Mission India Literacy Coordinator
In 2017 St. John’s sponsored two Mission India Literacy Coordinators.
Our partner coordinator plans to coordinate five literacy classes. Each adult literacy class has the following goals:
- Provide a 5th grade equivalent education to 30 adult learners
- Enable increased income for families
- Promote health awareness and life skills
- Establish new churches with Bible-literate believers
Why Literacy Classes?
In India, lack of education is a plague that steals confidence, closes doors of opportunity, traps people in low-paying manual jobs, and poverty.
This is a plague that especially affects girls and women. It is estimated that 176 million Indian women suffer the consequences of illiteracy. Many girls grow up being told they are unwanted or a burden simply because of their gender. And being illiterate puts them at an even greater disadvantage, vulnerable to being cheated by dishonest money lenders, shopkeepers and employers.
Literacy is the first stop towards freedom, self-confidence and a brighter future.
In Mission India Adult Literacy Classes, students learn how to read, write and count. But in addition to these basic skills, graduates can sign their names, tell time, read bus and street signs, count money, and defend themselves when someone tries to cheat them, administer first aid, and have the skills to start their own home-based businesses. They also lean the importance of valuing and educating boys AND girls. Through the Bible-based lessons, each student is introduced to Jesus Christ- the God who loves people no matter their caste or gender.
This past year, St. John’s has sponsored two Mission India Literacy Coordinators. Every Sunday we lifted them up in our prayers. Our contributions provided for their ministries and enabled it to take place.
So how did it go? Altogether, the two trainers led ten literacy classes, each consisting of 30 students. There were 252 women and 48 men. Of the 300, 275 completed the course. What difference did these classes make? Here are the numbers: How many . . .
Mission India Literacy Trainers
Started believing in Jesus |
123 |
Baptisms |
61 |
Prayer Groups Formed |
12 |
Worship Groups Formed |
6 |
Started maintaining hygiene |
240 |
Stopped smoking and tobacco consumption |
160 |
Stopped borrowing and started saving |
208 |
Eating nutritious food |
240 |
Improved relationships |
141 |
Stopped abuse of alcohol |
44 |
Stopped belief in superstition |
208 |
Increased awareness of HIV/AIDS |
252 |
Stopped encouraging child marriage |
127 |
Ended reliance on child labor |
124 |
Growing kitchen gardens and medicinal plants |
242 |
Began sending children to school |
82 |
Thanks be to God for the changes in these lives! We praise God for those who have come to faith, and for those who were baptized. This has all taken place during a time of increased opposition and persecution. (The reason there are a number who have started believing but are not baptized is that there can be severe social consequences to be being baptized, that is, going public with being a Christian.)
As you can see, our investment had an enormous impact for the Kingdom. Lives were changed eternally. Praise God for His work through us and through our Mission India partners.
Who is our Literacy Partner this year?
We will be sharing more information during worship, including a picture of the literacy coordinator that we will be sponsoring. We are not providing additional information in this format because of the concerns with persecution. While everything our literacy coordinator will be doing is legal, there are persecuting groups that search the internet for ministry leaders to harass, persecute and worse.
Our sponsorship is an investment of $4,500 in the work of the kingdom, that promises to reap an abundant harvest. We will receive reports during the year regarding the results of our Literacy Coordinator’s efforts.
Here is a statement from our Literacy Coordinator:
“I used to believe that God was found in idols – that fasting and paying healers would deliver me from pain. As I grew, I learned that this simply was not true. One day, I heard of a Christian meeting in a nearby village. The pastor there told us that Jesus is the living God and promises eternal life. I was so touched by this Good News that I received Christ and committed my life to the service of God. I hope to continue this journey and bring others into the Kingdom of the one True God.”
What can we pray for?
Pray for the Good news to be proclaimed as India’s poor and brokenhearted are released from the darkness of illiteracy and spiritual oppression
Pray that seeds planted in students’ hearts will sprout and grow, leading to social and spiritual transformation
Pray that new believers will boldly testify to God’s greatness, bringing new hope to entire communities.
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