Effective Hindu Evangelism

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Instead, let him or her tell you what they believe.

How to share the gospel to Hindus

As a result of listening, do not witness out of a sense of duty or anxiety, but of loving compassion for the Hindu people. Always be willing to reach out in love to your Hindu friends. Invite them to your home. Go to their homes, if invited, and learn about their beliefs and culture. Out of this sense of mutual respect, begin to share the good news of Christ with them.

When talking to Hindus about Christ, always have a humble, respectful attitude. First, you can pray for and with them. Second, be respectful about their beliefs. Third, always do your best not to argue with them, but politely emphasize the positive good news of Christ. Hindus are accustomed to learning through stories in their culture and religion for example, see the Bhagavad-Gita. As a result, it is helpful to explain the gospel message using stories to which they can relate.

For example, the parable of the Prodigal Son Luke Explain that God is not an impersonal entity, but is a loving, perfect, and just God who cares for His people. You could even use the story of the progical son to illustrate God's love for His children Luke Even when we rebel against God, he comes running to us with mercy and forgiveness as the father runs to forgive his son Luke Help the Hindu understand that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to attain salvation John A Hindu might put Jesus up there with the other gods that they worship.

So one must be patient and help them understand that Christians can only worship Jesus Mt. They might not understand that worshipping many gods is set against worshipping the one true God of the Bible. This might take a long time for them to understand, but it is well worth the effort as you patiently explain it to them.

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This form of Hinduism is far removed from philosophy and Brahmanism. The followers of this form are influenced by ancestral tradition, animal worship, temple cults, magic, exorcism, etc. They are indifferent to the authority of the Vedas and are concerned only about a god who protects them, blesses them, and makes them prosperous. The majority of Hindus adhere to this form. Gurus with mysterious personal experiences are drawing many to themselves. The claims of these gurus are sensational, often asserting that they are avatars and that they have supernatural gifts of healing, ability to perform miracles, to read the inner thoughts of people, and to prophesy the future.

The Transcendental Meditation of Mahesh Yogi has drawn many disciples from India and other countries. This type is very much influenced by animism, spiritism, the occult, necromancy, and animal worship. Those who belong to this group are generally nominal in their beliefs and indifferent to religious practices. Even the few religious customs that they follow are motivated by materialistic tendencies. These have remained within Hinduism. Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, reform movements within Hinduism, became independent religions.

The following have sweeping influence in many parts of India: Although the Christian faith is claimed to have been brought to India in the first century A. In the l6th century, Catholic missionaries, such as Francis Xavier and Robert de Nobili, brought the gospel to the Hindus. After them came the Protestants in a floodstream, with various mission societies establishing churches, as people movements spread mostly into the lower category of Hindu community.

A concept of mission is not one of the main tenets of Hinduism. But Hindu theologians, such as Vivekananda and Aurobindo, by their interpretation of the main teaching of Hinduism, have added this new missionary dimension. The missionary vision of some Hindus is posing a threat to Christian evangelistic activities.

We now hear of cases of nominal Christians, as well as Hindu converts to Christianity, reverting to Hinduism. Further, western converts to Hinduism are being sent as Hindu missionaries to some parts of the world. The Hare Krishna Movement has a notable impact in many western countries. This movement has a big appeal to young people. In some western countries it has established centres for the propagation of this movement. The post-independence Indian society has developed into a secular democracy.

The agnostic leadership emphasised industrialisation, resulting in rapid secularisation, modernisation and westernisation. The urban population developed popular nominal Hinduism which leaves it open to new influences. The rural Hindu, oppressed by poverty and corruption, seeks a liberating gospel. The unrest caused by several philosophies and a weak political structure, has softened the Hindus within India for the gospel, even though the above varieties of Hinduism continue to prevail.

Overseas Hindus are in a very unsettled, fluid state. In some countries of the world they are undergoing a period of great strain and change, which may influence their receptivity to the gospel. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became flesh within an Asian context. During the days of his flesh, he lived within a Hebraic cultural framework within this Asian context.

He walked among the villages and wept over the cities. He accepted social rejects and understood the fluctuating fortunes of leadership within a tangible human society. The Hindu can understand him. Before such an understanding can be effected, however, Jesus Christ must be made known to the Hindu. In this effort to communicate Jesus Christ to the Hindu, the Indian Christian faces the tension between being faithful to the content of the Bible, and relating this content to the theological, philosophical, and religious context of the Hindu.

The resolution of this problem does not lie in interfering with the content of biblical truth, but in the proper use of the crucible of Hindu categories and needs in the process of communicating that truth. This is not the first time for such an effort to be attempted because, as early as the 19th century A. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is relevant and relates to all human cultures. He can be made known to a Hindu in a traditionally Hindu culture in India, likewise to Hindus living outside of India. The gospel is never proclaimed within a vacuum.

India provides a particular context which influences the kind of communication we should pursue. Thus we need to examine the Indian context in the light of the scriptures, and see which aspects warrant our careful consideration in Christian communication. The following are some crucial factors which will influence Hindu evangelism:.

Hindus are a very religious people. An aura of holiness characterises every man who claims to be spiritual.

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They identify externals to be reflective of holiness. The Bible calls us to live a holy life I Peter 1: The power of God through a transformed holy life will be a powerful influence on the Hindu. Human dignity stems from man being made in the image of God Gen. Christians are a human community. However, their equality before God is not affirmed within Indian society. Although people like to become Christians without crossing cultural boundaries, we believe that scripture demands spiritual unity of all believers.

It is here that the functioning of the community of Jesus Christ in biblically relevant ways can be a formidable witness to the dignity that is restored in Christ. When true community is practised within the church it will prove to the world John Further, when the church participates in the lives of people through genuine love, our verbal messages will be validated James 2: Perhaps the starkest reality of populous India is her poverty.

Christ not only identified with the poor; he was poor 2 Cor. Elsewhere, it is seen that God has a special heart for the poor Prov. This message has special relevance to the Hindu within the Indian context. Four particular theological barriers to effective communication with Hindus should be highlighted:. Indeed, Hindus find the very mention of change of religion by the Christian highly objectionable. Such demands must be presented with clarity and respect. Behaviour in the past determines fate in the present, and deeds in the present determine the future.

However, just as karma is a block, it is also a bridge. Although the concept of salvation exists within Hinduism, its understanding as liberation from the cycle of rebirth is radically different from the Christian viewpoint.

We must recognise that Hinduism revolves around a different centre than does Christianity, asking fundamentally different questions and supplying different answers. The use of any theological bridge, therefore, is fraught with difficulty, particularly if we attempt to use a specific term or concept to demonstrate that Christ is the fulfilment or crown of Hinduism.

No concept of Hinduism can be accepted into Christianity without change. By way of illustration, the following bridges can be grouped into two categories:.

How To Share The Gospel With A Hindu

In evangelism among Hindus we are speaking into a pantheistic world view, and although clarification and re-definition are required, it is not necessary to defend the existence of God. The Hindu respect for the sacred writings can be developed in the context of the unique authority of the Bible. Unlike any other religious community, Hindus will listen attentively to an exposition of scripture. The sole authority of the Bible must be stressed without any compromise whatsoever. While this doctrine is a barrier in terms of defining moksha salvation , it also can serve as a bridge while communicating the gospel to the Hindu.

The Hindu seeks to get free from the cycle of rebirth which his sin causes. He must be told of the Saviour Jesus Christ, who by his vicarious suffering and death on the cross triumphed over sin, and has taken upon himself the penalty of the sins of mankind. Points of Caution and Clarification: Concepts which require a radical conceptual redefinition: We should use this dissimilarity as a bridge, stressing the purposes of God in time, creation, the historical resurrection, and the coming judgment.

There is a deep desire in the Hindu for spiritual experience anubhava. This is noticeable, for example, among the Bhakti Margis. The emphasis on meditation, austerity, and the willingness to accept physical suffering are commendable aspects of the Hindu way of life. At the same time, however, the Christian communicator must stress the degree of personal freedom that comes in Christian worship, and the Christian understanding that spirituality is not an end in itself, nor is it merely by spiritual exercises that one inherits the Kingdom.

Essentially, the value of this bridge lies in the importance of the spiritual qualities of the evangelist or communicator of the gospel in gaining credibility. Hindu beliefs in the intervention of God in human history through avatars must be radically redefined in Christian communication. Avatars enter the world to destroy sinners, and this requires repeated avatars.

The incarnation of Christ is unique, historical, sufficient for all time, and is rooted in the love of God, saving sinners. Western culture has been injected into Indian culture as an acceptable form of Christianity; thus, it appears to non-Christians, this alienates them to a large extent. The following are some of the issues that have alienated Hindus and proved a hindrance to evangelism:.

Conversion to Christianity destroys this, leading to:. Many Hindus live under the constant fear of invoking the wrath of the Kula Devata family god , if they accept the gods of other religions. This notion is partly due to the huge, widely publicized gospel crusades conducted by foreign evangelists in our cities.

There is no room in our evangelism for a condescending attitude. Much gospel communication in the past has emphasised a rational response and has failed to appeal to the heart. This statement must not be interpreted as an endorsement of emotional gospel appeals, but a recommendation that our message must speak to the whole person, mind and heart.

The response of an individual is undoubtedly affected by the attitudes of those around him. As we become aware of the specific social environment in which we communicate, principles of evangelism will emerge. Our concern must go beyond the individual response to understand the broader questions related to the acceptance of Christ by the entire society.

Christian leaders with this type of spiritual qualification are a powerful means of communication. In Salem District, Tamil Nadu, the Udaiyar Community became responsive to the gospel through a series of unusual happenings. A widespread religious movement was accepted by many in the community, and was led by a man who claimed to be god himself. His teachings and life seemed so attractive that many followed him and surrendered much of their wealth to him. The scandal resulted in a government investigation and the group disbanded.

The imposter had used the New Testament without acknowledging it.

The new believer remained in the main stream of his family and community. As a result, many of his family members have believed and have been baptised. Now the Holy Spirit is building a bridge between the Udaiyar and the Lingayath with whom they live in continued community, and as many as monthly baptisms are common happenings.

A Hindu lady, Thirupathamma, was hospitalised with a serious heart problem, a few months before her delivery. The doctors expected complications during labour, and even feared she might die. A Christian doctor visited her daily, prayed for her, and explained the gospel. As she opened her heart to the gospel, she had a vision of Jesus giving her a baby girl and assuring her of a safe delivery.

Not only did she have a safe delivery and a healthy baby girl, but her faith increased so that she stopped taking medicines, trusting the Lord to heal her of her cardiac problem. A checkup a few months later showed her to be completely healed. Through her faith, prayer life, and consistent witness, she is influencing the whole village for Christ. A certain church in Kuala Lumpur helped a man who had accepted the Lord to build a small house in a squatter area.

This man, when approached, was willing to open his home for Christian work. The evangelism group of the church then invited children for Sunday School in his home. The response was poor.

One day a family with three retarded and undernourished children was brought to their attention. The father had left the family. The mother worked, doing menial jobs. The family was treated like outcasts in that community. The evangelism group became involved in taking care of the children, cleaning the home, providing food, clothing, and medicines.

This touched the community.

The non-Christians saw the concern of the Christians. Their attitude changed, with the result that the Sunday School attendance increased. When the Christians invited the parents for a fellowship tea, they had the opportunity to communicate the gospel to them. Sewing classes for the women have been started to help the people, and with the hope that eventually they will be saved, and finally win their whole families to the Lord. Dehilla was born in Kenya, son of a Brahmin. The family moved to England after I I years.

Being devout Hindus, they followed all the rituals customary to practising Brahmins. Dehilla first became interested in Jesus Christ through a tract he picked up at a fair. But he felt that this was the God of the white man and so seemed unfair. But his father took him out of it the moment he realised his son was learning about Jesus Christ, and not about English grammar. The next contact was an Indian Christian girl who took him to a Bible study in the home of a missionary.

He was amazed to find so many Asian Christians at this Bible study. Hungrily he studied the Bible, and Christ began sorting out his wrong attitudes. He ceased to worship the family idols and stopped his visits to the temple. His parents were both hurt and annoyed. Going to a Christian meeting has become very difficult, and Dehilla studies his Bible in secret. But the Word of God gives him comfort, and he continues to pray for his parents and other Asian people who do not know the Lord.

A village in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu has a population of about 4, people. This village is made up of seven different groups, including Udaiyars, Gownders, Kasu, Chettiars, and several low-caste groups. An indigenous missionary movement has been active in this village for the last 10 years, and many people are coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. They have built a church on the outskirts of the village where converts from all seven groups are worshipping together. This new spiritual community is gradually transcending the existing traditional structured communal system in the village.

A new church building holding 1, people is under construction. More people are led to the Lord in this village by the converts than by the missionaries. The first contact with a small Reddy high-caste community living in northern Andhra Pradesh was made three years ago. Regular teaching began through scripture memorisation and songs.

Various issues such as family ties, caste, the objections of older members of the community, and marriage prospects for their children, were thoroughly discussed at family and community levels. In December , 16 people were baptised as family units. The first to respond were young couples, followed later by older members; and, a few months after, by the oldest man, who was very much revered in the community.

The first contact with a rural Neethakani people in Andhra Pradesh was made through boys from that group, studying in a school in a nearby town and living in government-run hostels. When the boys returned home during the holidays, they shared their faith with their parents. As a result, the people of that community invited missionaries to come and speak about Christ.

Discussions, for example, about the power of the Creator God and a practical example of such a power encounter bore fruit; and 21 people from that group, mostly as families, were baptised in one village in December There is strong biblical support for viewing all peoples as living in unique social contexts and understanding the plan of God as the establishment, in those contexts, of his church, from among all caste, class, economic, and social groups. Such a united visible presence of the Body of Christ is a major goal of evangelization.

Consequently, our evangelistic strategy must view people in specific societal groups, defined within geographical units, not by social or cultural factors. It is helpful to view India as composed of many hundreds of thousands of such communities in the villages nagars, purams, varams, giris, etc. Our commitment to evangelism must seek to reach people in community.

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We must, therefore, be sensitive to the complexity of communal acceptance. Two problems present particular difficulties. In our enthusiasm for individual conversion we may erect barriers to acceptance among the majority. If, as frequently occurs, the first converts are those who are socially isolated for one reason or another from the community, premature reaping may create serious barriers to the establishment of the Body of Christ in that area. We must exercise patience as we sow the seed, create a hunger, and work for the conversion of the opinion leaders in the community.

The acceptance of Christ by a community lies in the life of the converts. The diffusion of the gospel throughout a community inevitably takes time. The initial enthusiasm of the converts may erode. A continually revived church is an essential—if not the supreme need—in our strategy, if the Body of Christ, living as a vital testimony to the power of Christ, is to be planted in every area in each town and city throughout India and the Indian diaspora.

The church, therefore, is both our primary goal, our strategy, and our resource in evangelization. There are about , villages.

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