Hindustani Covenant Church

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Hindustani Covenant Church
Classification
RegionPresent in 12 states: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
FounderMission Covenant Church of Sweden
Origin17 October 1963
in Pune
Congregations111 (2012)
Members22976 (2012)
Ministers119 (2012)
Aid organizationSocial projects in many places through Covenant Social Service
Hospitals2
Secondary schools3

Hindustani Covenant Church (HCC) is an

congregationalist denomination in India. It has 111 local congregations and is represented in twelve states. The highest authority is the Church Council, which meets once a year and consists of representatives from all congregations. The Church Council elects the Executive Committee. The Church Headquarters is in Pune. Ministers are educated at Union Biblical Seminary (UBS) in Pune
, which educates ministers to a number of denominations.

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

Gulbarga in Karnataka
. HCC also works with education. The Church runs three
Sholapur and one Junior College of Science in Solapur. There are also a number of informal education
projects for the poorest children. Besides, CSS offers courses leading to certain professions in order to help people to find a sustainable livelihood.

See also

Christianity in India

References

  • Fält, H. (2004).Mission i religionernas land, Svenska Missionskyrkan, Stockholm.
  • Svärd, Lydia (1979).Förbundskyrkan i Indien, Gummessons, Stockholm.

External links