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

a fair representation of local people even after three to four decades of church
activity in the state. Many local pastors send their young people for theological
training. Others want to send them to English medium schools so that they can
send them later for higher theological degrees. There was a time when there were
only a few people studying in the English language at FBC. But the trend is the
opposite now as more people want to study in the English medium than in Hindi,
even though it is comparatively more expensive to study in English. 31 Many
missionary organizations have begun leadership training and now appoint young
leaders including local leaders into leadership. For example, the FFCI has sixteen
members in its general council, and eight of them are north Indians. There is
definitely an increase in the number of local leaders in recent years. As mentioned
earlier, the FBC has started sending able north Indian students for higher
education, and employing them on the faculty, and they serve in administration.
For example, Santiram Sulya (from MP) is currently acting as the Dean of
Students. Although, previously this position was held by south Indians, the
leadership of FBC realized that as most students are from north India, it is
advisable to appoint a north Indian faculty member to this position to help reduce
cultural tension.
The above discussion also shows the impotence of the Pentecostal community
despite their claim to have spiritual power to overcome every pressure. In
conclusion, it can be said that to a certain extent the Pentecostal doctrine of ‘being
filled with the Holy Spirit’ can give a sense of unity and equality among its
31 A careful look into the enrolment of students each year for various courses in English and Hindi
shows the same. See Appendix 7. The tuition fee is more for programmes in English as they are
higher degree programmes.
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