with a co-worker has been released, an official of his mission organization said Friday, October 8.
K.P. Yohannan, president of U.S. based Gospel for Asia (GFA), said pastor Tulsiram "was kept overnight and beaten repeatedly" and told to leave his village in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh "or be killed."
The ordeal began Tuesday, October 5, when pastors Tulsiram and Vijay were allegedly beaten in front of their congregation and dragged away as they prepared to baptize dozens of new believers.
Vijay managed to escape and alerted GFA. It was not immediately clear it what role it had played in his release.
"We give thanks for God’s intervention on behalf of these GFA pastors, who lead a growing church in Chhattisgarh with 50 new believers," K.P. Yohannan said in a statement to BosNewsLife.
ADDED CONCERN
The kidnapping has added to concern among groups like GFA about the reported persecution of Christians in India, where eight out of 10 people are believed to be of a Hindu background.
Local authorities have expressed worries about an increase of churches in India, said GFA who urged supporters "to continue to pray."
The organization supports 14,000 native missionaries, who it claims are planting 10 churches a day in the region.
"I was going in the wrong way, and was directing others to the wrong way. Now I have found the right path. I will follow this path only; others can, too," a priest of pastor Tulsiram’s village, one of a growing number of new ‘converts’ was quoted as saying in a GFA release.
Village dealers have ordered the pastors to leave the area for fear of "further conversions" and to "preserve traditional ways," GFA said. There are currently at least 24 million Christians in India, just over 2 percent of India’s total population, according church estimates.
