Believers in Central Asia are facing some of the worst persecution in the world currently, and they need the prayers of the whole Christian family.

The first or second Sunday of November—the date depends on your church or denomination—is considered an international day of prayer for the persecuted church, and the believers in India could certainly use our prayers.

A church leader in India is helping one family find purpose and unity after their son was snared by despair and addiction.

Very little can be harder for a loving parent than seeing their child choose a self-destructive lifestyle.

For one mother and father in India, they watched in despair as their oldest son seemed to swerve deliberately away from the model they had set in their own household onto the path to indolence and addiction.

India is a land of intense spiritual darkness, but in the midst of this, God is calling out his children to light and new life.

“Shitala” in Sanskrit means “the one who cools,” and among the Hindu gods, she is believed to cure people of skin diseases and fevers, particularly children. Her day of worship comes right after Holi, the festival of love where people are called to forgive others and repair broken relationships.

After receiving an unexpected and devastating medical verdict, one party boy’s life was completely turned upside down.

Arjun’s parents were believers of God and attended a local church planted by World Challenge’s partners. They were so pious and sure that God loved them that it disgusted Arjun.

One woman’s miraculous encounter with God planted a sturdy faith in her that would withstand terrible persecution and loss.

Jahnavi’s neighbors brought her to a church that is World Challenge’s partner because she was demon possessed. Her family had ignored the issue, simply ascribing her strange behavior to a spiritual affliction from one of their thousands of gods.

Numbers of abandoned or neglected children are rising, and authorities are constricting who can help.

One man’s terrible illness becomes a story of hope to his entire village.

According to an international survey and study organization, “Diseases due to poor drinking-water access, unimproved sanitation, and poor hygiene practices cause 4.0 percent of all deaths and 5.7 percent of all disability or ill health in the world.”

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6:9 NKJV

The village would remind most of us of a maze, but one with mud walls as high as a man’s head. Only these walls are part of people’s homes.

As one woman in India learns about God, her entire village is changing. 

“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge...” (Proverbs 1:5-7a ESV).