Mission
and Evangelism: A Biblical Mandate
A Mission Seminar was organized at the CHPD, Nagpur by the
Christian Life and Evangelism Committee (CLEC) of Church of North India
Synod from 26th to 29th September 2006. A group of 45 people including
Bishops, Lay people, women and youth came to reaffirm that Mission is
always to meet the situational need of a particular geographical area.
Welcoming the delegates, Bishop B. R. Tiwade, President of CLEC, CNI said
that when we talk about our mission engagement, we should design our
mission strategies according to the context in which each of us live and
witness Christ through our services.
In his keynote address Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary
of Church of North India Synod, stressed on the need of ‘Revisiting
Evangelism as the Mission of the Church in today’s Context’. We can
never generalize the issues which draw our attention in India. What is
issue for a particular region may be a privilege for another region. That
is the dichotomy and irony of life in a pluralistic country like ours.
Thus, our mission engagement requires us to address many concerns. In
India, we have many mission organizations engaged in various mission
fields. Each of us has our own style of working which at times causes us
to look down upon others. But we should not forget the fact that though we
are working differently on different concerns our ultimate goal is to
establish the kingdom of God wherever we live through our work.
The Seminar focused on thematic presentations on “As Father has
sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21) which was led by Rev. Dr. F
Hrangkhuma, Professor in SAIAS, Bangalore; Gujarat Missionary Movement by
Mr. Samson Rajwadi, Coordinator, GMM & Director ICT; Evangelism and
Church Planting by Rev. Israel Devdass, FMPB Field Secretary; United to
Witness: Churches and Missionary Organizations by Rev. DB Kulothungan,
General Secretary, MVM, Nagpur; Mission of the Church in Historical and
Theological Perspective by Mr. P. K. Zachariah, Director of Christian Life
& Evangelism, CNI; Prayer and Evangelism in South Korean Church by
Rev. Dr. C. S. Kim, Chairman, IGM; Prayer and Church Planting by Mr.
Patrick Joshua, Prayer Facilitator, National Prayer Network; Mumbai
Diocesan Missionary Movement by Dr. Usha V. Ubale; Korean Church Growth by
Dr. Cho Beon Yeon, Professor, UBS; Mission and Evangelism in Church of
South India by Rev. T. Augustine, Director of Mission and Evangelism, CSI;
Holistic Mission in CNI by Mr. Sudipta Singh, Director of Programmes, CNI;
Evangelism Explosion by Mr. George Mani, National Director of EEI; and
finally “Towards the Mission Conference 2008 & Beyond” by Rev. Dr.
Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary, Church of North India Synod.
