Christians Worship by Candlelight Once a year at Christmas, many of us celebrate the birth of Christ in a candlelight ceremony. We celebrate this way as a novel change from our normal worship experience. We do this, protected from rain and snow, within the warmth of a building. In India, like the early church, most believers come from the poor families. As in the early church, those who convert from the accepted religion are cast out of their families. And, as in the early church, these believers cannot afford to build a church and must worship Christ wherever they can. In eastern India, most of the small house churches have about a hundred members. Mission of Joy has built dozens of churches over the years, but the need continues to outpace our finances. But, this is not a story of lacking something. It isn’t a story of raising funds to build churches for believers in small villages—though this is certainly a need. No, this is a story of how God’s people in India are grateful to gather together no matter their circumstances. Look at the faces on the left. Worshipping in the open, they celebrate their love for Jesus with joy. Even when it rains, they are not distraught, for they know the Lord is with them in Spirit and in power. Believers in America have been a blessing to those in impoverished countries for many years. Isn’t it amazing how God uses these poor believers as an example to us? Through them we see that we don’t need all we thought we needed in order to worship the Lord. Praise the Lord for these brothers and sisters in Christ!
