ASSAM, India (WordNews.org) July 29, 2012 – A senior Gospel for Asia mission leader who was kidnapped at gunpoint last week by five armed terrorist at a Bible school campus here has been released, Gospel for Asia confirmed.
The release comes after captors had threatened to kill Pastor Ponnachan George, who was kidnapped on July 23, if a large sum is not paid for his release.
“I talked to Pastor Ponnachan a few hours ago,” said P.P. Yohannan, founder and president of Gospel for Asia. “He simply wept for a long time, unable to say much. He thanked God and the Body of Christ for the massive fasting and prayer that took place on his behalf.”
Gospel for Asia sent out an alert earlier to supporters seeking prayer for George’s release. The mission agency has a policy of not negotiating with terrorists for money. GFA said there have been other instances and in such cases it relies “solely on prayer and fasting, reporting God bringing about miraculous releases,” the group said.
Yohannan said after kidnapping George at gunpoint, the terrorists blindfolded him and tied his hands behind his back.
“They forced him to walk for hours deep into the forest to their hideout,” he said. “Throughout Ponnachan’s entire ordeal, his captors repeatedly told him they were going to shoot him and would not spare him. He could hear them discuss their next moves and plans for demanding money, but he remained calm.”
Yohannan said at the end of his conversation he asked George what went through his mind during this experience.
“These people are known for shooting and killing in cold blood for their cause,” he responded. “I was frightened and really thought I would never be freed. I thought about my wife and young children and felt helpless. That is when I began to meditate on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I reminded myself that my leader sent me out with a one-way ticket to this mission field. The passage in Acts 20 where Paul says ‘I don’t regard my life dear to myself’ became a source of strength.”
George oversees the ministry in the Karbi Anglong region of India, which includes 26 Bridge of Hope centers educating children, three radio broadcasts in the Karbi, Assamese and Kuki languages, a Bible college, more than 200 well-established churches and about 300 missionaries.