How ‘The Timothy Initiative’ Which Routed ₹95 Crore Into Naxal-Affected Regions Expanded Across India Through Missionary Outreach And Local Networks
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches on 18 and 19 April 2026 at multiple premises linked to the Christian missionary organisation The Timothy Initiative (TTI), following allegations that the group bypassed foreign funding regulations while operating extensively across India.
According to investigators, the organisation allegedly used foreign bank debit cards to withdraw nearly ₹95 crore in cash across several states within a span of six months, including around ₹6.5 crore withdrawn from Naxal-affected regions of Chhattisgarh. Authorities stated that these transactions were conducted despite TTI not being registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which is mandatory for legally receiving foreign funds in India.
TTI, which initially operated under the name “Project India”, has officially functioned in India since 2007. However, records and publicly available material indicate that the organisation’s activities in the country date back much earlier. According to archived material associated with TTI, its founder David Nelms first travelled to India in 1992 along with evangelist Dan Burrell. During that visit, the two reportedly developed plans to establish churches across Indian villages after observing the religious landscape in the country, as reported in OpIndia.
A Facebook post shared by Dan Burrell in January 2023 referred to the 1992 India and Thailand mission trip as “life changing” and suggested that he and David Nelms had been involved in religious conversion activities for more than three decades. The post included an old photograph of the two men during the India trip, which researchers later digitally enhanced for identification purposes.
Material previously available on TTI’s website, which has since reportedly been blocked in India, claimed that Nelms became emotionally affected during his early India visit because he saw temples and mosques but very few churches. According to the organisation’s own account, that visit eventually led to the creation of TTI.
Subsequent traces of TTI’s activities in India appear across social media posts, videos and organisational material left online over the years. In 2009, evangelist Tony Armour shared a video titled “India 2009” on Facebook, tagging David Nelms and identifying Bengaluru as the location. The footage showed Nelms and other foreign associates visiting suburban areas, interacting with families and spending time with children. Researchers examining the video claimed that the organisation appeared to use social interactions with children and local families as part of its outreach efforts connected to evangelism.
The same video also featured Karnataka-based entrepreneur U.B. Bhat, one of the survivors of the IC-814 Indian Airlines hijacking case.
When reviewing TTI’s manuals and outreach material, it can be noted that the organisation allegedly encouraged church planters to develop influence through local community leaders and socially respected figures in order to establish trust among local populations.
David Nelms continued making multiple visits to India over the years. In September 2013, he publicly announced on Facebook that he would travel to India between September 11 and 18 and invited supporters to witness the work being carried out by TTI in India, Nepal and Pakistan.
In July 2016, he again posted that he was travelling to India. In January 2017, Nelms uploaded photographs referencing interactions with people in Punjab, a state where Christian missionary activity has grown significantly over the years.
A month later, he posted that he had returned to the United States after what he described as a successful visit to India and Nepal.
The organisation’s current president is David Nelms’ son, Jared Nelms. According to a LinkedIn post shared by TTI in 2017, Jared Nelms and his wife Amber had served as missionaries in India for nearly five years. The exact duration and continuity of their stay remain unclear, but the post suggested a deeper and longer-term missionary presence in India rather than short visits alone.
It is noteworthy that much of the organisation’s digital material has either been removed from public platforms or blocked in India following the ED raids. However, archived posts, videos and references that remain online reportedly indicate that India occupied a central role in the organisation’s long-term activities.
TTI’s own “Kingdom Impact” material claimed that since 2007 the organisation had helped establish more than 2,68,750 churches across 50 countries and had converted over 23,92,427 people to Christianity, including more than 2,01,954 widows and orphans. India was listed among the countries where these church-planting activities were carried out.
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