VHP warn pastor from praying, Karnataka

Persecution Update India

Karwar District, 17 August 2009: Yesterday evening at about 7:00 p.m. around 3-5 VHP men barged into the home of believer Suraj (23) and argued with Rev. John Quadros accusing him of forcefully converting people in Padmanabhanagar, Karwar District, Northern Karnataka.

Rev. John Quadros is the pastor of the New Life Fellowship in Sadashivgarh. They worship in a prayer hall called Kristuval Hall. Rev. John has been ministering for the past ten years in Sadashivgarh. His church, consisting of 100 families, meets at 10:00 a.m. every Sunday.

On 16 August 2009, Suraj (23) invited Rev. John to pray for his ailing father. Suraj and his family have been following Christ for the past five years. At 5:00 in the evening Rev. John and a few other families got together and went to Suraj's house in Padmanabhanagar to pray for his father.

After praying, at about 7:00 p.m., 3-5 VHP men barged into Suraj's house and started arguing with Rev. John. They started rifling through Suraj's belongings and confiscated several books. They accused Rev. John of forceful conversion. In about 15 mins, about 10 VHP men arrived on the scene along with policemen from the Karwar Town Police Station and the local media.

The VHP men had already made a complaint with the police about Rev. John Quadros.

After the police questioned Rev. John, they did not take any action against him. Rev. John explained that he was only in Suraj's house after an invitation from him to pray. The police requested the pastor to inform them about any prayer activities in future. The VHP men also warned the pastor that if they heard of any more activities, they would surely attack him.

Please pray for the safety of Rev. John Quadros, his family and church and for the ministry.