March 19, 2008
Last year more than 1,000 listeners responded to broadcasts of Jivan Sandesh Ministries, an Alliance radio outreach in India. In addition, 335 people received discipleship training, and 165 couples participated in Marriage Enrichment Seminars (MES). Residents of more than 18 Indian states tune in to the station’s programs.
Jivan Sandesh radio broadcasts began in 1962 by The Alliance with the vision of reaching millions of unreached people in the state of Gujarat with the good news of Jesus Christ. Currently, there are two Gujarati and two Hindi broadcasts. “We believe that each letter we receive from a radio listener is not a piece of paper but a living soul heading toward eternity,” says the station’s Web site. “[Therefore], each person is followed up systematically to establish them [sic] in the faith. Along with the correspondence we also send spiritual literature and devotional books.”
The goal of Jivan Sandesh Ministries is to give each listener who contacts the station an opportunity to understand and respond to the gospel. In 1987, it began discipleship training to equip believers to be effective witnesses. More than 60 “discipleship training clinics” have provided training for more than 1,500 believers in the past 15 years.
In 1992, God gave the organization a vision to reach families through Marriage Enrichment Seminars. By God’s grace, this ministry has reunited many separated couples and has helped them restore the peace and joy of their family life. In the last 10 years, more than 600 couples have participated in the MES program.