letter from South Asia
The frontline of faith in South Asia is a place where the Kingdom of God is bearing fruit, even amidst incredible pressure on Christ’s people that grows heavier by the month.
In May 2026, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, made his first official visit to India, and he chose to begin it at Mother Teresa’s home in Calcutta – attending Mass, speaking openly of his faith, honouring the Sisters of Charity who have spent themselves among the poorest of the poor. In a culture as steeped in symbolism as India’s is, no-one missed the meaning. Nor did our critics: within days, the familiar online attacks on Mother Teresa and her sisters – the old, tired charges of “forced conversion” – surfaced once more.
I write this not to cause mental angst. Rather, we as the global family of believers are being called to stand with Indian believers – our own brothers and sisters in Christ – who need our prayers more than ever.
It has become global news that the government of India has proposed an amendment to the long-standing law governing foreign donations into India – the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Much of the Kingdom work in this country, the schools, hospitals, and homes for the destitute, is sustained by the gifts of believers overseas, many of them in churches like the ones en readers attend. The amendment, as drafted, would allow the state to seize the very properties built by that generosity. A law meant to regulate and promote transparency has, in effect, become a means of control. This threatens not only the very famous home in Calcutta built by an earnest Catholic nun, but every legitimate Christian ministry in the land – and the millions of poor Indians, of every faith, who depend on them.
And yet the Christians of India are not in despair. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The Lord who multiplied loaves on a Galilean hillside has not run short of provision for His church in India. We have seen Him sustain His people through far darker days.
There are three things, then, that we can do as a global community of Christians to express solidarity in this time of great challenge. First, pray that our brothers and sisters facing violence and intimidation, especially in North India, would stand firm and embrace forgiveness. Second, pray that the Indian Prime Minister would have the wisdom to set this amendment aside. And third, pray for those who oppose Christians and other religious minorities in India – for a great changing of heart and mind, not merely the changing of laws.
We can be assured that, though believers around the world are separated by many miles, the communion we share in Christ is strong. There is no place our prayers and the strong hand of the Lord cannot reach.
