Pentecostalism in Kerala
Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. Pentecostalism was established in Kerala at the start of the 20th century.
History
Indigenous Pentecostalism in India first emerged from the Syrian Christian community in the state of Kerala. Christianity in Kerala claims its origin in AD 52 when the Apostle Thomas arrived and preached the gospel to Jews. In addition, there were evidences of migrations of Christians from Syria in the fourth century and the eighth century to Kerala.
The Pentecostal message from the West arrived in Kerala in 1909 through the visit of George Berg. This American missionary of German descent arrived in Bangalore in 1909 and preached in a convention in Kerala. The first Pentecostal congregation was formed through the efforts of Berg in Kerala only in 1911; this was among first generation Christians. Berg was the first missionary to reach out to the natives who did not speak English.[1]
In 1913 Pastor Robert F. Cook also came to India as a missionary. He came to Kerala and began his ministry there in 1914. By 1923, Cook had established 36 churches in Kerala, known collectively as the South India Church of God (Full Gospel) in India. Pastor K. E. Abraham, who was associated with Pastor Cook until 1930, was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1923, an event considered as the foundation for the establishment of the India Pentecostal Church of God. In 1930, Pastor K.E Abraham who believed that local Keralite churches must be independent from foreign organizations for effective evangelization within India, split from Pastor Cook and formed the South India Pentecostal Church of God. He later changed the name of the church to India Pentecostal Church of God.
In addition to the work begun by Abraham, Pentecostalism grew rapidly in Kerala through the ministries of the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission (CPM), the Church of God (Cleveland), and the Assemblies of God.[2]
Communities
- The Pentecostal Mission (TPM)
- Indian Pentecostal Church of God
- Church of God (Full Gospel) in India
- Assemblies of God in India
- Sharon Fellowship Church
- New India Church of God
- New India Bible Church
- Full Gospel Pentecostal Church
- The Church of God
- The South India Apostolic Church of God
There are hundreds of other independent Non Denominational congregations throughout Kerala. Its strength varying from 20 to 10000 members. These independent groups are formed mainly due to personal missionary visions received by individuals for End time harvest.[3] Some of the biggest congregations are:[4]
| Ministry Name | Senior Pastor | Location |
|---|---|---|
| El- Shaddai Ministry | Pr. Tinu George | Kottarakara |
| Give Jesus to the World | Pr. John Tharu | Anchal |
| Torch of Truth | Pr. Suresh Babu | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Jesus Voice Ministry | Pr. Ani George | Thiruvalla |
| Blessing Today | Pr. Damien Antony | Ernakulam |
| Manu Menon Ministries | Pr. Manu Menon | Thrissur |
| Heavenly Feast | Pr. Mathew & Pr. Thomas | Kottayam |
Pentecostal Youth Associations
| Name | Community |
|---|---|
| PYPA (Pentecostal Young People's Association) | India Pentecost Church of God |
| YPE (Young People's Endeavour) | Church of God |
| CA (Christ Ambassadors) | Assemblies of God |
| CEM (Christian Evangelical Movement) | Sharon Fellowship Church |
Ornaments Usage
In Kerala many Traditional Pentecostal denominations do not wear ornaments depending upon the denomination they are part of. Many traditional Mainstream churches even to this day do not allow ornament wearing believers to partake in holy communion as well as water baptism. When the Pentecostal fathers came to the Christian faith, many of them came from influential and high caste families who threatened to strip them of their inheritance and wealth for stepping out of their religious systems to embrace a new faith. The cultural situation of the time when the early church came to faith and received the gift of Holy Spirit could have influenced a lot of practices around renouncing ornaments even though many forefathers were inspired to give up ornaments and lead a simple life. Social status at that time was determined by the amount of Gold and Silver ornaments one wore. In marriages, a part of dowry was given as gold ornaments. The weight of gold ornaments would determine the status of the family in the society at that time. Those who were rich used to wear a lot of gold ornaments. Those who were poor, used to wear ornaments made of glass, plastic or stone beads. In marriage and other occasions gold and silver ornaments were given as gifts. The church fathers also noticed that the income background distinction inside the church was hindering fellowship between the non-ornament wearing lower income believers and the ornament wearing higher income believers. Hence, in an effort to remove the barrier within the church and also to make it easy for new believers from both high and low income backgrounds, the church fathers came up with the system of giving up their ornaments/ jewelry when a person got saved and baptized. The intention was to unite the body of Christ, remove discrimination and act as a sign for outsiders of their consecration.[5] Most of the Independent churches in Kerala do not have a practice of removing ornaments. At the turn of the century, more and more traditional churches are moving away from the practice of mandating compulsory removal of ornaments and classifying it as a personal choice of believers.
Population
Denominations among all Christians in Kerala
Christian Denominations in Kerala, 2011
| Communities | Population | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Syro-Malabar | 2345911 | 7.0 |
| Syro-Malankara | 465207 | 1.4 |
| Latin Catholics | 932733 | 2.8 |
| Jacobite | 482762 | 1.4 |
| Orthodox | 493858 | 1.5 |
| Marthoma | 405089 | 1.2 |
| CSI | 274255 | 0.8 |
| Dalit | 159982 | 0.5 |
| Pentecost/Brethren | 213806 | 0.6 |
| Other Christians | 361864 | 1.1 |
| Total Christians | 6141269 | 18.4 |
Source: Religious Denominations of Kerala[6]
Pentecostal Institutions in Kerala
List of some main institutions are :-
- India Bible College & Seminary, Kumbanad
- MT Zion Bible Seminary, Mulakuzha
- Faith Theological Seminary, Manakkala
- Bethel Bible College, Punalur
- Sharon Bible College
- Shalom Bible College, Vadavathoor
- IPC Kottayam Theological Seminary, Puthuppally
Pentecost Media
Media plays a leading role to spread Pentecostalism in Kerala through Television Channels, Radio Channels and Newspapers.
| Media | Name |
|---|---|
| Television Channels | Powervision TV |
| Harvest TV | |
| Trumpet TV | |
| Kahalam TV | |
| Manna TV | |
| Shalom Beats TV | |
| Vsquare TV | |
| Radio/FM Channels | Bafa Radio |
| Psalms Radio | |
| Radio Manna | |
| Jesus Coming FM | |
| My Worship Radio | |
| Manna Live Bible | |
| Newspapers | Good News |
| Hallelujah | |
| Believers Journal | |
| Marupacha | |
| Pentecost (by The Pentecostal Mission) | |
| Kraisthava Ezhuthupura | |
| Swargeeya Dwoni |
Resistance of Pentecost in Kerala
The US-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned some attacks on Christians in Kerala, generally considered a safe-haven for Christians because of the large Christian minority there. The ICC warned that the Kerala attacks would only embolden anti-Christian extremists elsewhere to attack the even more vulnerable Christians in their states.[7]
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad along with the Arya Samaj arranged the Ghar Wapsi Program and converted a few number of Christians to Hinduism in Kerala. Because Dalit Christians had belonged to SC/ST communities before conversion to Christianity, but they are denied the government's SC/ST benefits in education and job reservation.[8] The Supreme Court ruled that a person who reconverts from Christianity to Hinduism shall be entitled to reservation benefits if his forefathers belonged to a Scheduled Caste and the community accepts him after reconversion.[9]
International Evangelists in Kerala
American Evangelist Billy Graham came in February 1956, conducted crusade in Kottayam which was the Christian center of Kerala and the missionary ground of Kerala. Most of the Christian homes in Kerala had the wall poster with the side view picture of 36 years old Evangelist Dr. Billy Graham with the writing "God is Calling The Church”.[10]
German Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke preached in Kochi for the CfaN Fire Conference on April 9-13, 2008.
Keralite Evangelists in Outside
- M. A. Varughese
M A Varughese is an Evangelist, revival and motivational speaker and publisher of many books. He is also the Founder and President of Bethel Gospel Team and Senior Pastor of Bethel Assembly of God Church, in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Under the leadership of Rev. Dr. M A Varughese, Bethel Assembly of God Church is one of the largest churches in India and one of Asia's most influential churches. Every week they conduct at least 15 worship services in Bangalore city and many different places, in several languages.[11]
- P. G. Vargis
P. G. Vargis and his ministry Indian Evangelical Team has birthed more than 27 church planting movements in various regions of South-East Asia.[12]
See also
References
- ↑ "As East and West Met in God's Own Country: Encounter of Western Pentecostalism with Native Pentecostalism in Kerala". pctii.org. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ "The Keralite Pentecostal Community: The Past and the Present". agapepartners.org. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ "geocities". geocities.ws. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ "ministries". harvesttv.in. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ "revivenations". revivenations.org. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ "religiousdenominationsofkerala" (PDF). http://cds.edu. Retrieved 8 July 2018. External link in
|website=(help) - ↑ "christiantoday". christiantoday.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ "conversion". christianmessenger.in. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ "reconvert". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ↑ "Billy Graham's Memories of India". billygraham.org. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ↑ "History of Bethel". bethelagindia.org. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- ↑ "Bro. P G Vargis and Sis. Lilly". pgv.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
