Delhi Bible Institute was established over 40 years ago to train Indian church leaders. After 20 years, having trained 500 men, DBI changed to focus on Northern India, where half India’s population live, but where only a tiny percentage of people are Christians (most of India’s 4% that are Christians live in South India).
They also changed to work with semi-educated Christians rather than setting entry criteria of high school qualifications, and set a target of training 4000 in the next 20 year period. They trained 4078. The 2005-2025 vision is to train 30,000 church planters and plant 15,000 new churches in Northern India.
This strategy recognises three types of leaders, Type 1 – small group leaders – usually volunteers, Type 2 – self-supporting local supervisors who oversee the type 1 leaders, Type 3 – full time local leaders, who devote most or all of their time to the work of Christian leadership.
They have developed an asharam model of discipleship, based on successful Hindu models in India. The people trained at Delhi Bible Institute go and live in rural villages in the north, often with very little themselves. The initial focus was on sharing the gospel and church planting but the emphasis has changed to include establishing projects to offer opportunities for health, education and employment
The aim of these projects was to build a bridge for the gospel, but it became clear with the first medical clinic that the Christian workers themselves desperately need the health and employment opportunities these projects offer. A pilot sewing centre and medical clinic in a slum have been running in Dehradun that has shown that this model can help families. Another sewing centre is planned in Lucknow. Dehradun and Lucknow are two of five resource centres set up by DBI to provide training and support for the rural areas around.
They plan to establish 12 centres by 2025. Terry went up to Dehradun and talked with four women, one leading the sewing centre, one leading the health clinic in a slum there and two sisters who are being trained in sewing. It was moving to hear how the two sisters see this sewing centre as their hope for the future. One hoped to help set up other centre somewhere 
else and help her family out of the poverty that meant she narrowly escaped being sold into prostitution. The other sister dreamed of earning a living through sewing to be able to finish her high school qualifications and apply to train as a nurse.
She was inspired by the leader of the medical clinic who was a trained nurse. They were so excited by these two possibilities they saw available to them, and I was struck by how rich we are in New Zealand in our children’s choices for their futures – as well as so many other ways.
We can work with DBI by
- praying.
- supporting a specific development activity e.g. sewing centre.
- supporting the training initiatives – costs range from $25 to $2000 per person, depending on the leader type.
More information on DBI is available at http://www.delhibible.org/
