages of India—along with many of our best sharing magazines and websites, like truthaboutdeath.com. You’re even helping to adapt our Study Guides for smartphone evangelism in India through social media sites like WhatsApp.
And I want you to know that Melvin shares your passion and sacrificial spirit for the gospel work—and God greatly blessed his evangelistic outreach, with 40 families converted for Christ. But the devil was enraged! He even incited three Hindu men to attack Melvin, but as they were beating him, he cried out, “Lord, forgive them!”
One day, as Melvin lay in the hospital recovering, two of those same men paid him another visit. Yet something was different this time. You see, they were so moved by Melvin’s Christ-like prayer that they had come seeking his forgiveness. Their hearts were softened to the truth, and they are now baptized Sabbath-keeping Christians! Your support made this thrilling chain of conversion possible.
But with persecution on the rise in India, it’s harder to preach Jesus openly in cities.
The Answer in the Air
One of the last ways open to reach the people of India is through television. So here’s where you can make a colossal difference today. Amazing Facts is working on translating Amazing Facts broadcasts into Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu and airing them on at least three major stations across the country: GoodNews Television, Shubsandesh Television, and Nambikkiai Television.
In order to provide broadcasts for an entire year, along with the translating, printing, and web development, the cost to save lives in India for eternity is anticipated to be $152,000. That’s a big amount we need to raise fast, but we simply can’t delay a moment longer. I know that the Lord can use you and me, working together, to make this happen. He just needs us to be faithful to His call.
Your gift this month to sponsor the Lord’s work in India will transform lost hearts. A gift of $30 will help as many as 37,000 souls find God’s life-changing truth on TV. A gift of $300 will support the translation and broadcast of one Amazing Facts program, reaching millions of hungering souls. Or would you prayerfully consider a $3,000 gift that would put 10 programs on the air for more than two months?
Friend, the Holy Spirit will reach millions through Amazing Facts’ comprehensive plan to share Christ in India. But we can combat the devil’s idols—pagan religion and materialism—only with your help. Entire families in India are crying out for truth. Let’s extend God’s love to them by multiplying media pathways that reach hearts, like Melvin’s, with the Savior’s final message to a dying planet.
Feeling compassion for India,
Pastor Doug Batchelor
President, Amazing Facts