Ministering Across India’s Caste System: Foot Washing, Honor, and Gospel Identity

After some quick State of the Union takes Sean interviews Nitin and Jit from India about their ministry in the context of India’s caste system, explaining the Hindu belief that people are created into fixed castes that cannot be changed and how this shapes ministry. Nitin describes beginning work among poor, oppressed groups and intentionally learning their belief systems, culture, leadership, oral traditions, and worship practices to bridge the gospel, leading to outreach among 43 people groups in 13 languages and transformed lives. They highlight foot washing as a core biblical strategy, helping people heal from caste-based shame and recover God-given identity as children of the Lord. The ministry also emphasizes honoring people through acts like foot washing, shawls, and garlands to communicate love and acceptance without discrimination, and it has begun bearing fruit among high-caste Brahman religious leaders.

00:00 Meet Nitin and Jit

16:50 Understanding the Caste System

17:47 Starting with the Poor

18:28 Bridging Gospel and Culture

19:07 Foot Washing as Strategy

19:42 Restoring Identity and Healing

20:36 Honor and Radical Welcome

21:29 Reaching Brahman Leaders

22:01 Gurus Respond to the Gospel

22:10 Closing Thoughts

Transcript of Interview:

I'm here with Nitin and Jit from India, our good friends who are such a blessing and have been with us. We're very grateful. Thanks for being with us. Thank you, Nitin. We'll start with you. You guys have a very unique ministry in India and it's a very different place to minister. Can you start by explaining a little bit of the cast system, because it really instructs a lot how you do ministry.

Tell us a little bit about the caste system and how it works. Thank you for asking that question. India, we have caste system. Most of the Hindus believe in the caste system. The creator God Brahma, created Braman pri from his head, from one shoulder came warriors and kings and another shoulder business people from his belly created commoner from one feet tribal and from another feed untouchable.

This is the caste system of India. The creator, God, sit at this cast in creation. So you cannot change your cast no matter how much education you may have, no matter how much wealth you have. You born and die in same cost and that shapes a whole lot of the limitations of ministry. You guys have done some really interesting things now, when you began, your ministry specifically began as a ministry to the poor.

To that, those untouchables, that lower caste how did you start ministry there? 'cause you now have a lot of places. You guys have really grown and ministering, planted churches. How? Did you start with the poor and why did you start there? Poor people in India, they are suppressed by the caste system.

They don't have a whole lot with them. And we want gospel to penetrate their heart, change their identity, their worldview, and they may see the creator God his plan for their life and purpose for their life. And so we began with the premature tribe and reached, started working with them. The way we minister to them, understand the belief system, their culture, leadership structure, their oral tradition, their musical instrument, the date is the worship, and then try to bridge gospel with them and God bless us to reach out 43 different people group and 13 different languages.

And they are responding to the gospel. Their life is transformed by the power of gospel and they see hope in their situation. Yeah. One of the things you guys do that is so compelling, and I think in your setting because of the caste system, it's really deeply significant. You've carried the biblical practice of foot washing.

And it's not just a thing you do as a ceremony. It's a major strategy. And when you stop and think about the caste system and the inherent humility and the foot washing it, it makes such sense. Tell a little bit about why you do that and how that has impacted your ministry. A two lead person know what is the worth of that person because.

System stolen, God-given identity, and they always looked down upon those people. And in biblical bill system, when Jesus washed in John 13 disciple feet and he commanded all of us to wash other people's feet. We felt that God is telling us to wash the people's feet so that he can take all the unshared pain they carry in their life because of the caste system, and they get a true identity in the Lord and they understand the way God view them and accept that standard, not the standard of which people look upon them.

And so God is. Shaping their life, transforming their heart, but giving them new identity. They are the children of the Lord who deeply care for them, and he has destiny for them in heaven With him, y you have a unique emphasis on honor. Your ministry, it's very humbling to go and minister with you guys.

It's wonderful. But you very much show honor to your guests and honor to the people there. What is happening there and why are you doing that so intentionally because we wanted to see that different kind of law, a uniqueness in the, when you are Christian and love by Christian, it is a deep need in the community to beside food and shelter.

The biggest need of any human being is loved and cared by. They are significant people in the community. And we want to wash their feet, give them shawl, give them garland so that they feel that they're precious in the sight of the Lord, and they're accepted without g creed, color, and any discrimination.

And you feel that, yes, you feel that there's such a neat spirit. One of the things that is interesting because of the caste system, many people, because there's such need among the poor, many people administered the poor. We all are familiar with the ministry of Mother Teresa and her ministry.

You've done something rather. Unique though, and my first exposure to it was when we were with you a couple years ago, it's your ministry to the religious leaders who are of the Brahman cast, that's the highest cast. And you're seeing some amazing fruit of the gospel and using the Lord's Prayer among that cast.

Tell us a little bit about that. God started working among these Brahman gurus. These Brahman gurus came from very rich background. Having knowledge. Their PhDs, they have so much wealth under them. Many run hospitals, schools, and thousands of people touching their feet every day to seek their blessing.

But God reveling to them in the dreams, one of the guru God dream, three days in the row that he is one step away from burning hell. That terrified him because of the dream, and he understood that wealth. The knowledge is not going to save his soul, right? So he left barefooted from his temple and we found him, and he's working with us right now.

Through him. We started with working with other Brahmans and we found many Brahman gurus coming to know the Lord and they understand the repercussion of the caste system on people's life, the way people were ated in the system, how they were suppressed down and stolen, the God-given identity. Now they are washing the feet of Dali.

Tribal and untouchable, and they are sharing gospel to their own community. The saving grace has a power. God Gospel has a power to transform different community, and we unite India together in the body of Christ. So we can see that India is separated by the language, by the caste system, but the gospel is uniting people together.

Yeah. And we will see India coming together in the body of Christ. That is so powerful. And for us here, it's hard for us to envision. The impact of a Brahman guru washing the feet of someone from the untouchable cast. And so it, it's just very impactful to see that. And you've seen numerous of these gurus for our audience tell, just gimme a minute or less on what a guru is so they understand.

It's mo we think of gurus. That's a kind of foreign topic the way we say it. This is Ajit. Ajit. Why don't you tell us that gurus in our context are the leaders. Teachers, so they are the one who gave spiritual teachings and insights for their followers. Okay. So in the Brahman cast, you said they believe in one overall creator.

Is that correct? One overall creator. So the Christian faith is a little easier for them to understand the one creator through Jesus Christ if we see and understand each person's soul. Needs a savior, right? Whether we go in any religion, the ultimate thing is like the soul needs a savior. And that's a spiritual hunger.

Yeah. That's a spiritual destiny. And when we look at that, there can be only one savior. Yeah. One destination. And that's where we come alongside and say that there is a savior. Will help you fulfill your destiny to reach your greater God. Right Now, some of the things you guys have done have made some of the church people a little uncomfortable 'cause it's outside the box.

This is definitely not normal missions work. Talk about that a little bit. We have seen, we sometime we have critical view. If somebody become a Christian, he should be clothing like us. He should talk like us. He should worship like us. It, of seeing that surface thing. So we allow people to wear their customs, their way of life in the sense of the way they cloth the way they do their hair.

And we don't come against that, but we want to see that their heart is transformed and we allow them to remain in their clothing and their color. Everything belon...

The State of the Union and India