For the last 15 years, there exists a ray of hope for children to encounter the love of Jesus in Perambur, India.  In the midst of a community whose population is 90% Hindu, a StoryClub was started to share the Gospel in fun, engaging and experiential ways.

Sathish, being raised in a Hindu home, was just 12 when he started attending this StoryClub – that was 15 years ago.  Through the Bible stories he heard and the love being extended by the StoryClub leaders, Sathish received Jesus as Lord.  He now teaches in the same StoryClub where he came to know Jesus in a personal way 15 years ago.

Recently, it was Sathish’s turn to teach the lesson on The Cost of Following Jesus (Mt.8:18-22).  He decided to give the youth an opportunity to make a commitment to Christ and 5 of them did so!! This came as a shock to us, as the passage we were studying didn’t lend itself to anyone making commitments to Christ, rather it could have given rise to reasons why one should not follow Jesus, just show how this was of the Lord!

Sathish did something interesting during the teaching session – he divided the 14 boys and girls into two groups and asked one group to come up with reasons why one should not follow Jesus and the group to come up with reasons why one should follow Jesus. This debate was based on the passage we were studying. It was a very interesting and heated debate and so much came out from this debate. It was after this session that the 5 of them (2 boys and 3 girls) committed their lives to Christ. We’ve decided to walk closely with these 5 young people and help them grow in their faith.

The leaders of this StoryClub have also realized the need to connect with the families of the children. One of the leaders has started a meeting twice a month where he invites parents to attend and he prays and shares God’s Word with them, there are 25 parents who attend regularly.  Other leaders visit the children ’s homes to connect and pray with their parents. The parents look forward to these times and are very open.  It’s during these visits that the families are beginning to put their faith in Jesus.