Holistic Impact in Adult Literacy Classes
Oftentimes, people won’t care about how you can meet their spiritual needs until you make an effort to meet their physical needs. In fact, it’s the way Jesus approached ministry—healing sickness and feeding thousands right before He proclaimed salvation for the broken and freedom for the captive.
In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Mission India focuses on the holistic change of those we serve, just like Jesus did, so that people in India can look forward to eternity and live “life…to the full” here on earth. This integrated impact is seen in all of our programs, but especially in Adult Literacy Classes.
Imagine you are a hard-working farmer in remote village in India. Your community doesn’t have access to public transportation or Wi-Fi. Modern advances for learning are not available to you. Even if they were, you barely have enough money to cover food and housing for your family. There is no excess, which means there is no opportunity.
But then you hear that a local Christian pastor is facilitating an Adult Literacy Class for people like you. Why would he do something like this? “There must be a catch,” you think to yourself. As you learn more about the opportunity, you find there is no catch—the class is offered out of the goodness of local Christians’ hearts. So, you enroll in the Literacy Class and experience more than you thought possible.
You learn to read and write, and these new skills open up a world of opportunities for you. Then a health training is offered through the Literacy Class, teaching you about things like germs and how to keep your family from getting sick. The information is nothing you’ve ever thought about before! You start implementing these lessons immediately, and your children stay healthy for longer stretches of time. This means they have more time in school and better energy to play with friends.
After that comes an entrepreneurship training, which teaches you to skills to increase income for your family. Before, you never had enough. Now, you have what you need to build a future.
Just then, the Adult Literacy teacher tells you about a better Teacher—a man named Jesus. You think of all you have learned over the last several months, and you can’t believe that Jesus would offer more abundance than this! You hear that Jesus doesn’t just offer hope for this life; He also promises salvation for those who will receive His love. You wouldn’t have believed it one year ago, but the journey you have taken with the Literacy Class proves that anything is possible. If a poor farmer with no resources can change her life, a Teacher named Jesus can save your soul.
This is the integrated impact of Adult Literacy Classes. They provide more than an education; they make a path for people to experience holistic change for generations to come.
