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

CMS missionary and an observer of the revival, that the baptism of the Holy
Spirit filled the members of Aroolappen’s church ‘with a holy enthusiasm; and
caused them to go everywhere preaching the gospel, in demonstration of the Spirit
and of power.’ 134 The evangelists from his church travelled by faith, without
salary or support, and set their own itineraries. As a result, conversion of many
non-Christians took place, and western missionaries were amazed. Another
significant contribution was that women were actively involved both in the revival
as well as in the subsequent evangelistic work. One of the most far-reaching
contributions was that the awakening began to spread to the nearby state of
Travancore (present-day Kerala). George’s study describes the extensive
implications of this revival in Tamil Nadu as well as Kerala. 135
Furthermore, there were three indigenous revivals in Kerala in the years 1873,
1895 and 1908, prior to the coming of western Pentecostal missionaries. In all
three revivals people were filled with the Holy Spirit, and had the experience of
speaking in tongues and other Spirit manifestations such as healings and
visions. 136 K.E. Abraham states in his autobiography that as a nine year old boy he
134 Memoir of Anthony Norris Groves, Compiled Chiefly from His Journals and Letters, 3 rd ed.
(London: James Nisbet, 1869), 616, quoted in McGee, ‘Pentecostal Phenomena and Revivals,’
113.
135 George, ‘Pentecostal Beginnings in Travancore.’
136 George, ‘Pentecostal Beginnings in India,’ 43. Also see Edith L. Blumhofer, ‘Consuming Fire:
Pandita Ramabai and the Global Pentecostal Impulse,’ in Interpreting Contemporary Christianity:
Global Processes and Local Identities, ed. Ogbu U. Kalu (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans,
2008), 220-21. In her study on Pandita Ramabai and Indian Revivals, Edith Blumhofer also
mentions that there were Spirit manifestations including speaking in tongues in the 1873 revival.
Mathew Daniel, in his biography of Sadhu Kochukunju Upadeshi also mentions about the Spiritual
revivals in Kerala in 1873 and 1895. See Mathew Daniel, Sadhu Kochukunju Upadeshi [A
Biography of Sadhu Kochukunju Upadeshi], 9 th ed. (Thiruvalla, India: CSS, 2006), 68-69.
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