India

A. Introduction

India is the seventh-largest country by area and is located at South Asia sub-continent. It is the second-most populous country in the world (second to China). It has a tropical monsoon climate. It is very hot in India—the temperature between May and June can reach 45°C or above.

B. Politics, Economics and Culture

The ethnicity in India is highly diverse—with more than 4,600 ethnic groups in the country. It is also a country with an ancient civilization. 72% of the population are Indo-Aryan and 25% are Dravidian. It is one of the countries with the most rapid economic development, but the distribution of wealth is extremely unbalanced between the rich and poor. India has the second-largest labor force, of which 50% of them work in the agricultural industry.

The population growth is approximately 1.8% each year. The parliament of India is a bicameral legislature. However, due to the massive number of ethnicities and political parties—each has its respective language and religion—most of the parties are unable to obtain more than 50% of the parliamentary votes. Therefore, India does not have a powerful and stable government. The Indians still hold a very traditional and deeply ingrained belief in social stratification and hierarchy. Women are often despised.

Hindi is the first official language and English is the second. There are 21 local "scheduled languages" and more than 1,600 registered languages in India.

C. Religion

80.5% of the population believe in Hinduism, 15% are Muslim, 1.9% are Sikhist, 0.4% are Jainist and 2.3% are Christian. Buddhism has less influence now with only 0.8%.

D. Development of the True Jesus Church

The Gospel was preached to India by two different batches of people. On July 18, 1931, True Jesus Church Ipoh ordained Zaccheus S. Ponniah as a deacon in Perak, one of the states in Malaysia (He moved to Malaysia in 1930 to work and he accepted the gospel there). In 1932, he brought the gospel of Jesus Christ back to his hometown Madathupatti, Tirunelveli, which is located in the south of Tamil Nadu state in India. By the guidance and the power of God, six churches were established within 300 miles. Due to the World War, the believers lost contact with churches in Malaysia. Moreover, even though this group of believers kept trying to contact our churches in China, none of the attempts was successful because of the unceasing wars that occurred on the border between China and India. Since then, members have been scattered to other regions like Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They brought the gospel to the places they settled in and churches were established in various tea plantations. However, some of their teachings changed over time because their faith was not rooted in the truth.

Similar to the first batch, the first gospel seed from the second batch also received the truth in Malaysia. An Indian brother by the name of James was attracted to the beautiful hymns sung by our church in Sungai Petani. From then on, his process of searching for the truth began and he was eventually baptized in our church. He brought the gospel back to India in 1969. In that same year, a few deacons from Malaysia preached the gospel of truth to Madras, Tamil Nadu. Churches were established in Pammal and Ambattur. In 1977, we established churches in Kerala State. Then, the gospel was brought to other states such as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Within a few years, we witnessed the workers in India setting up many places of worship with the support of the IA and South-East Asia Evangelical Center (SEAEC). India Coordination Board was also founded. Churches in India have continued to grow and progress ever since.

Currently in the year 2019, we have 14 churches and 4 prayer houses in India. We also have 5 places of worship located in 3 separate states in South India. There are 1,568 members in total, including 15 deacons, 4 deaconesses, 5 preachers, and 1 full-time minister. The pioneering work in northeast India has been carried out continuously.

E. Things to take note of when visiting India

You only need to bring summer clothes when visiting southern India. Bring along thicker winter clothes when you visit northern India in winter. You need to bring your own toilet paper. Some public toilets have no doors or any sorts of cover. Umbrellas, mosquito nets, first-aid kit and torches may be useful. Indian cuisine is usually spicy. Do not drink unfiltered water. It is best to get vaccinations for different epidemic diseases before entering the country. Be careful of the robbers and thieves. Do not arrange the itinerary and purchase the transport tickets through unlicensed travel agencies. Do not bring any unauthorized creature out of the country. The voltage in India is 220 volts. They use a type C plug which has two round pins. India has very unstable electricity supplies and frequent power cuts. Therefore, it is damaging to any appliance.