Discipling the
Responsive
People Groups
of India
By Bishop Ezra Sargunam,
Evangelical Church of India
One Mission Society entered India in the state some of the missiological factors beearly 1940s, after the door was closed in hind the phenomenal church growth:
China. Driven by this strong conviction that
“the Orient” should be evangelized by its
• Unlike some other overseas misown sons and daughters, OMS established
sions that may focus on establishing
seminaries to train national evangelists. With
schools and hospitals and other relief
that heritage and specific call, OMS first
and development projects, OMS has
started a seminary in Allahabad and then in
had a clear vision and mission since
Madras, which is now Chennai.
the beginning to disciple people, plant
OMS then established the Evangelical
national churches in the countries
Church of India (ECI) in 1945 after India bewhere they operate, and then train and
came independent. Despite not having strong
equip national leaders to plant indigdenominational ties or partnerships outside
enous churches.
of OMS (like other successful churches in
• Since India has 27 major languages
India have), the Lord has enabled us to exand hundreds of other dialects, we felt
perience phenomenal church growth. Today,
the need to establish regional Bible
we have more than 3,500 local churches and
schools. It was OMS missionary Dr.
4,000 house churches, with a total memberElmer Kilbourne who helped us to
ship of over 600,000 people and 3,000 pasestablish the first 11 Bible schools.
tors, evangelists, and lay preachers. We also
These small regional schools currently
have 13 seminaries and Bible schools across
train more evangelists and pastors to
India, training hundreds of young men and
minister to various regions than our
women for ministry. ECI has 765 indigenous
major seminaries.
missionaries working in the northern states
of India, sent through the Indian Missionary
• According to studies conducted by
Movement (IMM), the missionary division of
Joshua Project and Operation World,
ECI.
16,804 people groups exist in the
Even in the late 1970s, Dr. Donald McGavran,
world today. India has more than 4,000
the father of the modern church growth
sub-castes, tribes, and other ethnic
movement, observed that, “The fascinating
groups, among which only about 300
story of the unique church planting ministry
to 400 people groups have had some
of ECI in India … achieved by Dr. Sargunam
sort of exposure to the Gospel. ECI
and his colleagues must be told everywhere
has a strong ministry among all these
in the pessimistic missionary world.”
least-reached and unengaged people
I wish to share the ECI story briefly and
groups.
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