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“I found Hyderabad a place of dirks and daggers, guns and swords. I think it not an overestimate to say that half the people we met were armed, some with knives, others with swords, pistols, and guns, etc.; many with two, and some with all these weapons upon their persons. … I trust that ere long the gospel can be preached within the walls of that city of Satan.”

One hundred years later, in 1974, a young Baptist pastor named G. Samuel approached a wealthy Indian man and asked him to sell their growing congregation an acre of land in central Hyderabad, so they could build a church.

The man responded, “Me sell you land? I will shoot you!”

To which Pastor Samuel calmly replied, “I will be back in one week.”

One week later, the man called Pastor Samuel and said, “Come, take the land. My wife has become mentally ill, and I am desperate. I know God wants you to have this land.”

Today, Baptist Church Hyderabad (BCH) (pronounced “hi-der-bahd”) is home to 23,000 members, with four services in four different languages. Over the past 40 years, BCH has started 300 new churches, and the life of Christ continues to pour out of them in many other ways—through 120 daughter churches, a girls’ orphanage, a shelter for elderly women, and a vibrant youth program.

Their vision is as large as India—or larger. They’re asking God to help them build a hospital, a residential school, and an evangelism training center. They long to see Christianity rise to dominance in a country that’s currently 80 percent Hindu and 14 percent Muslim. Eventually, they desire to send missionaries throughout the world, bringing the love of Jesus to the lost.

A few years ago, God began to bind the hearts of this congregation with His people in Brentwood, Tennessee. It started when Pastor Samuel’s daughter, Sarah, moved to town, began to attend Brentwood Baptist, and “happened” to sit beside Beth Harris, wife of Brentwood Baptist Missions Minister Scott Harris.

In 2007, Scott, Sarah, and a few others traveled to Hyderabad to see first-hand God’s work in that city. The following year, a larger group made the same journey. This year, Brentwood Baptist Church has made the Baptist Church Hyderabad one of their Hope For the World Missions partners and is sending three mission journey teams there—the first of which, an eye clinic, took place in February.

Those who have traveled to Hyderabad on a mission journey still have a hard time expressing how deeply the experience has affected them.

Dick Cathey still tears up when he thinks of it: “As long as I’m on this earth, I want to go back to India, to see the joys of those who love Jesus there. We were able to visit many surrounding villages, and at each location the love of Jesus Christ was present. I’ll never forget the young pastor who walks 11 miles each way to the village where he serves. And there was an old pastor who cried, saying he had prayed for years for a church building. Today, funds from BBC have built them a building.”

Leigh Ann Swords described her own adventures on the trip through her blog (leighannswords.blogspot.com), describing how God used each team member in a unique way to bring His love to the people of Hyderabad. But more profoundly, she mentioned the ministry of those people to their group.

“We traveled about 300 miles to visit four area churches, mostly gypsy churches,” she wrote. “I was told that the gypsies are coming to know Christ faster than any other group. He is coming to the lowest of the low in society, people who have nothing, and offering His free gift of salvation.

“At every church we visited, the pastor wanted so badly to give us something. We were served coconut milk, watermelon, oranges, and grapes. It’s so hard to take from them, because it feels so unnecessary. But it means so much to them to do this for us, that we just accept it with gladness.”

This year, Leigh Ann returned to Hyderabad, along with her husband Jeff. Before she left, she wrote, “I can’t wait to get back. I can’t wait to be reunited with friends that I only spent a few days with, but who left permanent marks on my heart.”

Currently, BCH baptizes between 10 and 150 people twice each week. Prior to baptism, each person must attend a class where they are taught the meaning of baptism, share their past, and testify that Jesus is the only true God. In a predominantly Hindu country that has millions of gods, this is a radical step of faith. They’re now praying that they’ll soon need to have daily baptisms.

For example, the eye clinic team that recently returned served 877 patients from around the area who were brought in by BCH members, and gave out 480 pairs of glasses to those who needed them.

“It’s very exciting to see what God is doing and to join with this strong community of faith,” said Kim Cox, Associate Missions Minister at Brentwood Baptist, who has gone on this trip twice.

When asked why her father’s church has so many powerful and effective ministries, Sarah Samuel explained that it’s the combination of three vital priorities—prayer, fasting, and giving.

Every Friday evening, more than 500 people meet at the church to pray. Once every month, more than 700 members join in a day of corporate fasting. And, incredibly, 80 percent of the church’s budget goes to their daughter churches and outreach efforts.

The cry of Sarah’s heart is that India will become a Christian nation in her lifetime. Her brother, David, who preaches at the English-speaking service at BCH and leads their Kairos-like youth ministry, has a similar hope and faith.

Speaking recently at Brentwood Baptist, he said every devout Hindu in India has been taught to pray daily a very specific prayer: “Lead us from lies to truth. Lead us from dark to light. Lead us from death to life.”

David longs for the day when these people will have their prayer answered, and will be able to meet the One who truly is the way, the truth, and the life.