August 3, 2026
The Tide launches vocational training centers to transform opportunities for young women in India
The Tide ministry’s boots on the ground equip women to learn an in-demand skill, gaining the means to provide much-needed income for themselves and their families
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Today, India is recognized as one of the most inclusive financial systems in the world, due to the transformation of access to finance over the past decade. However, for the country’s female population in less economically developed rural villages, they remain on the margins of meaningful financial engagement.
The Tide® (www.thetide.org), a global media ministry that has been using radio broadcasts to share the Gospel throughout India, is paving the way for young women to generate financial success.
In two villages in India where The Tide and its partners are working to share the Gospel, the ministry has opened the doors to create financial stability for young women by establishing two tailoring (sewing) training centers. This is through skills training and certification for an initial group of about 20 young ladies who come from The Tide’s partner-run hostels that provide housing for students.
“When Christians think about the kind of earthly ministry Jesus led, His love and care for the whole person is undeniable,” said Don Shenk, Executive Director of The Tide. “The tailoring training centers in India create opportunities to imitate Jesus’ love and share it with others in both practical and spiritual ways.”
The Tide’s Good News Hour recently inaugurated two training centers that offer high school and college-age girls the opportunity to learn an in-demand skill, earn a certificate, and gain the means to provide much-needed income for themselves and their families. Students who complete the course are awarded a certificate and a sewing machine of their own, empowering them to either do piecework from home or open their own shop.
“Through these training centers, it is our hope that women not only take away marketable skills to provide income, but take with them an everlasting faith in Jesus and a greater appreciation for the many blessings he bestows upon us,” said Shenk. “The Lord has placed us in this incredibly strategic position, and we are honored to take part in the work of bringing the hope found in the Gospel to the nations.”
For The Tide, reaching women with the love of Christ, while helping them achieve financial independence, is part of a mission that has endured for almost 50 years.
Since 1978, the ministry has been present in India, growing from a single Hindi-language program to broadcasts in nine Indian languages produced by indigenous ministers in local studios — ensuring the message resonates in the heart language of each listener. In an effort to reach millions in a country with vast cultural and religious diversity, The Tide’s ministry in India is further strengthened by a full ecosystem of discipleship activities: literature distribution, Bible correspondence courses, seekers conferences and the “Radios for India” distribution project. Through this combination of outreach and follow-up, The Tide has seen great success in planting churches and nurturing new believers, especially in unreached regions.
“In a nation with over 1.2 billion people who have yet to know the Lord, The Tide’s ministry in India is far from over,” said Don Shenk. “We are grateful for our faithful partners and supporters who enable us to persevere in planting seeds of eternal hope where the need is greatest.”
To learn more about The Tide’s tailoring training centers in India, click here.
From its humble origins in 1946 as a local Gospel radio broadcast in Chambersburg, PA, The Tide® ministry has grown into a global network of Christian media broadcasting partnerships committed to worldwide evangelism and discipleship. In 2008, The Tide® ministry ended all English-language programming in order to focus on developing and distributing indigenous heart-language content in areas around the world that are less touched by the Gospel. Today, The Tide® ministry works with partners in multiple countries across three continents to broadcast Gospel-centered messages via radio, satellite TV and other media. In order to make disciples and plant churches, The Tide® ministry also provides resources for literature distribution, correspondence courses, discipleship and leadership training activities, and the distribution of radios and media players.
For more information about The Tide® ministry broadcast projects, history, radio programs around the world, special year-long campaigns, the weekly Global Update radio features or other news, visit its website at www.thetide.org or its Facebook page.
###
To schedule interviews with Don Shenk, director of The Tide® global radio ministry, contact Hamilton Strategies, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.
To inquire about airing any of The Tide® ministry radio broadcasts, contact Michael Hamilton, 610.584.1096, ext. 101.
