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

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ecome involved in various social initiatives. According to Dempster, ‘social<br />

programs designed to care for <strong>the</strong> welfare <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> poor and <strong>the</strong> oppressed as well as<br />

to change unjust social conditions are fast becoming a hallmark <strong>of</strong> Pentecostal<br />

church ministry….’ 176<br />

Changing contemporary situations have caused Pentecostal people to realize <strong>the</strong><br />

importance <strong>of</strong> social aspects <strong>of</strong> mission. This is illustrated in <strong>the</strong> change in attitude<br />

<strong>of</strong> classical Pentecostals in Kerala. 177 In <strong>the</strong> first Malayalam Pentecostal weekly,<br />

Thomas Vadakkekuttu, who serves as <strong>the</strong> President <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pentecostal Council <strong>of</strong><br />

India (PCI), has criticized classical Pentecostals for not being interested in social<br />

development, specifically in terms <strong>of</strong> educational institutions. In <strong>the</strong> wake <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

appointment <strong>of</strong> new leadership in <strong>the</strong> IPCoG in 2007, he urged <strong>the</strong> leaders to<br />

invest in better infrastructure and educational institutions ra<strong>the</strong>r than only in<br />

missionary training institutions. 178 The recent announcement by <strong>the</strong> IPC leadership<br />

about a new medical college in Kerala is regarded as a response to this call by<br />

many followers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> movement. 179<br />

As Dempster has noted, contemporary Pentecostals have realized that social<br />

engagement is needed to au<strong>the</strong>nticate <strong>the</strong> evangelistic efforts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> church so that<br />

176<br />

M.A. Dempster, ‘Evangelism, Social Concern, and <strong>the</strong> Kingdom <strong>of</strong> God,’ in Called and<br />

Empowered, 22. For a detailed discussion <strong>of</strong> Pentecostal social engagement, see Miller and<br />

Yamamori, Global Pentecostalism; Donald E. Miller, ‘Pentecostalism and Social Transformation,’<br />

in The Azusa Street and Its Legacy, ed. Harold Hunter D. and Cecil M. Robeck Jr. (Cleveland, TN:<br />

Pathway, 2006), 335-48.<br />

177<br />

Classical Pentecostals in Kerala are one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pentecostal groups in India who are resistant to<br />

change.<br />

178<br />

Thomas Vadakkekuttu, ‘Dooradarsanam’ [Foresight], Good News Weekly 29, no. 37 (2006):<br />

10.<br />

179<br />

Good News Weekly, 01 February (2008): 1.<br />

323

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