aranatha Volunteers International (MVI) is approaching its 750th church to be constructed in India since beginning work in the country in 1998. Based on the maximum capacity of each church design, the effort has yielded approximately 250,000 additional seats for the Adventist Church membership in India.
In 1998 the Southern Asia Division had a reported 225,000 members. Today, Ron Watts, president of the Southern Asia Division, estimates that the numbers reach 825,000.
"We have 3,000 congregations that are meeting without a house of worship, meeting under the trees or meeting in the street," says Watts. "And they feel disgraced by this; they feel they're living in dishonor. . . . When we visit villages, they don't ask for the other things. The one thing they ask for is 'Please help us to have a place where we can worship God.' " --Maranatha Matters/AR
