A South Carolina-based couple recently launched a groundbreaking missionary project in India.
Fred and Madeleine van Klingeren, shown here during a recent trip to Aimol, hope to begin providing the Bible in audio form to more than 2 million people in northeast India.Fred and Madeleine van Klingeren, founders of Building Hope Together Ministries (BHTM), hosted several religious conferences in January and February in northeast India designed to jumpstart an effort to provide the Bible in audio form to more than 2 million people.
Their visit was highlighted by a visit to Aimol, a small community in the state of Manipur, which has been off-limits to foreigners since 1958.
The Van Klingerens have served as long-term missionaries to Romania through BHTM – a non-profit organization founded in 2000 and incorporated in 2002 through the auspices of Tucapau Church in Startex.
The couple are citizens of the Netherlands, but have a home in Myrtle Beach and are members at Tucapau Church. They have spent much of their time during the past several years on mission trips to Europe.
The primary goal of their recent two-month journey was to establish an audio Bible project aimed at reaching people in the largely Hindu communities of northeast India. Government statistics indicate 52 percent of the residents cannot read or write. BHTM will target both the literate and illiterate in helping them understand the Scriptures in their native languages. The couple also wants to open a Christian school to teach reading and writing.
The audio project was conceived two years ago when the Van Klingerens were visiting Carl Frohlich, a member of Salzburg Baptist Church in Austria, who routinely stands at the corner of a bridge handing out gospel tracts printed in more than 100 languages. Through Frohlich, they met a young man who asked them to pray about ministering to his family and friends in India.
“We had not thought about India,” Madeleine said, “but the Lord spoke to our hearts.”
The couple traveled to Impal, the capital of Manipur, on Jan. 18, where they were overwhelmed by an excessive military presence. “We saw them on the streets with big guns ready to shoot,” Madeleine said. “At the conferences, and even at our hotels, we had full-armored police or military protection. We could never go alone anyplace.”
Nonetheless, the conferences were a success. A four-day session in Aimol attracted about 3,000 people on the second night and swelled to approximately 6,000 by the time it concluded.
“Many people came to know the Lord,” said Madeleine. “It was tremendous to see all those people hungry for God’s word.”
The state of Manipur has 33 different languages and about 1,600 regional dialects, making it difficult to witness to the masses. One of the key components of the project includes hiring at least three multilingual people (two men and one woman) with clear voices, recommended by a church or association, whose lives have been transformed by Christ.
Other elements include establishing a safe place to conduct the recordings (at least 50,000 copies to begin with), having a reliable plan for local churches to distribute the free CDs and audio cassettes, and making equipment available for the presentations. Local churches in the region will also conduct group hearings three to six times a week.
“We are praying for the Baptist Association of 80 churches,” said Madeleine. “They would like to have an affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention, if possible.”
The Van Klingerens’ faith-based ministry operates on a yearly budget of $20,000. When in the U.S., they travel throughout the Carolinas, sharing about their ministry, in hopes of encouraging additional support. For information, visit www.bhtministries.org.