Hindi

Background

Hindi is understood by 500 million people, of whom 80% are Hindu, with an official estimate of 2.4% Christian. The ministry of Good Books Educational Trust (GBET) began in the 1960s with the establishment of Christian bookstores. Through its partnership with Words of Hope, GBET broadened its outreach in 1978 to provide Christian radio programming and publications. Stephen Paul, Words of Hope’s Hindi broadcaster, leads GBET and now also serves as Words of Hope’s Director for South Asia. The 30-minute Hindi program is broadcast on Saturday and Sunday and includes a health segment, Bible-based message, questions-and-answers, and music. Responses are received through telephone, email, text-messaging, and postal mail. The ministry conducts personal field visits as well as ongoing Bible correspondence courses.

Ministry Updates

Outreach in India is challenging, as Hindu nationalism threatens Christian life and witness throughout the country. Back to God Ministries International (of the Christian Reformed Church) has recently joined Words of Hope and GBET in Hindi-language ministry. As the global economic downturn presents financial challenges, the recent expansion of this broadcasting partnership comes at a crucial time. The pooling of resources and expertise is facilitating ministry expansion and operational effectiveness. The Hindi program, “Mahima Ke Vachan” (Words of Glory) is effectively reaching out to a vast audience.

Listener Responses

Once I got an opportunity to listen to a message of your radio program, through which I came to know about the Lord Jesus. Really the Word of God explained by you was powerful and heart touching. That very day my life was changed and I received Jesus as my personal Savior. I want to know more about Jesus Christ.

The strength of my interest increases every time when I listen to the messages of your radio program. I want to let you know that we have a radio listeners club, in which there are many members. We listen to your radio program together with very great hunger and thirst of the Kingdom of Heaven. We get unspeakable peace in our hearts when we listen to it. Many changes have come in my life through it, and we receive many answers to our unsolved questions through its messages.