On December 4th, a group consisting of 13 Christian families were expelled from their home village in rural Chhattisgarh because they refused to deny their faith. The families, comprising a total of 66 individuals, were summoned to a village council meeting in the town of Mungwal. The villagers opposing these families tried to pressure them to deny their faith in Jesus Christ, mandating that they return to their former tribal religion.

When the believers refused to recant their faith, the other villagers angrily beat them. Entire families were then expelled from the village, including children and the elderly. The ousted Christians, who were forced to leave all of their belongings behind, have since gone to live with relatives in other villages. Though the incident was reported to the local police, no action has been taken. For additional reports addressing the persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters in India, go to our country report.

The situation in Mungwal is part of a series of recent incidents that have altogether affected 150 families in various tribal villages throughout Chhattisgarh. Closer to the Fire podcast host Greg Musselman recently interviewed Nitin Sardar, the director of Dinabanhu Ministries, to address various recent incidents of persecution. To view this informative interview, and to learn more about the challenges facing fellow believers in India, see this video. (Discussion on the case specifically relating to the 13 expelled families, along with footage of the actual attack, begins at 25:18 in the recorded interview.)

Please lift up these expelled believers in your prayers, asking the Lord to minister healing, consolation, provision for their daily spiritual and practical needs, as well as divine guidance, so their families will experience a promising future. Despite the difficulties they've recently endured, may their faith in Christ remain strong, enabling them to be shining lights of His transformative love wherever they're presently residing. May the Lord give them opportunities to share the Gospel with their new neighbours, praying that the conveyed message will resonate as truth in many receptive hearts. Additionally, intercede for the members of their former village – including those who expelled them from the community – in hopes these villagers will come to a saving faith in Christ as well.