What Is the Opportunity?

For centuries, missionaries have taken the gospel of Jesus Christ to India, beginning with the Apostle Thomas. The first Protestant missionaries to the Andhra Pradesh region came from Britain in the early nineteenth century. Today, it is thought that Christians may make up 7 percent of people in India. This equates to more than 98 million professing Christians, with the percentage of Christians thought to be higher in the southern Indian states.

Yet, with this encouraging church growth comes concern for God’s people in these regions. Persecution against Christians in India is rapidly increasing, especially against those from a Hindu background. This persecution is often inspired by government policy or local officials.

One of India’s major languages is Telugu, spoken by more than 96 million people. This language is primarily spoken in the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. There are also about one million Telugu speakers who live on the Arabian peninsula and about half a million speakers residing in the United States.

There is an urgent need to help Telugu-speaking Christians worldwide to stand fast in the faith. A targeted outreach of faithful Bible teaching can help strengthen local churches and equip Christians of all ages with trusted discipleship resources.

How Is Ligonier Meeting These Needs?

We are striving to reach Telugu-speaking pastors, laypeople, and unbelievers through the following outreach efforts:

Web and Social Media

By God’s grace, the truth of the gospel is reaching Telugu-speaking people online. Ligonier’s dedicated Telugu website, together with our Facebook and Instagram pages, is providing trusted teaching from Dr. R.C. Sproul and other gifted teachers. The website includes translated articles on topics relating to the Christian life, the Ligonier Statement on Christology, and historic Christian creeds.

The Ligonier Statement on Christology

Confusion abounds regarding Christology, the doctrine of Christ. As the church continues to grow, it is imperative that believers learn the truth of Scripture summarized in the great confessions of faith. We produced The Word Made Flesh: The Ligonier Statement on Christology to help Christians know what the church has historically taught and to provide clarity on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to distribute this statement worldwide, and it has already been translated into numerous languages, including Telugu.

Books

Growing interest in Reformed theology has sparked requests for more discipleship resources from Dr. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries. Our plans include translating and distributing the following titles from the Crucial Questions series:

• Can I Be Sure I'm Saved? by R.C. Sproul
• Who Is the Holy Spirit? by R.C. Sproul
• What Is Faith? by R.C. Sproul
• What Is the Gospel? by R.C. Sproul
• Does Prayer Change Things? by R.C. Sproul

What Is Needed?

• Translating and publishing print and digital editions of five Crucial Questions titles — $54,899 USD
• Digital outreach — $16,900 USD (annually)

Funding needs reflect quoted estimates based on November 2024 foreign exchange rates and current translation fees.

How Do Your Gifts Help?

These are only a few of our many international projects underway. We ask you to prayerfully consider supporting these efforts through your financial gifts and prayers for the Telugu-speaking and global church. By God’s grace, your generosity enables the translation, printing, and distribution of trustworthy resources, providing countless opportunities to reach people with the truth of God’s Word. You can donate here.

Our policy is to apply gifts given toward a specific program. If we receive more contributions than can be wisely used for a given project, we apply these funds to meet other pressing needs in our outreach efforts. We are committed to stewarding all gifts wisely toward the goal of proclaiming the holiness of God to as many people as possible. Ligonier Ministries is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.