Telugu Baptist Church Council

Last updated
Telugu Baptist Church Council
AbbreviationTBCC
Classification Protestant
Orientation Evangelical
Scripture Bible
Polity Congregational
PresidentRev. P. Bhagyanand
General SecretaryRev. K. Victor Emmanuel
Region Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Language Telugu
Headquarters Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
Founder American Baptist International Ministries
Origin2007
Ongole, Andhra Pradesh
Congregations1,200+
Members979,700
Ministers 1,000+
Official website telugubaptist.com

The Telugu Baptist Church Council (TBCC) is a Baptist Christian denomination in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India. The churches are part of the Telugu Christian community of Southern India.

Contents

History

Telugu Baptist Church Council, previously known as Baptist Convention of Telugu Churches, was established by Rev. P. Jayachandra Rao from Chebrolu, Andhra Pradesh. The Baptist Convention of Telugu Churches was formed on January 15, 2007. [1] The Baptist Convention of Telugu Churches was formed to unite Telugu Baptist churches in India that are related to the American Baptist International Ministries. [2] [3] 16,000 Telugu Baptist delegates were present in the formation celebration in Ongole, Andhra Pradesh. According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 764 Telugu Baptist Churches, 1,484 preaching places and 979,700 baptized members. [4]

Administration

The governing body is called as the Executive Committee and under the Executive Committee are 15 departments called as Missions & Services namely Evangelism, SEDP (Socio, economic, development projects), Adult Literacy Programme, Women ministries, Youth ministries, Children ministries, Theological Endeavour, Educational Institutions, Medical services, Tribal ministries, Baptist Publications etc., TBCC has 5 zones and 30 field associations in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andhra State</span> Former state of India (1953–56) in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra State was a state in India created in 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The state was made up of this two distinct cultural regions – Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra. Andhra State did not include all Telugu-speaking areas, as it excluded some in Hyderabad State. Under the State Reorganisation Act of 1956, Andhra State was merged with the Telugu-speaking regions of Hyderabad State to form Andhra Pradesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andhra Christian Theological College</span>

The Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars (CBCNC) is a Baptist Christian denomination in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The churches are part of the Telugu Christian community of Southern India. Its language is Telugu. It is affiliated to the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Christian Hospitals</span>

Council of Christian Hospitals (COCH), an autonomous body that facilitates management of medical institutions founded by Missionaries of Canadian Baptist Mission. COCH is a body corporate under Indian Societies Registration Act and has its registered office in premises of one of its participating hospitals, that is, CBM Christian Medical Centre, Pithapuram in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.

The National Council of Churches in India is an ecumenical forum for Protestant and Orthodox churches in India. It provides a platform for member churches and organizations to act on common issues relating to Christianity in India.

Telugu Christians or Telugu Kraistava are a religious community who form the third-largest religious minority in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. According to the Census of India, there are over a million Christians in Andhra Pradesh, constituting 1.51% of the state's population, although a decrease from the 1971 census figure which was 2%, as a result of low birth rates and emigration. Most Telugu Christians are Protestant, belonging to major Indian Protestant denominations such as the predominant Anglican Church of South India, Pentecostals such as Assemblies of God in India, India Pentecostal Church of God, The Pentecostal Mission, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches, the Salvation Army and several others. There also is a significant number of Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. Although the Franciscans of the Roman Catholic Church brought Christianity to the Deccan area in 1535, it was only after 1759 AD, when the Northern Circars came under the rule of the East India Company, that the region opened up to greater Christian influence. The first Protestant missionaries in Andhra Pradesh were Rev. Cran and Rev. Des Granges who were sent out by the London Missionary Society. They set up their station at Visakhapatnam in 1805 AD. Regions with significant populations of Telugu Christians include the erstwhile Northern Circars, the coastal belt and the cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Telugu Christians have one of the highest literacy and work participation figures and most even male-to-female ratio figures among the various religious communities in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samaikyandhra Movement</span>

Samaikya Andhra Movement was a movement organized to keep the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh united, and to prevent the division of the state - separating the Telangana districts of the state into a separate Telangana state. The movement was supported by government employees, advocates in Coastal Andhra & Rayalaseema regions along with students from 14 universities, various occupational, caste & religious groups of Coastal Andhra & Rayalaseema regions. The last set of protests were triggered after the Congress Working Committee decision to divide the state came to an end after President of India gave nod to Telangana Bill which would make the latter to come into existence from 2 June 2014.

Jetti Alfred Oliver is the present chancellor of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences (SHUATS), Allahabad , which is a Govt. Aided Private (Minority) University under section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. He is an agriculturalist, with his past experience in the development sector, continues to be in the forefront of the leadership of like-minded initiatives and is an elected member of the 10-member international governing council of the Society for International Development (SID).

Acharya A. B. Masilamani or Abel Boanerges Masilamani (1914–1990) was a Golden Jubilee Baptist pastor and evangelist on whom parallels had been drawn comparing his ecclesiastical ministry with that of Saint Paul. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church, one of the Saint Thomas Christian Churches founded by Thomas the Apostle in the first century which holds the annual Maramon Conventions used to have Masilamani preach at its conventions since the 1970s. During one such Maramon Convention held in 1983 at Maramon, Masilamani was one of the main speaker who spoke on Christology in the presence of the two patriarchs of the Mar Thoma Church, Alexander Mar Thoma and Thomas Mar Athanius.

Ravela Joseph is a Priest of the Protestant Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches (STBC) with over 50 years of ecclesiastical ministry, much of which was into Spiritual formation, having taught at the Andhra Christian Theological College, Secunderabad, Telangana (India).

CBM Star of Hope Hospital is a participating hospital of Council of Christian Hospitals, an autonomous body founded to manage medical institutions founded by Canadian Baptist Ministries. CBM Star of Hope Hospital is located in Akiveedu, West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, India.

S. E. Krupa Rao was a Pastor of the Protestant Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars where he held leadership positions in the Church society whose area of operation extended from Srikakulam District in the northern circars along the Bay of Bengal right through seven districts up to Guntur District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBM Serango Christian Hospital</span> Hospital in Odisha, India

CBM-Serango Christian Hospital located in Serango, Gajapati District, Odisha, India was the outcome of missions of Canadian Baptist Mission who set foot in 1876 with arrival of The Reverend William F. Armstrong and subsequently established a mission station on the hills in Serango. It is a participating hospital of Council of Christian Hospitals, an autonomous body founded to take forward medical missions of Canadian Baptist Ministries.

The Kretzmann Commission was constituted in 1969 by the Board of Governors of the Andhra Christian Theological College, Hyderabad to:

survey and study the task of theological education in the Churches related to the College Society

Waldo Penner was a Baptist missionary who served in India from 1946 through 1981 as a team member of the Canadian Baptist Ministries. Penner was born in Secunderabad in India where his parents were missionaries of the American Baptist Mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muthyala Theophilus</span> Indian Protestant priest

M. Theophilus was a Baptist Patriarch and Spiritual Formator of the Protestant Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars, a major congregation along the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh, India that extends from Srikakulam District in the northern tip through Guntur District in the middle. Theophilus taught at the Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada during the period 1926–1946 and was also Senator of India's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) during 1942–1946 taking forward not only the theological concerns of the university but also the concerns of Serampore College, which as a dual University affiliated entity, had the arts, science and commerce faculties affiliated to the University of Calcutta. In matters of Church union, Theophilus actively cooperated with the National Council of Churches in India that not only incorporated the Protestant and the Oriental Orthodox Churches but also reached out to the Catholics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andhra Pradesh (1956–2014)</span> Former state in India with Hyderabad as its capital

Andhra Pradesh, retrospectively referred to as United Andhra Pradesh,Undivided Andhra Pradesh or Ummadi Andhra Pradesh, was a state in India formed by States Reorganisation Act, 1956 with Hyderabad as its capital and was reorganised by Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The state was made up of three distinct cultural regions of Telangana, Rayalaseema, and Coastal Andhra. Before the 1956 reorganisation Telangana had been part of Hyderabad State ruled by Nizam of Hyderabad, whereas Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra had been part of Andhra State, formerly a part of Madras Presidency ruled by British India.

Nalla Thomas was an Asian Christian and a spiritual personality, who served the Church in Assam and undivided Andhra Pradesh for nearly four decades comprising the seventies through the New millennium. He used to compose hymns for enhancing spiritual direction. Thomas was an Ecclesiastical administrator of Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches Society.

References

  1. "2,248 Telugu Baptist Churches Seek to Fulfill God's Dream in India". www.eacinet.org.
  2. "16,000 Telugu Baptists Celebrated Unity at Ongole, India". www.eacinet.org.
  3. "Baptist Convention of Telugu Churches Celebrated First Anniversary". www-old.internationalministries.org.
  4. "Baptist Convention of Telugu Churches". eacinet.org.