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

Jorgensen, participant observation is an excellent methodology to study the
‘organization of people and events’, ‘continuities over time and patterns’ and the
‘relationship among people and events.’ 94
Interviews were conducted with both Rajasthani and non-Rajasthani people of
various categories such as Pentecostal leaders, pastors and lay people. 95 The
interviews had two main purposes, historical as well as theological and contextual.
The interviewees included three elderly people in their late eighties, who have
been members of the first Pentecostal church in Rajasthan since its inception,
seven participants of local revivals who became Pentecostals, as well as three non-
Pentecostal eyewitnesses of the revivals, and eighteen leaders and ten pastors
from all the twelve major Pentecostal organizations. Five group interviews (focus
group) 96 were conducted separately for pastors, 97 women 98 and young people. 99 I
attended an important Charismatic Leaders meeting, held in Jaipur on 08 May
2006. Seven non-Pentecostal leaders from various churches were interviewed to
obtain a better picture of the relationship of Pentecostals with other church
traditions. Semi-structured questionnaires were used for the interviews in order to
explore the situational issues as they arose. 100 Two rural tribal congregations 101 as
94 Danny L. Jorgensen, Participant Observation: A Methodology for Human Studies, Applied
Social Research Methods Series, vol. 15 (London, New Delhi: SAGE, 1989), 13.
95 For the importance of interviews in qualitative research see Tom Wengraf, Qualitative Research
Interviewing (London: SAGE Publications, 2001), 1-70. Also Bryman, Social Research Methods,
318-44.
96 For more details of focus group in qualitative research see Bryman, Social Research Methods,
345-62.
97 Two Pastors’ meetings took place in Udaipur (on 07 May 2006) and in Banaswara (on 12 May
2006).
98 This took place on 06 May 2006.
99 Two group interviews for young people took place on 13 May 2006.
100 For the advantages of semi-structured interviews, see Bryman, Social Research Methods, 320-
29. Also, Cartledge, Practical Theology, 71-72.
101 Ebenezer Church and Immanuel Church (both are pseudonyms)
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