a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

3.1.2. Contemporary Christianity
The post-Independence era saw a great number of indigenous mission agencies
coming to the state to be involved in various forms of Christian mission. Abraham
Cherian gives a list of various Christian missions including Pentecostals in
Rajasthan. 23
The CNI is the most prominent Christian church in Rajasthan as in many other
north Indian states. It was constituted on 29 November 1970 at Nagpur,
Maharastra by the union of six churches: The Council of Baptist Churches in
Northern India, The Church of Brethren in India, The Disciples of Christ, The
Church in India, The Methodist Church (British and Australian Conference) and
The United Church of Northern India. 24 Although the CNI does not have a wholly
local origin, it has become an indigenous church. The Canadian Mission began in
Banaswara and was later aligned with the United Church of Northern India, before
the latter merged with CNI along with other churches. They mostly continued the
work that the foreign missions began. Cherian’s study reveals that CNI chiefly
concentrated on socio-educational developments of their followers, rather than on
evangelistic activities. 25
Missionaries began to come to Rajasthan from other states of India from the
second half of the twentieth century. Many south Indian missionaries came to the
state to engage in evangelistic activities. In 1960, four Kerala graduates from the
23
For details of their works, see A.T. Cherian, ‘Contribution of Churches,’ 101-02, 115-128.
24
Constitution of the Church, 39-40.
25
Cherian, ‘Contribution of Churches,’ 101-02, 115-116.
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