THE Christian Messenger has opened its first mission field in Bastar, Chhattisgarh.
At a prayer meeting in Chennai on May 19, Bro. Ashok Baghel was dedicated as the missionary to Bastar. Twenty-nine year old Baghel, a tribal from a Hindu background, accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in 1996 as a teen.
Pastor Madhavaraj, a former Blessing Youth Mission missionary in Madhya Pradesh, dedicated Baghel and Bro. Joshua of the Christian Outreach for Mission and Evangelism (COME). Joshua will be COME’s missionary in Bangalore.
Baghel will be based in Kondagaon district but work in and around Bastar district. Eventually, he would move in to Bastar to continue his work. According to the 2001 census, Kondagaon has an average literacy rate of 64 percent. Compared to this, the literacy rate in Bastar is a poor 45.48 per cent.
Baghel will spearhead Adult Literacy Programs in Bastar along with his evangelical work. He will also take up journalistic duties reporting on religious activities for The Christian Messenger.
The missionary is being sponsored by a team of people under the aegis of the Missionary Upholders Family (MUF).
At the prayer meeting, Dr. WMS Johnson, the co-ordinator of the team supporting Baghel, said he was happy to mobilize support for the missionary.
Mr. D J Chelladurai, central co-ordinator of MUF, spoke.
The Christian Messenger thanks everyone in the team (Robert Parthiban, Daniel Ranjith, Geethanjali Raghuveer, Praveena and Sobu Koshy) for coming forward to lend a helping hand to the missionary.
Baghel, the 424th missionary to be supported through MUF, will need the prayer support of the magazine’s readers and well-wishers as he begins his work in Bastar. Please uphold him and his family in your prayers.
