Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2002

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Gordon Christo

Second Advisor

Werner Vyhmeister

Third Advisor

Nancy J. Vyhmeister

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a strategy to reach the unreached Bengali Folk Hindus of Calcutta. First, general information on the target group was presented. This included information on their lifestyle and traditional religious beliefs and practices. This is a large group of people who do not belong to the castes and do not enjoy the benefits of financial, educational, and political status. A brief review of what Roman Catholic and Protestant churches have done for the Folk Hindus of Calcutta, with their medical, educational, spiritual, and social services, helped us to understand the strengths and weaknesses of mission approaches to the target group. It also helped us to know their resistance and receptivity to the gospel. Further, the barriers of the target group are listed and clarified.

The evangelistic strategy planned to reach this target group in the Calcutta area includes organization of evangelistic teams, tapping existing resources to assist the people to meet their felt needs, and building bridges by means of social, medical, and educational endeavors. Finally, the Folk Hindus of Calcutta should hear the gospel presented to them, with special emphasis on Jesus as the only way to God and as the source of equality for all peoples. The power of God to heal and confront the spirits should also be emphasized, together with the importance of the Bible. Folk Hindus need to be made aware of the need for individual accountability before God, after which they can be led to baptism as an outward sign of their desire to follow Jesus. Once they have been baptized, they must be nurtured in fellowship, discipleship, and missionary work.

Subject Area

Hindus--India--Calcutta; Evangelistic work--Seventh-day Adventists--India--Calcutta; Missions to Hindus

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/470

Download

Share

COinS