Breaking Barriers: India Update
JOY: Welcome to God’s Church on the Move, the podcast that takes you to the spiritual hotspots where God is actively at work and doing the most incredible things. With me in the studio, are Ron and Charis.
RON/CHARIS: Hi Joy!
JOY: Hi, Ron. You have a special treat for us because you were recently — well, kind of recently — in India. You experienced something I think our listeners will love to hear about.
RON: It’s story time, folks. And the story today is about going on a trip into the tribal region of Odisha, which used to be known as Orissa state. When we went in there, I went in with the leader of one of the fastest and largest national church planting movements. It’s actually the largest in all of South Asia now, and it’s a marvellous organization. You would be so impressed if you ever saw it — on the ground, their humility, frugality, the way they stretch every dollar. Their purity of doctrine and lifestyle — just top of the list in many regards.
JOY: That sounds amazing.
RON: So, we went in there and they took me on a harrowing eight-hour drive through mountain passes — windy roads, climbing in the midst of torrential monsoon rain.
JOY: Harrowing paints quite the picture. You’re just being dramatic.
RON: No, no. This is real.
CHARIS: And this was the day after I got off an international flight.
JOY: So you had major jet lag.
RON: A little bit of jet lag? Full jet lag. And the young man driving wanted to prove he could race in the Indy 500 — he was going crazy. We tried to slow him down a little, but eight hours in this car — car sickness, jet lag, and everything else. But we hung on. We made it.
JOY: So what happened when you arrived?
RON: They let us off at this event. First place we went, we stopped in this village. About 150 people were gathered, and they had spread out a grey tarpaulin on the ground, all waiting for us. This entire village had accepted the Lord four months before we got there.
JOY: That’s incredible.
RON: It’s an area where they literally didn’t know this tribe existed before. The government had just put a road in and was putting up cell towers for phone service. They discovered these people. A young pastor, around 20 years old, went in, followed the road, found them, and shared the Gospel. He prayed for a woman with a huge stomach growth. He asked, “Would you like to be healed?” He prayed, and half an hour later it was gone.
JOY: Wow.
RON: The villagers wanted to know more. So they all sat on this grey tarp, and they put up one of our little crusade tents. For days, maybe 4, 5, or 6, they listened to the Gospel. All 150 accepted the Lord. We have pictures. We have absolute proof of how God opened the door through a miracle — how this young pastor sat them down and explained the Gospel. They’re growing. You should see the pictures. These people love Jesus — there’s no doubt about it. It’s heartfelt.
JOY: That’s so powerful. And that was just the beginning of your trip?
RON: Just the beginning. After about 45 minutes, we got back in with our Indy driver and headed to the next location. Still raining — well, it had stopped by that time. And it was absolutely quiet at night — peaceful. The Spirit of God is now reigning supreme in the families and the culture. The leader says, “It’s a miracle.”
JOY: A real miracle.
RON: He says people try to make laws or build human systems to lift others out of these social ills — it sometimes works. But when the Holy Spirit transforms people, lifts them, cleanses them — that’s when you get a true transformation. Now it’s a 50/50 mix of men and women. Why? Because the men are just as saved as the women. It’s a family event, a cultural shift for the entire area.
JOY: That’s a real sign of revival.
RON: He says the husbands are forming little evangelistic teams, going out to spread the Gospel in other villages. This is revival. Now, technically, revival means coming back to God — but from a Western term, because people have never seen a move of God’s Spirit like this, I just use the one word we have: revival. Technically, it’s a fresh outpouring of the Spirit. God is transforming entire communities — there’s excitement, depth, cleanliness — it’s perfect. It’s heaven on earth.
JOY: That’s amazing.
RON: That’s what they say. They say this is a touch of heaven on earth. When they have these Jesus festivals and gatherings, everything shuts down for the Christian community. They bring their friends and relatives — they want to show off what it means to be a Christian. They want to show the difference in lifestyle, in how we see life, our religious experience. They want to show how pure and good it is, compared to what they had before.
JOY: That’s powerful.
RON: These events — these Jesus festivals — they only cost about $350 to put on. And at this one, 148 people accepted Christ. Who knows how many more in the surrounding areas?
JOY: How amazing that you got to experience that.
RON: It was one of the highlights of my life. To go in there and see that — because I wasn’t expecting what I saw. I saw what people dream about. And I saw it in reality. These people were having food together. We broke caste. That’s huge in missions.
JOY: That is huge.
RON: I’d read about it for years. Everyone has tried to break caste — but now it’s happening. It’s spreading. It’s affecting politics. The government is concerned because so many people are accepting the Lord. Before COVID — before the spark that set off this revival — they estimated 2 to 3 percent of the population were born-again believers. Now they’re talking 7 to 10 percent. We don’t know how many — it’s growing that fast.
JOY: Wow. That’s amazing.
RON: It’s affecting politics now.
JOY: Thank you for sharing that. Did you know that on our website, ronpierce.org, we have podcasts, teachings, devotionals, situation reports, and so much more? For more information, please visit ronpearce.org.
