Hindustani Covenant Church
Hindustani Covenant Church | |
---|---|
Classification | |
Region | Present in 12 states: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand |
Founder | Mission Covenant Church of Sweden |
Origin | 17 October 1963 in Pune |
Congregations | 111 (2012) |
Members | 22976 (2012) |
Ministers | 119 (2012) |
Aid organization | Social projects in many places through Covenant Social Service |
Hospitals | 2 |
Secondary schools | 3 |
Hindustani Covenant Church (HCC) is an
History
At the World Mission Conference in Tambaram, India, in December 1938, the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden President Axel Andersson and the missionary Gustaf Ahlbert examined the possibilities to start mission work in India. Already in 1939 the MCCS decided to start mission work among Turkish peoples and Muslims in India and the following year the first missionaries arrived in Mumbai. The mission work was registered under the name of the Swedish Hindustani Mission. Later on work was also taken up in Pune and Sholapur. The first person baptised was a refugee from Xinjiang, Noor Muhammed, a physician who was given the name Luke. He helped with the translation of the Old Testament into Uighur. On October 19, 1963, 22 delegates from the three congregations in Pune, Mumbai and Sholapur, among them 6 missionaries, assembled and founded the Hindustani Covenant Church (HCC). Rev. B. Thoma became its first moderator and remained at this post up to his retirement in 1986 when he was succeeded by the present moderator, Rev Steven David.
Social work
HCC has a quite large social work. This is coordinated by a body called Covenant Social Service (CSS). Social work has comprised humanitarian aid in case of catastrophic events like floodings and earth quakes, community development, health care and education. In 1981, HCC founded
See also
References
- Fält, H. (2004).Mission i religionernas land, Svenska Missionskyrkan, Stockholm.
- Svärd, Lydia (1979).Förbundskyrkan i Indien, Gummessons, Stockholm.