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

secretary of FFCI, is a prominent Pentecostal leader who took an interest in
schools several years ago. He said that he was discouraged by his fellow
Pentecostal leaders when he expressed his desire to establish a school in
Dungarpur, one of the most backward areas in terms of social mobility and
progress in the 1970s when he began his ministry. He was accused of ‘moving
away from his original calling’ as a minister, and of having ‘moved his eyes from
other worldly to this worldly aspects.’ Varghese said that despite the
discouragements by many, he had determined to proceed with his vision as he had
a ‘clear guidance by the Spirit’ to empower the marginalized through education. 127
On the other hand, establishing schools in various villages as well as cities is
being encouraged among Pentecostals, and it has become an integral part of their
mission.
There are even changes taking place in the syllabus of mission subjects in various
Pentecostal theological institutes. For example, at FBC, the subject ‘Evangelism
and Mission’ has been changed to ‘Theology of Mission’, and other courses like
‘Contemporary Challenges to Mission’ have been introduced. The syllabus of
‘Theology of Mission’ mainly focused on evangelism and church planting.
However, very recently it has included social mission as well. 128 Consequently,
127 K.O. Varghese, interview by author, Dungarpur, Rajasthan, 20 May 2005.
128 Being a part of the curriculum committee, I remember the voices in the faculty meeting who
insisted on the need to include social mission in the syllabus. The most interesting issue is that
many of these voices were once ardent opponents of the inclusion of social action in Pentecostal
mission.
150