Source: Mission Frontiers, September 2025
It was springtime in India, and the local Saraswati festival was quickly approaching. A new Hindu friend had invited me to join his family’s celebration at their home for this religious holiday. Saikat had quickly become something of a local host for me, and I was grateful to be invited to his extended family’s gathering.
After everyone had eaten, I told Saikat’s father how much I enjoyed being welcomed by his family and his many relatives. He looked a bit sad as I said this, so I asked if any relative was missing. “Only my brother,” Saikat’s father replied. “Three years ago, he became a Christian. Since then, he never comes to our home or visits us on any of the holidays.”
His words impacted me deeply. Here I was, a follower of Jesus who had left my family and hometown 8,000 miles away to share about Jesus with Hindu people. Yet the Hindu family that I was trying to reach had already experienced the hoped-for miracle that someone in their family might begin to follow Christ. Unfortunately, Saikat’s uncle’s conversion had left only painful wounds for the rest of his family. The gospel of Jesus, at least how Saikat’s family understood it, had been distinctly not good news.
Read more. Pray for movements that overcome cultural obstacles and extend from one family member to the next.
This issue of Mission Frontiers also includes articles about conversion and transformation among Muslims, Buddhists, and other groups.