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THE STATE OF TRAINING
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
25+ YEARS AS A MISSIONARY
By Thomas Kane
After a major military operation, an after-
action report shows successes and failures and
shows where improvements are needed. If we
consider the evangelization of India as a major
operation, then we should be able to look back
and see successes and failures and to see where
improvements are needed. The concentration
of this article is on India and an unnamed
country but should have application across
Southeast Asia (SEA).

There are many Bible institutes, colleges, and
seminaries across India and the unnamed
country. Many provide a free education with
no cost to the students for tuition, books, food,
and housing. Surely, this type of evangelization
operation should show great success.

This is the big picture, the strategic picture, but
we also need to look at the tactical situation
as well. This is where the individual fights the
battle. The Strategic Situation
(A view of missions from an overall perspective)
The history of Christianity in India begins in
52 A.D. when the Apostle Thomas is believed
to have arrived in the country. For the purpose
of this article, we will start in 1881 and move
forward. The percentage of the population that was
Christian in India in 1881 was 0.7 percent.

The chart below shows the percentage of the
Christian population in India up to 2021 and
is based on each subsequent ten-year census.

Two and three-tenths percent of the current
population of India equates to around 32
million Christians in India. As a comparison,
in the United States around 45 percent of
the population claims to be Christian (167
million). In contrast to the percentage of
Christians, Hindus make up 80 percent of the
population and Muslims make up 14 percent
of the population.

These percentages tell part of the story but there
are other factors that explain more about the
static and declining numbers. Many Christians
in India hold beliefs and engage in practices
not traditionally linked with Christianity.

The Percentage of Christians in India who
1. believe in Karma (the belief in fate) is 54%;
2. believe in the Ganges River (its purifying
power) is 32 percent;
% of Christian Population in this Area
16