On 18 December 2022, villagers of Maruvapalli village, Andhra Pradesh caught a Christian priest, red handed with young children who were lured into the church, despite several earlier warnings by the minor children’s parents and village elders, against unsolicited invitation. The villagers had been complaining for a while about church authorities inviting children as young as six and seven into the Church with incentives like sweets, chocolates and biscuits, luring their children into the Church for conversion activities.

The villagers, including parents of the young children, were shocked to find that the priest and his helpers were getting ready to offer “wine” to innocent minor children. This incident targeting minor children took place at the FMPB Church – a church belonging to the Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB) missionary organization. Plenty of self revealing information regarding this Christian group’s fanatic beliefs and their stated mission of “Evangelize the nation (India) with the Gospel of Jesus Christ”, is available on the missionary organization’s website.

The villagers of Maruvapalli village, Satya Sai district in Andhra Pradesh, alleged that Pastor ‘Keneth Kaniyappa’ of FMPB Church had targetted their children by offering biscuits, chocolates, and cakes in order to convert them to Christianity. The villagers had warned the Church authorities several times, not to target their innocent children for illegal conversion to Christianity through inducements. They suspected that the church was offering their children, free food and snacks and in the process forcing them to listen to stories from the Bible, mentally grooming the young ones for an eventual conversion to Christianity. The villagers appeared to be aware of the typical conversion tactics of christian missionaries via inducements of all types including free food, education, small loans and employment opportunities.

On Sunday, 18th Dec, the villagers searching for their missing children, suspected that their children were taken to the Church without their permission and consent.

With the help of VHP and Shiva Shakthi volunteers, they entered the Church and found their children in it. They also found a tray with small glasses of coloured liquid from a bottle marked “wine” that was ready to be offered to the gullible children.

They informed the local police immediately and expressed their suspicion that the church was using missionary tactics to convert their children to Christianity and if necessary, even drug them with what was labelled “wine”.

The local Police visited the spot, listened to the complaints of the residents and took samples of the “wine” for testing. However, the Police department has not yet registered a case against the church authorities as of this date, even though it has been several days since the disturbing incident, coupled with recorded video proof of overwhelming evidence that the church was indulging in predatory conversions among not just vulnerable adults but innocent young children through inducements.

There are plenty of witnesses to this case of aggressive missionary tactics, hence the villagers are disappointed by the lack of timely action on the Church by the local police department and the local politicians. The villagers are left wondering about the results of the samples of a coloured liquid specifically marked “wine” on a bottle found in the church, that was taken by the Police for further investigation. They have not yet been given updates on any laboratory tests done on the sample of the “wine”.

A few videos taken of the incident show the concern and anxiety of the villagers and their helplessness against the predatory tactics of the church members, in spite of stern warnings. The videos capture footage of young children confirming that the church invites them for free food tasty snacks and asks them to listen to Christian preachings. The children admit they go to the church for the free food but appear confused about the purpose of the teachings in the church, indicating that the church is targeting them early to take advantage of their innocence.

The video also shows the anxiety of the agitated villagers as they complain to the police with their children’s statements as evidence. Videos of angry villagers questioning the christian pastor and holding up a bottle marked “wine” are also in circulation.

On 22 December 2022, the Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), an legal activism organization fighting for rights of Dalits and tribal, filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), urging action on the church for converting minors by inducing and drugging.

“The said act of the Church is a suppression of the Right to Freedom of Religion of the children and is in contravention of Article 25 of the Constitution of India. Though the said incident is very serious in nature and attracts the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, no FIR has been registered by the police to date.With this email, we seek your kind intervention into this matter and notice to the Director General of Police, Andhra Pradesh to register FIR under relevant provisions of the law against the Church authorities.”, the complaint read.

About FMPB Church

FMPB Church is a church belonging to the Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB) missionary organization. Their stated mission of “Evangelize the nation (India) with the Gospel of Jesus Christ”.

The FMPB is a missionary movement of Indian Christians with, having established 1150 churches and over 6600 congregations.

The main emphasis of the early period was evangelization of the nation. A ten-year plan was formulated which had the following goals:

• 11 states- Jammu Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa
• 220 districts
• 440 missionaries

The information published on the missionary organization’s ( FMPB) website points to a fanatic, extremist belief that the whole nation of India needs to be converted to Christianity. It becomes clear that this missionary organization employs aggresive conversion tactics aimed not only at poor, gullible adults but at innocent children as young as six, seven years and older. It is also clear that the organization is well funded.

Excerpts from their published information on the website are disturbing, to say the least:

“FMPB has different kinds of training programs to cater to the needs of different people with a desire to grow spiritually. Church elders, women and young people are trained to grow in the Lord and to do evangelism. Local Evangelists’ Training programs are conducted with systematic methods and curriculum”., the website reveals.

The following statement speaks of their relentless, ruthless expansionist ambitions:

“Its ministry in the unreached frontiers begins with a ‘survey’ which leads to opening of mission stations in receptive areas to preach the Good News, teach the believers, plant Churches, appoint elders, raise Evangelists, train the native leaders and strengthen the Church to become self-supportive, self-governing and self-propagating. These are then integrated with the nearest mainline church bodies so as to continue the cycle of activities described above in unreached areas”.

(This article first appeared on thecommunemag.com on Dec 24, 2022 and is being republished as part of a content-sharing agreement via smart4bharat.com)