Vipur grew up in a Hindu family in India, but he came to know Jesus through a dear friend who prayed for him when he was sick. God’s truth broke through to his heart and he was baptized—stepping away from his Hindu background.
Today, Vipur serves God in his village by discipling new Christians and leading others to Jesus through a network of house churches.
But believers like Vipur are greatly opposed by the Hindus in the area. They’ve threatened his family, spread rumors about him and one night they attacked Vipur on the way home from a house-church meeting.
“Someone was waiting for me in the bush,” Vipur recalls. “He must have been watching me.” It turned out to be more than just one person in the bushes—it was an angry mob. They beat him so badly he nearly lost his life. Vipur’s wife rushed him to a nearby hospital, but it was poorly equipped to care for his critical needs.
But through your support, a local partner with Open Doors heard about Vipur’s trouble and took him to a better hospital, paid his medical bills and provided vital encouragement.
“If you, as a supporter, had not enabled them to help me, my house churches would not have had a pastor, my wife would have lost her husband and my children their father. I’m alive thanks to your prayers and support,” Vipur shares.
Spiritually, this has been a very difficult season for Vipur, but he is resilient. “Despite my injuries, I have not thought about quitting the ministry or leaving my village,” Vipur says. “God leads me. I feel physically weak, but He makes me strong. Besides, I cannot run. Wherever I go, persecution waits for me—it’s part of Christian life in India.”
Vipur is a courageous believer. In the face of violent persecution, he returns to Scripture for encouragement. “I firmly believe what the Apostle Peter writes in his first letter: ‘It’s good to suffer for the Lord.’ ”
