Current Political and Missions Landscape in India: A Missiological Appraisal for Future Missions

by Jayakumar Ramachandran

It is obvious that the present contexts in India are different from that of a century, or even a few decades, ago. Despite the increasing magnitude of voluminous challenges, God’s mission continues to penetrate. The praxis of mission requires intelligent discernment of the signs of the times and a faithful reading of the contextual realities. 

Photo courtesy Jayakumar Ramachandran

Missions and the Political Landscape

It is obvious that the present contexts in India are different from that of a century, or even a few decades, ago. Despite the increasing magnitude of voluminous challenges, God’s mission continues to penetrate. The praxis of mission requires intelligent discernment of the signs of the times and a faithful reading of the contextual realities. 

In order to fulfill the mission of God in India, one needs to consider (1) the challenges, developments, and uncertainties found in the areas of Christianity, missions, and churches; (2) prevailing contextual complexities in and around the country; and (3) the state of the productivity of training institutions. 

Christianity in India

Ever since the Tranquebar mission in 1706, church and mission agencies in India have been significantly focusing on the conversion mantra. The dehumanized state of the people in the country (which included issues such as illiteracy, economical victimization, lack of modernity and technological advancements, gender issues, alcoholism, and various other social evils) paved a way for missionaries to reach out and establish churches among selected responsive groups. 

Thus, mass conversions of Dalits took place on a large scale in the Protestant churches during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Wilfred 2007, 144). Another responsive section of the society was tribal groups (Hedlund 1992, 215). However, present India does not have a similar context as it did in the past. 

Growth on a global and national scale. It is predicted that Christianity in Asia will grow to reach 595 million (or 11.3 % of the total Asian population) by 2050; more specifically, this growth will occur in countries like China, India, Nepal, and Cambodia (Johnson 2009, 5). The population statistics confirm that India is seventh globally in terms of the total number of Christians living in a country (Frykenberg 2008, vii). 

Christianity remains the second largest minority in India. According to the 2011 census, the population growth after 2001 was 17.64%. In the years preceding the 2001 census, the Christian growth rate was found to be lower than the overall population growth rate. The increase of the Christian population from 1981 to 1991 was 16.89%, whereas the all-India demographic increase was 23.79% (Jeganathan 2000, 308). This disparity in growth communicates that the present rate of Christian growth lags significantly behind.  

Uneven dispersion of the Christian populace. Churches are not scattered in proportion to the geographical distribution of population. Within India, 70% of the Christian populace lives in the south and 25% in the northeast (Johnstone 2001, 315). It is strongly speculated that only 5% of India’s Christians live in the north, and this number includes Christian migrants from the south and northeast. There is clear evidence that churches are multiplying among the tribes, among those in poverty, and in the cities (Ponraj 1987, 10). 

Churches and Missions in India

An unbiased analysis of strategies involved in churches planted and understanding the state of churches and missions agencies is essential for us to perceive the landscape of India. 

The outreach dilemma between the vulnerable and the non-vulnerable. It is an undeniable fact that Christianity is found growing rapidly among the tribal and Dalit populations. While evangelicals call them the ‘receptive’, Hindu fundamentalists call them ‘vulnerable’. However, most of the missional resources and efforts in the past were invested in the receptive/vulnerable communities, whereas a huge 72.8% of India’s population does not have a significant missional impact. This larger segment of the population predominantly consists of educated, religiously strong, elite, forward castes and wealthy people. 

Dubious number declarations. Statistical declarations are to be ratified in India in light of the following three realities: 

1. Growth in number of churches in India is debatable. In 2000, it was estimated that there were 356 denominations consisting of 97,796 churches (India 2000). The Evangelical Fellowship of India accounted for around 35,000 independent churches (Radhakrishnan 2011). Operation Mobilization declared 3,000 new congregations in India in less than a decade (Stafford 2011). There are parts in India where the number growth of independent churches (most of them gather in houses) is phenomenal. 

Growth in numbers needs to be appraised in light of the quality growth of the churches. In my research, I observed that out of every 100 churches planted, 80 eventually die or remain malnourished. Most of the church-planting organizations publish the number of churches planted; seldom have they accounted how many of them cease to exist. Although the growing numbers of churches are illuminable, their quality and potency are inscrutable.

2. Apart from the addition of genuine new believers, the cause for number growth in churches also includes biological addition, stolen sheep, church-shoppers, people from intentional church splits, and migrated Christians. Overlap in the accounting of the churches planted is another unnoticed reality. One church planter’s ‘one’ church plant is accounted by several training agencies, which ultimately pictures ‘many’ in general.

3. Faithful discipleship is a missing component in the number growth projection of most of the churches. 

Self-sustainability and growth. On one hand, growth in the number of churches is true. On the other hand, it is uncertain and premature to classify them as self-sustaining in their existence. A huge number of churches are financially dependent on external sources. 

Lesslie Newbigin (former general secretary of IMC, a missionary for two decades in India, and a bishop in India) insisted of the need for utilizing local resources for local ministerial needs and missionary challenges (Laing 2009, 11). The self-sustaining church concept is a strategic maneuver that focuses on sowing Christianity deeper into the lives of the believers and wider among unbelievers.

State of mission agencies in India. The India Missions Association has 244-plus member bodies (IMA Networks) and the Evangelical Fellowship of India lists 244 mission agencies and churches as part of their membership (EFI Member Bodies). It is possible that some of these organizations have dual membership as well. Numerous other mission agencies in India have no memberships with any of these networks. 

It was estimated in 2007 that Indian churches had sent more than 5,000 missionaries to reach the numerous Hindus and Muslims inside and outside India (Ma 2007, 14). In spite of the increasing numbers of mission agencies and native missionaries, the following concerns remain towards the Great Commission of making disciples: 

• Are mission agencies focusing on the communities that are yet to be discipled? H.L. Richard precisely comments, “The churches that have resulted from the people movements of past generations are thus not closely related to Hindu cultural norms. Christianity is effectively locked out of thousands of Hindu castes and communities in modern India” (Richard 2011, 52). 
   
• Are mission agencies strategic in discipling the nations? The fruit of the mandate to make disciples is to make ‘Christ-like people’ to demonstrate the principles of the Kingdom of Christ on this earth. Since the word ‘strategic’ is an adjective that qualifies the kind of missions that agencies do, every effort taken in doing missions must be with quality for maximum result in order to accomplish the mandate of making disciples. 

In his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2000, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then-prime minister of India, attributed the days as a ‘Decade of Development’ (Bajpai 2011, 3). Changing contexts and challenges demand for new methods, mechanisms, and human power to fulfill the mission of God.  

Religious and Societal Atmosphere

It is essential for us to recognize the prevailing religious and societal atmosphere. India has long been a melting pot of a wide variety of the religious mosaic. Although for ages religious tolerance has been a hallmark of the multicultural and multi-religious sub-continent, it is mutilated in many regions today due to increasing religious fanaticism. The other noteworthy atmosphere is change in the lifestyles and mindsets of people. 

Religious internal rivalries. Contemporary India is witnessing interreligious rivalry and conflict at a level unheard of in its history. Both in terms of its extent and intensity, it is at alarming proportions (Kalidass 2000, 30-31). Let me share just a few facts:

1. The rise of Hindutva extremism resulted in a hate campaign against Christians in the late 1990s, which has continued to create a toxic environment until this day (Stark n.d.).
    
2. Christianity is often considered by Hindu religious fundamentalists to be the religion of the former colonial masters. Christians are therefore assumed to have no loyalty to their homeland and to be otherwise acting for Western countries and interests (Fernando 2000, 25).
    
3. Islamic fanatics made young men believe that they were ‘God’s messengers’ out to bring justice to the world. This was propagated as a holy obligation and devotion to Islam, which ultimately led them to inhuman massacres in India.  
    
4. The Indian religious sphere, in spite of being the birthplace of Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, has been witnessing increasing intolerance and religious violence in the past decade. It is evident that religions in the subcontinent have become a source of conflict and violence, thus causing increasing disharmony in human relationships (Ramachandran 2010, 331).

Increasing resistance against the Christian faith and practices. Attacks against adherents of the Christian faith and churches are unending. Most non-Christian religions in India have instituted ‘missionary’ methods in order to protect their respective adherents from conversion to other religions. Since Christianity has been ‘missionary’ in its calling and nature, non-Christian religions have been increasingly resistant against the mission activities of Christian churches and mission agencies. 

While violence against Christians and resistance against the Christian faith and activities have increased, unethical mission methods and conversion episodes of certain agencies, churches, and individuals are also undeniable.

Emerging community of churchless Christ-worshippers. Churchless Christ-worshippers (a debatable concept) is an increasing reality in India. It is an undeniable fact that the number of churchless Christ-worshippers and unbaptized Christ-worshippers has rapidly increased. A recent research study suggests that there are more non-baptized followers of Jesus in Chennai than there are formal, visible Christians in the traditional sense (Hoefer 2001, 96). 

This community is inevitable in the context of raising new believers from the families of the multi-religious mosaic in India, where a new believer from a Hindu family is likely to be forced to disassociate with conventional and popular Christian practices by other Hindu family members. 

Influence of postmodern philosophies and values. The postmodern mindset sees all human narratives as being of equal value and importance; believes truth is relative, doubts everything, and has skepticism as its philosophy (Wakchaure 2012, 6). As a result, the uniqueness of scripture and Christ, the exclusiveness of Christ for salvation, the imminent Second Advent of Christ, and eternity are disputable subjects. 

Globalization and urbanization have hatched acculturated contexts, whereby postmodern knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and behaviors creep into the lifestyle of Indians.  Communities with such beliefs and values have increased in India.

Change in lifestyles. Let me share three areas of change in the Indian population as it affects lifestyle. 

Increase of the Middle Class and Upper-middle Class populace.
Undoubtedly, the Indian populace continues to endorse the poverty stigma as 26% of them struggle for their basic essential needs (Malhothra 2008). However, the Indian Middle Class doubled its size over the last decade, growing from 5.7% of all Indian households in 2001-2002 to 12.8% of all households in 2009-2010. There are considerable sectors of Middle Class people who have improved their lives and have become Upper-middle Class. 

Increase of undergraduate and post-graduate populace. There has been a remarkable growth in the educated community of India. In 1950-1951, the enrollment for higher studies were 3.97 lakhs (0.4 million), whereas in 2010-2011, it had hiked to 169.76 lakhs (17 million) (University Grant Commission 2012). 

Urbanization and urbanized culture. The urban population in India at the beginning of 1901 was only 25.85 million, constituting of 10.84% of India’s population. By 2001, this had increased to over 285.35 million, comprising 27.78% of the total population (Bhagat 2004, 48). India’s urban population is expected to increase from a little below 350 million in 2011 to about 800 million by the middle of the twenty-first century, which would result in the increase of an astonishing 500 million people living in urban centers (Indian Institute of Human Settlements).  

Rural areas, on the other hand, are culturally urbanizing with the spread of education, the penetration of the mass media, and the permanent or temporary return of rural-returns, who bring home elements of urban culture. 

State of Training Institutions

The number of training institutions, Bible colleges, and seminaries has grown tremendously in India. A precise number of institutions are not available as they mushroom every day. Fifty institutions are affiliated with the Senate of Serampore, 51 accredited and 36 associate member institutions with the Asia Theological Association, and 64 accredited and 43 member institutions with the Indian Institute of Inter Cultural Studies. 

This does not include numerous unaccredited/unaffiliated small-scale institutions that function in the country. The growth in numbers of accredited and unaccredited institutions has, ironically, raised the following concerns among mission analysts: 

1. Mushrooming training institutions. The sudden surge of small-scale training institutions has both positive and negative components. Positively, it increases productivity by churning out trained people for missions. Negatively, it draws deep concerns about the quality of the training being offered (D 2012, 68). 

2. Irrelevant curricula and training. The seminaries exist to serve the Church, but they have become like prodigal children doing their own thing. They are often out of touch with the needs of the Church in the society at large (Athyal 2007, 140). Many theological institutions in India have never undertaken an examination of their curricula in light of the total needs of their ministry in context (Sarcar 2007, 38). 

3. Diligence in thoughtful lesson planning. Duplicated or yesteryear blind copies of curricula are prevalent in most of the institutions (Sarcar 2007, 55). Someone commented, 

The curricula of the institutions are like menu cards of different restaurants imposing almost the same food items on the guests, ignoring the needs, wants, and tastes. It should be in accordance to the needs of the consumers and not what the management has in their stock to give.

4. Exam-focused education. In general, present training systems prepare trainees for an exam that needs to be passed. ‘Passing’ does not guarantee character and skill for the challenges.   

Conclusion

Missional activities in India demand innovative and intelligent methods for productive and possible mission endeavors. Some of my recommendations for laying a fresh foundation include:

• Adhering to ethical practices as Christians establish the exclusiveness of Christ in the context of a plurality of religions.
   
• Making sure missional instruments interpret the constitutional provisions in an unbiased manner in order that their mission endeavors will be wise and would not hinder others’ rights.  
   
• Inventing workable indigenous methods for evangelism, church planting, disciple making, and missions. 
   
• Making sure training institutions reinvent an innovative philosophy of training in order to produce compatible missional human power for the future of India.

References

Athyal, Saphir. 2007. “Missiological Core of Theological Education.” In Striving for Excellence: Educational Ministry in the Church. Eds. Siga Arles and Brian Wintle, 140. Bangalore: Asia Theological Association.

Bajpai, Nirupam, and Jeffrey D. Sachs. 2011. India’s Decade of Development. Mumbai: Columbia Global Centers, Working Papers Series, 3, Paper No: 3. Photocopied.

Bhagat, R. B. 2004. Dynamics of Urban Population Growth by Size Class of Towns and Cities in India. Demography India 33(1): 48.  

D, Gnanaraj. “Current Trends in Evangelical Theological Education in India,” Academia.edu. Accessed October 4 2014, from www.academia.edu/2041199/Current_Trends_     in_Evangelical_Theological_Education_in_India.

EFI Member Bodies. 2013. Accessed October 8, 2015, from www.efionline.org/about-us/member-bodies.

Fernando, Ajit. 2000. Relating to People of Other Faiths. Mumbai: GLS.

Frykenberg, Eric Robert. 2008. Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hedlund, Roger. 1992. Evangelization and Church Growth Issues from the Asian Context. Chennai: CGRC India.

Hoefer, Herbert. 2001. Churchless Christianity. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library.

IMA Networks. 2014. Accessed October 3, 2015, from www.imaindia.org/networks/main.htm

India. 2000. “Guide to India for Missionaries and Prayer Warriors.” Accessed April 5, 2015,     from www.doorofhope.org.za/projects/hindi.htm.

Indian Institute of Human Settlements. n.d. Accessed  September 4, 2014, from http://www.iihs.co.in. 

Jeganathan, Milton. 2000. Mission Paradigm in the New Millennium. Delhi: ISPCK.   

Johnson, M. Todd and Kenneth Ross, eds. 2009. Atlas of Global Christianity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Johnstone, Patrick, and Jason Mandryk. 2001. Operation World. Waynesboro, Ga.: Paternoster USA.

Kalidas, S. 2000. “Christians under Siege.” India Today. June 26: 30-31.  

Laing, Mark. 2009. “The International Impact of the formation of Church of South India: Bishop Newbigin versus the Anglican Fathers.” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 33(1): 11.   

Ma, Julie. 2007. “The Growth of Christianity in Asia and its Impact on Mission.” Encounters Mission Ezine 16: 4.    

Malhothra, Kumar. 2008. “Poverty Still Grips Millions in India.” BBC News. August 12. Accessed October 2, 2014, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7556489.stm.

Ponraj, Devasagayam. 1987. Church Planting Approach to Mission. Bihar: India Institute of Multicultural Studies.   

Radhakrishnan, M.G. 2011. “Freelancers of God.” India Today. May 9.

Ramachandran, Jayakumar. 2010. “Violence in Religious Segments of India and Christian Response: A Biblical and Missiological Understanding.” In Violence and Peace: Creating a Culture of Peace in the Contemporary Context of Violence. Ed. Frampton Fox, 331. Pune: CMS.

Richard, H.L., ed. 2011. Rethinking Hindu Ministry. Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library.

Sarcar, K. Arun. 2007. “Curriculum Development for Theological Institutions in India.” In Striving for Excellence: Educational Ministry in the Church. Eds. Siga Arles and Brian Wintle, 38. Bangalore: Asia Theological Association.

Stafford, Tim. 2011. “India’s Grassroots Revival.” Christianity Today 55(7).

Stark, William. n.d. “The Election of a Hindu Nationalist Unleashes a Wave of Persecution against Christians.” International Christian Concern. Accessed March 2, 2015, from www.persecution.org/awareness/persecuted-countries/india/ 

Wakchaure, Suresh. 2012. “What Is Postmodernism?” Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature. Mumbai: Mithibai College. Jan 27-28.

Wilfred, Felix. 2007. Dalit Empowerment. Bangalore: NBCLC.

. . . . 

Jayakumar Ramachandran is the founder of Bible Believing Churches and Missions, a church-planting ministry that has impacted over eight thousand church plants in South Asia. He is also the general secretary of the Indian Institute of Inter Cultural Studies. He can be reached at jkbbcm@gmail.com. 

EMQ, Vol. 52, No. 3 pp. 282-290. Copyright  © 2016 Billy Graham Center for Evangelism.  All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMQ editors.

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