Bharatiya Jukta Christa Prachar Mandali, India

Translate page into: español, Deutsch, français, Bahasa Indonesia, Kiswahili, 한국어, Nederlands, 日本語, 中文, português

Church of God in Christ, Mennonite
300px
Congregations	3
Membership	25
Presiding Officer	Insert Presiding Officer Here
Address	Insert Address Here
Phone	Insert Phone Number Here
E-mail	Insert E-mail Here
Website	Insert Website Here

Stories

Create new articles that tell stories about the Anabaptists of Insert Page Name Here and insert links to those stories here. Click here to learn more about stories.

History

Insert History Here

Origins

Bharatiya Jukta Christo Prachar Mandli (BJCPM), the Indian United Christ Evangelistic Church, is the offspring of the United Missionary Church of North America (Asheervadam, I. P. et al., 2011). Dating back to 1896, interest in serving in India began after publication in the Gospel Banner, a United Missionary Church magazine, about the prevailing famine conditions in India (Storms, 1948). After receiving a call from God to serve in India, Frances Matheson and Ruby Reeves of Aylmer, Ontario arrived in India in 1908 as missionaries under the Methodist Episcopal Church (Storms, 1948). Matheson worked in Bengal for fifteen years, focusing her efforts on orphanages, schools, and women’s work (Storms, 1948). Following the organization of the United Missionary Society in 1921, Matheson transferred her efforts and labors directly under her own church, the United Missionary Church, and became the denomination's first missionary (Lageer, 1979). In 1924, the denomination acquired its own territory in the Purulia District of West Bengal (S. D’Souza, personal communication, November 23, 2014). Matheson collaborated with another missionary, Reverend W. E. Wood, to establish the first mission station in the area (Lageer, 1979). Matheson went on to open a Christian Training Center for Girls in 1926 (Lageer, 1979). In 1927, Woods baptized the mission’s first convert (Lageer, 1979). Recognizing the need for medical assistance, Dr. and Mrs. Stahly came to India as missionaries to provide treatments for blindness, malaria, TB, and leprosy in 1929 (Lageer, 1979).

In 1948, the United Missionary Society merged with the Hephzibah Faith Mission, a missionary program that ministered to India for over 36 years (Lageer, 1979). Emma Landis, a member of the Hephzibah Faith Mission and mother to many in the orphanage, brought Reverend Pronoy Sarkar, a future leader of BJCPM, to the mission with her (Lageer, 1979). In 1955, the first United Missionary Church in the area, Emmanuel Chapel, was established by Alfred Rees and his family (Lageer, 1979). It was here that Sarkar began designing courses for non-Christians that could be read and easily understood (Asheervadam, I. P. et al., 2011). Sarkar’s efforts eventually led to his position as principle at the Calcutta Bible Institute with 10,000 enrolled students in the first year (Asheervadam, I. P. et al., 2011). As the mission continued to grow, the United Missionary Society acquired Hastings Chapel in 1961 (Lageer, 1979). By 1962, two Bengali-speaking churches, three English-speaking churches, and one Telugu-speaking church emerged from the mission’s efforts in Calcutta (Asheervadam, I. P. et al., 2011). BJCPM continues to this day in Hastings Chapel where Sarkar became the first Indian pastor to serve (Asheervadam, I. P. et al., 2011). As president of the Missionary Church in India, chair of the Evangelical Fellowship of India and the Union Biblical Seminary, and representative at the Mennonite Christian Service Fellowship of India (MCSFI) at major conferences in Brazil, Japan, France, Argentina, the Philippines, and Taiwan, Sarkar was an important leader of BJCPM for several decades (Sarkar & Lageer, 1993).

Although its parent body of North America is the Missionary Church, BJCPM is affiliated with Mennonite World Conference (MWC) (India GAMEO). Identifying itself as a Missionary church, BJCPM does not identify itself directly as a Mennonite church (S. D’Souza, personal communication, November 23, 2014). The United Missionary Church in India has been active in Mennonite circles and has become a member of MWC as Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) facilitated coordination between the various Mennonite-related church groups in response to the humanitarian crisis and trend toward independence in the Indian churches (Zimmerman, 2011).

Contemporary Life

Insert Contemporary Life Here

Important Individuals in the Life of the Church

Pronoy Sarkar became the first Indian pastor to serve at Hastings Chapel (Asheervadam, I. P. et al., 2011). As president of the Missionary Church in India, chair of the Evangelical Fellowship of India and the Union Biblical Seminary, and representative at the Mennonite Christian Service Fellowship of India (MCSFI) at major conferences in Brazil, Japan, France, Argentina, the Philippines, and Taiwan, Sarkar was an important leader of BJCPM for several decades (Sarkar & Lageer, 1993).

Shane D’Souza is the General Secretary of BJCPM.

Joren Basumata is the current pastor of BJCPM.

Cynthia Peacock serves as chairperson of MWC Deacons’ Committee and is the regional representative of South Asia, India, and Nepal. Part of her Deacon’s commission work focuses on Anabaptist women of India and women of Asia. Peacock has been accepted as a leader in her own church and conference, and has drawn other women from her region into leadership roles (C. Peacock, personal communication, November 11, 2014). In her view, BJCPM should be open to women and invite women preachers (Asheervadam, I. P. et al., 2011).

Margaret Devadson was treasurer of BJCPM and occasionally preached in the church, contributing to the increased role of women in the Indian church (Asheervadam, I. P. et al., 2011).

Electronic Resources

Insert Links to Electronic Resources Here

Annotated Bibliography

Insert Annotated Bibliography Here

Archives and Libraries

Insert Archives and Libraries Here

External Links

Insert External Links Here