Professional Dissertations DMin

Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Project Report

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Doctor of Ministry DMin

First Advisor

Kenley D. Hall

Second Advisor

Melchizedek Ponniah

Third Advisor

Wagner Kuhn

Abstract

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist church emerged in the state of Manipur, India, through a lay-led church planting movement. Currently, no written account exists of the early history of this work in Manipur. Today, the work in Manipur is clergy-dependent and growth in this region has stagnated. In order for the work to move forward successfully, there is a need to remember the early history of the work in this region.

Method

In the absence of earlier written works on the rise of Adventism in Manipur, oral sources were relied upon as primary sources for accuracy. The sources were gathered through personal communication, observation, email, letters, and telephone. The response of pioneers and/or their children who journeyed through the rise and growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Manipur was the core reflection out of which this dissertation was written.

Results

This dissertation has shown that the Adventist church in Manipur experienced a quantum leap of church membership during its formative years as dedicated lay people diligently worked to advance the gospel mandate. The history of Manipur suggests that the involvement of lay members in gospel activities is crucial to the growth and unity of the church. Engaging lay people in evangelism/church planting enriches their faith and enhances the spread of the gospel.

Conclusions

In order to resume the growth of the church in Manipur, it is essential to re-ignite a lay-led movement where every believer is equipped and empowered to fulfill the Gospel commission. The doctrines of spiritual gifts and the priesthood of all believers should be understood by clergy and laity. Church leadership should mobilize church members to exercise their ministry based on their areas of giftedness.

Subject Area

Seventh-day Adventists--India--Manipur; Seventh-day Adventists--India--History; Manipur (India)--Church history

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/514

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