How One Man Is Rescuing Children from Sex Slavery and Giving the Word of God to Thousands

Hungry for the Word of God

In 2023, Amir¹ and his team distributed 700,000 Bibles throughout India. Some of these were sold at discounted prices to those who could afford them, while others were distributed freely—many given through Crossway’s One Million Bibles Initiative. But Amir is just getting started. With a population of more than 1.4 billion people in India—a majority of these Hindus—he’s skimming the surface of the need. “Even if I have one million or two million Bibles, I can easily distribute them, especially among new believers who have come to know Christ. . . . They are hungry to read God’s Word.”

Each year, Amir seeks to spread the good news by faithfully distributing as many Bibles as possible. Bible distribution of this scale isn’t what Amir had planned to do, though. As it almost always happens, he had other plans to use his giftings for the Lord. But God literally opened the door of Amir’s home to a different form of ministry work.

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Answer the Knock

If someone came to your home and knocked on your door to ask if you would take in two recently abandoned girls who would otherwise end up in sex trafficking, what would you do? And if you chose to open your home to these two girls, what would you do if that number turned into 30 children, and then 2,000? Amir and his wife didn’t plan to start a ministry, and especially not in this way, but what else do you do, Amir recounts, if the Lord starts by simply bringing two girls to your doorstep?

One day a local pastor brought two girls, nine and seven years old, to our home and asked if my wife and I would be willing to take care of them. They had been left on the streets of Chennai that day by their own father because he could not feed, take care of, and send all five of his daughters to school. These two girls were chosen to be left on the streets, their father hoping they could beg for something to eat and somehow survive. The pastor saw this happen and brought them to our home. He brought them to us because he had heard me say to him before that we have a heart for children. I had before agreed with my wife that, “as and when the Lord enables us, we will take care of up to 16 children.” This number my wife and I chose because of a family who had blessed me during my childhood by taking me—and 15 others— in when my family couldn’t provide for me.

At the time this pastor brought these two girls to our home, my wife and I were both working full time and our children were in college. It honestly wasn’t ideal timing. “Besides,” I said to the pastor, “we have no organization, no staff, and no specific funding for this.” But at the same time, we knew if these girls were left on the streets of Chennai, they would soon be sold into sex trafficking. So we decided to take care of those two girls in our home. My wife resigned from her job to take care of them, but I said to her, “we don’t have to register an organization or start a ministry. Even if we end up with 16 children, we can take care of them.”

And by the end of the first year after the pastor knocked on our door, we had 16 children living with us. And by the end of second year, we had 30 children in our home. It was at that point I realized that I needed to resign from my job to go full time into this ministry that had been brought to our home. And today we have nearly 2,000 children under the care of our orphanage ministry.

Through the platform the Lord has given Amir and his wife in this orphanage, this couple has extended their reach to include a school for orphans and other under-priviledged children in the community, a skills training institute, a church planting training program, and even Bible distribution throughout the country. Having trouble wrapping your mind around all of that? Amir himself admits that there are many things happening. Ultimately, all of these components to the ministry matter because each of them provides another opportunity for the gospel to be proclaimed and go out beyond their direct ministry influence. The Lord has allowed this work to prevail and the good news to go forth, especially through the distribution of his Word. And all this despite the devil putting up roadblocks wherever possible.

Worth the Cost

Amir and his wife not only have a heart for supporting orphans, but also for those who don’t have access to Scripture. Indeed, his ministry constantly encounters opportunities for Bible distribution. By God’s grace he’s even distributed 700,000 Bibles in one year in India. But this isn’t without risk, as India is a country strongly controlled by a Hindu government, and Amir has thus received the attention of the authorities. “Last year, both my wife and I were under house arrest for three days. Persecution is real in India. Many Christian workers are being killed, and we are constantly under supervision.” In God’s grace he has brought Amir and his ministry team through trials and allows them to continue to distribute Bibles and care for those in need throughout the country. Because even though the risks are high, the eternal reward is higher. Amir’s son, who is also deeply invested in the ministry, sees life change happening through God’s Word alone.

Access to the Bible transforms people’s lives. . . . I’ve known people who have come to know Christ just by reading the Word of God. I’ve known people who have received a Bible and had no previous understanding of the gospel—nobody has preached the gospel to them! They’ve just read the Bible and through it have come to know Christ. It can turn people’s lives completely around.

These instances provide the reason Amir needs to continue to do this work, even when it could cost him his life. He lives and serves in a country where 95.5% of the population—over 1.3 billion people—are considered to be unreached with the gospel². If God’s Word isn’t made available, how will these people hear and the eyes of their hearts be opened to the truth?

This is why Crossway partners with ministries like Amir’s. Through the One Million Bibles Initiative, donors have provided Bibles for this and other ministry work in India and throughout the Global South—to people who may have otherwise never owned a personal copy of the Bible.

Today, people may not realize the need and the value and the hunger for Bibles in places like India, because you in the States can generally afford to buy one. But in India, there are thousands of people who can’t afford one. And if they want to buy one, they may not find one easily available to them. I come across pastors all the time who have new believers in their congregation who came to know Christ from a Hindu or Muslim background and are longing to read the Bible.

Between now and December 31, we are seeking to raise support for the final 125,000 Bibles to complete the One Million Bibles Initiative. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us to make it possible for more believers to have the opportunity to read God’s Word for the first time, and open the door for hearts to be saved?

Please pray for the Lord’s hand of blessing and protection over Amir’s ministry, and that they would remain faithful despite the government’s watchful eye.

Praise God for the Bibles that have been distributed through Amir’s ministry. Pray for heart change among those who read God’s Word, and for strength to hold fast to the gospel even when that may mean forsaking family and friends.