Media Campaign In India Promotes Christianity

It wasn’t until I did the review for the movie that is touring our nation right now called “Father of Lights” that I was made aware of what God is doing in the nation of India. Today I ran across another story that is just awesome about how God is moving among people who are hungry for the power to change their lives. It is a story that comes from CBN News and it shows how they are using a media campaign to touch 10 million lives with the power of the gospel. The “Power to Change” media campaign has been running in Hyderabad where at least 10 million people live. Hyderabad is the silicon valley of India yet they have the same problems that most people face, and they are looking for the answers for how to change their lives. Here is a video and some excerpts from the story.

The Power to Change Video of Christian Media Campaign in India

You can also find more videos on the testimonies of people changed in India here on Youtube.

People of India find the power to change through Christ

By Stan Jeter CBN News Senior Producer Saturday, June 30, 2012

Advertisements in major cities from Asia to the Middle East are introducing millions of people to a life-changing message about Christ. The month-long media campaign recently flooded India’s third-largest city with its “Power to Change” theme, reaching more people in a few weeks than local churches could reach in years. The effort is a collaborative effort of Christian ministries and local church leaders. Hyderabad is home to India’s high-tech industry. Many refer to it as the country’s Silicon Valley. But despite the city’s technological advances, its population suffers the same problems mankind has faced for centuries.

The Power to Change ads appeared on buses, taxis, and billboards this summer. Radio and television commercials challenged residents to learn about the dramatic changes taking place in individuals like Peter Samuel, a former alcoholic turned pastor. ”I thought this is the best way to honor my God who gave me a new lease of life 18 years back,” he said. “So I found it a great joy to tell to the world this was where I was.” ”I would have died in some gutter where nobody would have ever realized who Peter Samuel was. but God picked me from that situation and put me here,” Samuel continued.

Hannu Haukka, president of Great Commission Media Ministries, helped develop the campaigns. He said it’s an effective way to saturate unreached, urban populations. ”Ten million people in the city … and by the time that 30-day campaign is over we should have reached 90 percent of (that) 10 million,” he said.  Thousands of callers flooded the campaign’s phone center requesting the free book with stories of lives changed by God. ”We have 60 phones going pretty well nonstop. By the time the campaign is over, we should have received 100,000 calls of people who have specifically ordered that book,” Haukka said. ”And we’re talking about Hindus, Muslims in the city of Hyderabad. It’s something that churches have never, never seen in that city,” he said.

As the Hyderabad campaign winds down, Haukka is planning similar media blitzes for three other cities this year. He urged churches everywhere to use all the tools available to spread the gospel. ”I can tell you Moses will not rise from the dead, neither will David, neither will Joshua, to fight our battles,” Haukka said. “It’s either us in the body of Christ in this generation or it’s nobody. We are Plan A. That’s the good news. And the bad news is there’s no Plan B.”

source: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2012/June/Christian-Campaigns-Give-Indians-the-Power-to-Change/

Taking inspiration from the hunger for God by the people of India

When I watch what God is doing in India, it inspires me. I see people that are hungry for the things of God and the power at work changing people’s lives. Just this last week in my own church, the Lord spoke to others in my congregation and we dug out an old box of books that we had hanging around. It was a simple book on finding hope. The people got excited about giving away these books for free. I am praying that we see a small portion of the hunger for God in my community that they saw in Hyderabad. What about you? Do you have a hunger for the things of God? Do you want to be a part of what God is doing in changing lives? Leave me a comment and share this story with your friends and family. Maybe we all can turn a spark into a wildfire.

Blessings!

Pastor Duke