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

Hindustan Bible Institute, Chennai, Tamilnadu, visited Rajasthan and distributed
Christian literature, but were beaten badly by Hindu religious fanatics. One of the
graduates was M.A. Thomas, a Baptist. He later established the Emmanuel
Mission International (EMI) in Kota. It is one of the most significant non-
Pentecostal organizations in the state. EMI places emphasis on education, and it
encourages the graduates from its Bible Schools to establish a school everywhere
they work. 26 The mission urges its workers to establish their mission through these
schools, which are known as Emmanuel Mission Schools. The church planting
wing of EMI is called Christian Believers Assembly (CBA). Along with church
planting, EMI has established a number of schools and orphanages in Rajasthan as
well as other neighbouring states. It is likely that CBA has contributed more
towards the field of education than any other Protestant segment in Rajasthan. It
has also established the only Protestant hospital in the state. 27 The Rajasthan Bible
Institute (RBI), founded in 1970 with Jaipur as its headquarters by Anand
Choudhary from Bihar, north India, who has a Brethren background, is another
prominent organization in Rajasthan. Choudhary was inspired by M.A. Thomas to
work in Rajasthan. 28 RBI is the first established theological institute in the state
and it concentrates on church planting.
Both Thomas and Choudhary came after the introduction of the Pentecostal
message to the state. However, Pentecostals were not well organized when
Thomas arrived. Later para-church organizations like the IEHC and OM were
26 Cherian, ‘Contribution of Churches,’ 123.
27 T.K. Rajalakshmi, ‘A Saffron Assault,’ Frontline 22, no.7 (12-25 March 2005), under
‘Communalism,’ http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2207/stories/20050408001104000.htm
(accessed 12 July 2007).
28 Anand Choudhary, interview by author, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 09 May 2006.
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