Pure and Undefiled Religion
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
–James 1:27
The country of India has more undernourished children (51 million) than the entire continent of Africa (47 million), according to UNICEF. Fifty percent of the children in India between the ages of 5 and15 are out of school due to lack of access to quality education (State of the World Children 2000, UNICEF). 11 million children live on the streets; 44 million are child laborers; and 50,000 children are abandoned in the country every year (Childhood around the World SOCI 119, Children & Society; Tulane University).
A child in the slums of India, eating scraps of food off the ground and working for pennies as a child laborer can be rescued and placed in a Christian home for children, educated, sent to Bible college, and one day plant a church. That is the plan of redemption for Vision Nationals and the passion of its founder, Dr. Arjuna Chiguluri.
Master’s Home for Children was founded to provide a permanent home, education, food, and God’s love for 140 orphaned or impoverished children who would otherwise have no hope for the future. In addition to the 140 children in the home, Vision Nationals provides education for 150 slum children, and dreams of providing permanent homes for 1,000 children in India, Thailand and Nepal.
Vision Nationals has a Bible college (Master’s College of Theology) where currently 50 students are learning the Bible, evangelism, and church planting in a four-year program that will also offer a seminary degree beginning this June.
Church planting is the heart of Vision Nationals. VN has 110 churches in their Master’s Fellowship whose pastors receive monthly financial support from VN. They have planted 324 churches. Over 1,100 pastors receive some training each year through the ministries of Vision Nationals.
Fifty widows receive funding each month from VN as a ministry to care for them according to James 1:27. Without this help, they would lack safe water, food, medicine, and proper housing.
Vision Nationals has provided free health care through medical camps and is building a Life Care Clinic that will serve thousands of poor patients who cannot afford medical treatment.
Vision Nationals has shared an informal relationship with Mars Hill ever since our church began, and we have recently investigated and approved them as an official ministry partner. All of our campuses participate in helping to fund this mission of mercy that is aggressively caring for widows and orphans, the poor, and the men who desire to get educated for church planting.
Jesus said (Luke 12:48), “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
The members and attendees of Mars Hill Church have been collectively entrusted with much wealth. Nearly half of all the inhabitants of India are below the poverty level. Our dear friend Arjuna is aggressively addressing the spiritual, economic, and educational poverty with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we are thrilled to join him as a church in this pure and undefiled religion.
