Partnering to make a difference in northern rural India

Most Christian communities in rural India meet in people’s homes, just like the early church did. As more villagers are enfolded into the church, they rapidly outgrow the capacity for meeting in a private home. A building provides not only a safe space to gather for worship and fellowship, but also establishes a visible Christian presence in the community which serves as a beacon of hope to the entire village for anyone who is seeking. The cost to build such a structure in the rural parts of India is only about $6,000 USD. You can help change an entire village through such a modest investment in infrastructure.

Families depend on farming for their food and livelihood, but an ill-timed or severe monsoon can upset or destroy that source of food and income. Compassion India Outreach periodically provides the resources to purchase food and clothing for distribution in the community. In 2023 we started a children's feeding program that provides a hot meal 2x per month. It has become a terrific means of outreach to the parents when they see their children fed and taught. Meeting these critical and practical needs is one way the love of Jesus is spread to the local and neighboring villages.

Children are our future…and our future leaders. Compassion India Outreach believes every child should have the opportunity to learn about the love of Jesus in an age-appropriate way. We periodically provide churches with children’s Bibles and educational resources for children that have a Christian worldview. Parents and children alike love these materials as it helps them to train up their children in the way they should go and to break the cycle of poverty.

Change a leader and you change the world! Pastors are the most influential people in these rural communities and yet many have never been formally trained as Bible teachers or how to lead groups of people. Compassion India Outreach has arranged for some of the best leadership training available to be provided in the local language to our pastors and their assistants free of charge to them. Monthly fellowship gatherings after the training ensure the skills learned are discussed and refreshed as well as helping to identify areas for future training needs.

Literacy in many of the rural areas where CIO serves is a huge problem. How can these precious believers be filled with the Word of God? This is one area where technology plays an essential role in the training and development of Christian believers. Audio Bibles in the Hindi language have become relatively inexpensive and can operate on batteries for dozens of hours. CIO has recently provided for the distribution of Audio Bibles in four (4) communities. For believers who cannot read, they can still hear the Word of God in their heart language.

CIO has expanded its ministry into regions of Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim. The villages in these regions are more isolated and often situated in very hilly and mountainous regions.  It can be a real challenge to get there. Our Pastors visit these neighboring villages periodically—traveling from their home village when reliable transportation can be secured—to preach and minister to these precious people who have not heard of Jesus. These areas are generally free from Hindu fanatics, so the Gospel can be shared openly and freely.