*** NEWS RELEASE ***
For Immediate Release
April 17, 2017
CONTACT:
Beth Harrison, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215.815.7716, 610.584.1096, ext. 102
Religious Liberty Falls Short in India, But The Tide®Ministry Continues to Reach New Believers
Just 2.5 Percent of India is Christian, But for Nearly 40 Years, The Tide® Global Radio Ministry Has Shared the Hope of Christ Through Radio
HARRISBURG, Pa.—Even though India has religious freedom laws, those who are not Hindu face obstacles.
According to Mission Network News (MNN), India has declared itself a secular nation, but “has failed to be non-discriminatory of any other religion besides the majority religion—Hinduism. India’s constitution prohibits religious discrimination and is supposed to emphasize legal equality of its citizens. However, there are other laws now restricting this freedom.”
MNN went on to report that at least six of the 29 state governments have implemented laws forbidding forceful conversions, while other states are considering similar measures.
Even though Christians make up only about 2.5 percent of the population in India, The Tide®(www.thetide.org) global radio ministry has reached new believers in India for nearly 40 years, telling them about the saving grace of Jesus in their own languages.
“The Tide ministry reaches people in all corners of the world with the good news of Jesus Christ,” said The Tide Director Don Shenk, “and for four decades, we’ve been impacting the people of India with the hope of Christ—even in the midst of persecution there. But, by God’s grace and power, Christianity continues to grow in this very populated country. But there are so many more who need to hear!”
Since 1978, The Tide radio ministry has been sharing the Gospel in India and currently produces radio programming in eight languages there—and in 24 languages worldwide. One man in India recently shared that he listens to The Tide program with his friends, writing, “Through your songs and messages, our lives are changed. Your message is so good that we cannot express it to you in writing.”
For more than 70 years, The Tide ministry has been sharing the saving message of Jesus Christ and has seen the Gospel’s power to bring peace and transformation around the world. With almost a quarter of the world’s population living within the current range of The Tide radio programming, and nearly 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, the opportunities are tremendous.
Later this year, The Tide ministry will offer programming in its 25th heart language—Isaan, spoken by 19 million people in Thailand. That initiative will allow Thailand to join multiple regions of Zimbabwe, India, Nigeria, Nepal, Bhutan, Albania and Kosovo, where The Tide ministry is already active in broadcasting Gospel radio programming.
For more information about The Tide projects, history, radio programs around the world, the “Have You Heard?” Campaign, the weekly Global Update radio features or other news, visit its web site atwww.thetide.org or its Facebook page. Read more about The Tide ministry and Don Shenk here.
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To schedule interviews with Don Shenk, director of The Tide global radio ministry, contact Beth Harrison, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, orDeborah Hamilton at 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102.
