Gospel for Asia Hopes to Win Souls Through New Christian TV Network
by Allie Martin
November 3, 2005
(AgapePress) - - Preparations are being made for next year's launch of an evangelical Christian television network based in India. The network, called Yathra TV or "Spiritual Journey," is being spearheaded by Gospel for Asia (GFA), a ministry that trains and equips native missionaries to share the gospel. K.P. Yohannan is the founder and president of Gospel for Asia, a ministry involved in evangelism and church planting in the unreached regions of Asia. He says Yathra TV was developed to fulfill a need for solid, biblical teaching on television throughout India as well as other Asian countries.
Yohannan feels much of the Christian radio and television programs reaching the Indian audience have not been helpful in winning souls for Christ. "And our goal is not to attack anybody," he says, "but rather to present Jesus of the New Testament and teach what is in the Bible, hoping that many will hear the gospel and turn to the Lord."
But far too often, the ministry spokesman notes, many so-called evangelical broadcasts focus more on solicitation than salvation. "None of the disciples do you see anywhere going around with a banner saying, 'I'm going to heal all the people -- come and give me money.' Jesus never collected money from people that He ministered to," Yohannan says.
The head of GFA says one of the saddest things he sees happening right now is that some unbiblical American preachers who are appearing on U.S.-based Christian stations in India "are really causing huge damage in terms of Christian worldview." In many instances, he says, "People have no understanding of what Jesus is all about because of what they are doing in these American churches -- screaming and turning around and talking about all these things."
By failing to teach people from scripture, Yohannan points out, many of these TV preachers appearing on Indian television obscure the distinctiveness of the gospel for unsaved viewers. "A lot of stuff they are doing is what is happening in the Hindu temples also," he notes.
As an outreach of Gospel for Asia, Yathra TV will soon be bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to more than 100 nations throughout Asia, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. Yohannan says the new network will begin broadcasting in March.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
