The Gospel In India

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The Gospel In India

• Americans from institutional churches of Christ
  began going to India shortly after the end of
  WW2.
• As a result of their work, scores of schools and
  orphan homes have been established in the
  southern states.
• There may be as many as 2000 institutional
  churches in India.
• These churches look and act much like the
  denominations and corruption and scandal have
  given them a bad name.

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The Institutional Network in India

• The institutional network in India is a
  denominational pyramid scheme with several layers
  of Indian bureaucrats and an American preacher at
  the top.
• The leading Indians (usually the proprietors of a
  Bible School) are known locally as boss
  preachers.
• They distribute large sums of money from an
  American sponsoring church that filters through
  several layers of the pyrimid.

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The Institutional Network in India

• The boss preacher in Hyderabad supports around
  500 preachers at the bottom of the pyramid.
• The institutional churches of Christ are an
  organizational framework that for all practical
  purposes functions like a standard denomination.
• In general, these churches in India have been so
  corrupted by American money that they are held in
  very low esteem by the public in general.

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The Institutional Network in India

• Institutionalism in India is decadent,
  unproductive, and unscriptural.
• The Christians we worked with have diligently
  sought to separate themselves both in behavior
  and in reputation from this institutional
  network.
• These brethren have built fine
  self-supporting congregations and have won the
  respect of the community because of their
  independence and zeal.

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The Gospel In India

• Around 20 Non-Institutional American preachers
  have worked in India since the 1970s.
• Among the pioneer workers who have left legacies
  in India are John Humphries, Ed Brand,
  Billy Raimer, Bernard Bolton and Ed Harrell.

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Self-Sufficient Local Churches

• Ed Harrell Building Self-Sufficient Local
  Churches in India

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Supporting Gospel Preachers

• Gospel preachers received wages (2
  Corinthians 118) from
• Job (1 Corinthians 91-18)
• The church where they preached
• Other churches (Philippians 415)
• The main reason we come To see, build
  relationships and make recommendations.

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Supporting Gospel Preachers

• A church sending money to a preacher is the right
  way.
• Each church doing her work.
• No boss preacher.
• The Lord cut out a lot of corruption and
  institutional organization.

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The Moula Ali church

• In 1993 the Moula Ali church was a small group of
  20 Christians meeting in a brothers home.
• In 2014 the Moula Ali church has elders and
  deacons and has a regular attendance of around
  200 and each Sunday a number of men from Moula
  Ali (supported by the congregation) go to preach
  elsewhere.

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Moula Ali Shepherds

• Benson
• Rathnam
• Wilson

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Sadisavapet

• These men didnt bring medical supplies or
  benevolent aid. They brought the gospel of Jesus
  Christ, the power of God unto salvation and we
  thank them for coming and their good message from
  God.

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Gods Work Anywhere

1. When Gods work is done Gods way it will never
   lack Gods supply Philippians 419
2. When we plant and water we can trust for God to
   give the increase 1 Corinthians 36
3. When Gods work is done Gods way in all things,
   then God is glorified through Jesus Christ and
   the Holy Spirit 1 Peter 411