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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Experience India Program Related Questions

Experience India is an exciting 4-week program brought to you by Mission India. Participants will explore the nation of India and how God is transforming lives through the efforts of local believers through a series of online videos and related educational content, as well as a series of virtual reality experiences.

During the project, you’re encouraged to collect loose change for Year Long Children’s Bible Clubs in India and make a gift at the end (or during!) of the 4-week program. Each $24 raised will help to enroll a child in India in a Year-Long Children’s Bible Club!

Sure! All you have to do is sign up for your free and you can start your adventure immediately! After you sign up, we will then send you your Adventure Pack with your virtual reality (VR) headset, coin collector and introductory booklet. It will take about two weeks for your Adventure Pack to arrive. Depending on where you live, it might take a little longer. You don’t need the Adventure Pack to enjoy all the online content, from devotions to interactive quizzes, or start learning about India.

Experience India can be adjusted to best fit your schedule. Each week, a Video Experience and a 360° Experience (4-6 minutes long) will be released, along with bonus educational content. You can choose to use/adapt the bonus educational content in a way that works best for your schedule. This bonus content will also be available online for you to access at any time.

Each Video Experience and 360° Experience in this series is approximately 4-6 minutes long, and is appropriate for all age levels, from children to adults. We encourage you to preview the videos before watching them with younger audiences.

Yes! Experience India can be completed by individuals, families, or groups. The Adventure Pack will contain everything you need to use with a group upon request; there will be one virtual reality headset provided for each individual or family registration. If you plan to do Experience India with a group of people and you’d like a large quantity of virtual reality headsets please call our office so that we can make those arrangements. You can contact us at 616-453-8855. Feel free to make copies of any of the supplemental materials that we post online during the experience as well.

Adventure Pack Questions

The Adventure Pack will include: a cardboard virtual reality headset, a coin collector, a postage-paid envelope to send in your donation, and a small booklet with information on how to use the headset and the campaign. If you prefer not to receive an Adventure Pack, there is plenty of online material to enjoy. If you choose to change your mind, we would be happy to mail you the additional materials. The 360° Experiences will still be available to watch via the YouTube app or on your desktop if you chose not to use the headset.

We will mail your Adventure Pack after you register for Experience India. You do not need your pack before you start the experience, but using the virtual reality headset will make the experience even more immersive!

Our orders are processed weekly. Unfortunately, we cannot provide tracking information. We are hearing from some participants that it can take up to two weeks for your Adventure Pack to arrive.

At this time we DO NOT ship the Adventure Packs internationally. However, you can still participate in Experience India. The Video Experiences will be available online and the 360° Experiences can be viewed using the YouTube app or on your desktop. Though you will not have a virtual reality headset you will still be able to view the videos in a 360° view on your phone or desktop.

We’re sorry the pack didn’t meet your expectations. We hope the online resources were a blessing to you. Would you be willing to share a little more about what specifically didn’t meet your expectations? This information will help us with future projects. Feel free to contact us at experienceindia@missionindia.org.

Donation-Related Questions

We are not expecting you to send the loose change in to us. We ask that you count your loose change and submit the amount as an online donation at the end of the experience. You can also send in a check for the total amount. A receipt will be issued for every gift sent in the mail of $5 or more. If you give online you will get an emailed receipt no matter the size of your gift.

There is no minimum donation amount required or expected. A gift of ANY SIZE is greatly appreciated! There is no cost or obligation to participating in Experience India. Throughout Experience India, you will be encouraged to collect loose change and to make a gift at the end (or during!) to support Year-Long Children’s Bible Clubs. $24 happens to be the amount it takes to enroll one child in a Year-Long Children’s Bible Club.

Yes, you can! You can donate online. When you give online you will receive an emailed receipt.

You may make an online donation in the amount of your loose change here. If you’d like to send a gift in through the mail, each Adventure Pack includes a postage-paid envelope that you can use to send in your gift. If you do not have this envelope, you can mail a check to:

Mission India
PO Box 141312
Grand Rapids, MI 49514-1312

Yes, a gift to Mission India will be tax-deductible (for all USA donors). You will also receive an emailed receipt for any gift amount (in US dollars) you might give online. Mailed in gifts will only receive a receipt if over $5.

Thanks so much for your question. For each dollar received, Mission India spends: 80 cents on our ministry work, 8 cents on ministry management, and 12 cents on development.

As an organization, Mission India is dedicated to equipping Indian nationals to transform their nation for Christ. In the case of our Year-Long Children’s Bible Club program, this means providing the materials for classes, and also training the teachers how to use them.

That’s what our “ministry money” goes toward. But we also emphasize reporting. When a pastor or other ministry partner in India is granted one of our programs, he/she must not only implement the program, but report back to us what happened after it wraps up. For example, when someone leads a Year-Long Children’s Bible Club, we want to know how many boys and girls attend, and how many children and their parents become followers of Jesus. Some of the expenses required in getting that information are reflected in “management” and “development” money (salaries of people whose job it is to track that information, costs of packaging that information and delivering it to our supporters, etc).

Mission India is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and abides by its recommendations.

Ministry and Partnership Questions

A Year- Long Children’s Bible Club is one of our 4 programs in India! The kids in Year-Long Bible Clubs gather for two hours a day for 52 weeks. During this time the kids sing songs, play games, get help with their homework and hear Bible stories. The Bible Club leaders are indigenous Indians that Mission India equips and trains to mentor these children. These Bible Clubs provide a caring environment for children from all backgrounds and introduce them to a loving God.

India is home to more than 444 million people under the age of 181 and many of them have never heard the name of Jesus Christ. Through Year-Long Children’s Bible Clubs the children of India have the chance to hear about Jesus in a way that will transform their lives.

There is an awesome benefit of training the local people to minister in their own communities.  The people that are trained to lead the Bible Clubs know the language, the culture, and most importantly can connect personally with the ones that they introduce to Jesus. Many times, the Bible Club leaders visit the families of kids that have received the Lord and the whole family comes to Him.  So, these relationships that have been formed often continue to grow after the Bible Clubs end.

Though you have learn mostly about Year-Long Children’s Bible Clubs during the Experience India adventure we also have 10-Day Children’s Bible Clubs. These Bible Clubs are very similar to the western world’s Vacation Bible Schools! They meet all day for two weeks, Monday through Friday, to play games, learn songs, read Scripture and learn about Jesus Christ.

Census of India, 2011

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES does Mission India tolerate forced conversions. Our ministry programs offer a helping hand to those in need because we follow Jesus’ example–out of love for the hopeless and hurting, not because we expect something in return. Unfortunately, in India today, the enemies of the Gospel often use “forced conversions” as an excuse to prohibit any sort of evangelism. Often any act of kindness directed towards the poor and under-privileged is falsely categorized as bribery.

In our Year-Long Children’s Bible Clubs, we introduce students to the Gospel, and many discover new hope in that message. Boys and girls also connect with caring, loving Christian Bible Club leaders. But whether or not someone comes to faith in Jesus Christ is left to the Holy Spirit, not us.

We look forward to seeing all that God will do in lives through the Experience India adventure series –both here and in India! Please keep us in your prayers and tell your friends. One of the greatest ways you can partner with us is to send your friends and family to sign up for Experience India themselves! We are hoping that God will awaken hearts to the great need in India and that everyone will see what a tremendous difference they can make.

We have LOTS of opportunities for partnership with what God is doing in India.  We focus on three ministries in India that have proven very successful: Children’s Bible Clubs, Adult Literacy, and Church Planting. These programs have specific opportunities for sponsorship as well. You can learn more about our programs here!

We have many resources that we could share with you depending on your goals and needs. Perhaps, a telephone call at 1-616-453-8855 or a visit to the Mission India website would be most helpful to start. We can direct you to resources specifically according to your needs.

There is also an opportunity to join our Momentum program! You can join a community of people around the world making Jesus know in India through monthly giving to any of our three programs. Click here if you’d like to learn more.

Virtual Reality and Tech Questions

Each week’s experience is released at a specific time in order to help guide the experience. You may still see each week appear on the website, but you will not be able to access it until it has been released with its corresponding week of content. When a new week kicks off and its videos are released, you’ll receive an email notifying you that new resources are available.

If you are using Internet Explorer (especially outdated versions), it is not often compatible with updated video software. Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are two good options to try. If they are not already on your computer they are free to download and easy to install. If trying these solutions does not help fix your problem, please contact us by phone at 1-616-453-8855 or email experienceindia@missionindia.org and we’ll try and resolve the issue.

The easiest answer is that virtual reality “tricks” your brain into thinking you’re someplace else. A virtual reality headset shows you an image, and when you move your head, the device modifies the image to make it appear as if you’re actually inside a different environment that moves with you. This allows you to take an active role in the video!

The virtual reality experiences that accompany this project allow for an audio and visual 360° Experience of India. You open the YouTube app with the video on your smartphone, then fit it into a cardboard headset and then position the headset against your forehead. We strongly suggest while watching the 360° Experiences you remain seated, preferable in a chair that swivels, allowing for a total 360° Experience.

A virtual reality headset is what you use to enter virtual reality. They are lightweight cardboard or plastic devices that you place over your eyes or fits on your head with a strap. A mobile virtual reality headset works with a smartphone. You just pull up your favorite virtual reality app, lock your smartphone in the headset, put it on your head and start enjoying.

A few precautions: You should ALWAYS stay seated while watching the virtual reality experiences to avoid falling, or colliding with objects or people. We also suggest parental supervision for children under the age of 13. Once you have the virtual reality headset on, orient yourself to the room. Be sure to stick to short sessions until you know how you’re affected by virtual reality. Virtual reality is NOT meant to be watched for long periods of time, you should only watch the videos for 15 minutes at most. If you are prone to dizziness or seizures we recommend that you proceed with caution.

Not often. Today’s technology has advanced to a smoother experience, allowing viewers to enjoy virtual reality without worry. However, if you are prone to motion sickness, we recommend you start slow and test your response to the videos. If you’re feeling sick to your stomach, dizzy, drained, or sad, angry, or anxious — give it a rest for a while.

Yes! We are happy to inform you these fit comfortably over most eyewear. We suggest you view the virtual reality in a safe environment, away from things you could potentially bump into, to safeguard against eye injuries.

Yes, the virtual reality headset fits most standard sized phones. Larger devices or tablets will not fit within the cardboard case.

The Video Experiences are available on the website as they are released. You can view these videos through your browser. The virtual reality experiences are found through the YouTube app or the Vimeo website. If you access the virtual reality experiences through the Vimeo website on your desktop you will be able to participate in the 360° Experience. While this does not give you the full immersive experience, by using your mouse you can explore India from all angles!

You will need to go into the Google Play Store or the Apple Store on your smartphone to download the YouTube app. The app is free.

In order to have enough storage to download the app and the 360° Experiences you will have to make space on your phone. This could mean deleting applications installed on your device or removing any photos and videos you’ve taken. If you are having storage issues, we also suggest deleting the last Experience India virtual reality experience before downloading the next one. If the issue persists, you may have to buy more storage for your phone.

In order to download the videos, you will need to have internet access. If you do not have internet access, cellular data may be used. Once the videos are downloaded to your device, internet access is no longer necessary.

Please note: Mission India is not responsible for any data charges to your cellular bill.

Once the content has been released, it will continue to remain available for the foreseeable future on the YouTube app; therefore, you can watch the virtual reality experience as many times as you would like! We are so glad you liked the virtual reality enough to want to show it to your family and friends. You are more than welcome to share this content. Even better: invite your friends to sign up for Experience India, too!

It would depend on the frequency of use and care. The headset is made of a really sturdy cardboard. If proper care is taken when using the headset it will last through the duration of the program and most likely a bit longer. The more careful you are with the headset the longer it will last!

After this program has ended, you are free to utilize the headset however you like! You may watch the virtual reality experiences as many times as you like. Feel free to share the virtual reality experience with your friends, family or church! There are plenty of other virtual reality experiences not related to Mission India, online for you to enjoy, as well as apps and games. Additionally, these headsets are recyclable. They are made out of cardboard and can be placed in your recycling bin or taken to your nearest recycling facility.

Each week there will be a password shared with you that will allow you to access that week’s content. You will receive this password in your weekly Experience India email on Monday. Each week there will be a different password, so you’ll want to make sure that you have the correct one for that week. If you still have issues accessing the content please email us at experienceindia@missionindia.org