Professional Dissertations DMin
Date of Award
1999
Document Type
Project Report
Degree Name
Doctor of Ministry
College
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Program
Doctor of Ministry DMin
First Advisor
Bruce L. Bauer
Second Advisor
Jon Dybdahl
Third Advisor
Nancy Vyhmeister
Abstract
The majority of the Lepchas who live in the land of Sikkim are unreached with the gospel message. A preliminary investigation of current literature indicated that 70 to 80 percent of the Sikkimese are followers of folk-Buddhism.
The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a strategy to reach the Folk-Buddhist Lepcha community of Sikkim with the gospel message.
The dissertation traces the historical development of the Lepcha community in Sikkim,,its culture, economy, health situations, and education. Chapter 3 details the beliefs, practices, and world view of the Lepchas, discusses government restrictions against Christianity in Sikkim, and describes the growth of Christianity among the Lepchas. Chapter 4 describes the process used in establishing a church among the Lepchas. Social service and educational programs were used to provide points of contact with the Lepchas. The Lepchas' fear of death, suffering, and sickness provided bridges whereby the gospel answers to these questions were welcomed and accepted.
Subject Area
Missions to Buddhists--Sikkim (India); Sikkim (India)--Religion; Seventh-day Adventists--Missions--Sikkim (India)
Recommended Citation
Joseph, Tudu, "Development of a Strategy to Reach the Folk-Buddha Lepcha Community of Sikkim" (1999). Professional Dissertations DMin. 633.
https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dmin/633
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin/633
Creative Commons 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/633