Sow Saal Ki Kahani is an Inspirational History of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in India. From the inspiring lure of the Indian shore to a decade of silence, and on to a century of service, with centennial milestones of North India and of South India, the story moves on to the pinnacle of a return and a reward. Dr. Roger Hedlund in his Foreword views the book as “both a record and a celebration of important events and significant persons in that saga told by Bishop Moses Kumar as a participant”.
The author’s earlier work, Setting Stones was designed as an ‘interpretive history’. Now at the threshold of the centennial, he was inspired to retell the whole story in a selective but inspiring manner. The saga depicts the lives of Bishop J.H. King who walked on the soil of India, and of some twelve missionaries who served the people to the best of their capabilities. The culmination of the story is seen in a return and a reward! So now on to a walk through the pages of the book!
“Using his usual scholarly attributes, Dr. Moses Kumar has provided an extensive study of the work of the Holy Spirit through the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in India. This book will be the ground-breaking resource for future studies of the key individuals and efforts from native Indian leaders and pastors as well as from missionaries who spent much of their lives in India. Dr. Kumar has rightly captured that the work of God in India is indeed a Place of Hope among a People of Promise.”
Dr. B. S. Moses Kumar is an accomplished author and a church historian. A triple graduate with studies in Arts, Theology and Education, he also a holds an M.A. in English and an M.Th. in Theology. He further earned a Ph.D. in English and a Ph.D. in Theology. Having served in various ecclesiastical roles and responsibilities over four decades, he presently serves as President Emeritus of Hyderabad Bible College, and as Presiding Bishop of IPHC Ministries: South India. More than all, he serves as Founding Pastor of Donald Church Hyderabad for 29 years.
His first work, Setting Stones: An Interpretive History of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in India was published by LSR Publications: Franklin Springs, Georgia in 2006. His doctoral research in English Literature (The Religious Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Theological Perspective) was published by ISPCK: New Delhi in 2009. His doctoral research in Theology (Incarnation of the Gospel in Indian Culture: A Study of the Art and Poetry of Pulidindi Solomon Raj) was published by Christian World Imprints: New Delhi in 2019. He co-edited with Prof. David Zersen a Festschrift for Dr. P. Solomon Raj, with the title, Planting in Native Soil: Studies in Gospel Inculturation, jointly published by Concordia University Press, Austin, TX and ISPCK, New Delhi in 2014.
History is not there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from." And if it offends you, even better. Because then you are less likely to repeat it. It is not yours to erase. It belongs to all of us. History is not just the story of humans on the face of the earth. It is rather the story of God's dealings with humans, more than all; After all, He created them and the whole universe. There is much that is written about what God has done and has been doing, and also about what humans have done and have been doing in different parts of His world. History therefore is ever being written with the passage of time, as a record of the past. There is also much in history that was not written, and much that is unknown even if documented. As one gets to know more and more of the events of history thus far unfamiliar, there springs forth greater appreciation towards God and to all the humans who are a part of this story.
Here is a historical narrative of a small segment of the Indian Church, recounted by one of her sons, who grew up in this movement from early childhood. The name of this segment is Pentecostal Holiness Church, christened thus by divine providence in 1898, even before the birth of the modern Pentecostal Movement at the turn of the twentieth century. Started as a Wesleyan Holiness organization in the U.S.A., this denomination had embraced the Pentecostal experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, when the world-wide Pentecostal movement was birthed at the Azusa Street Revival in 1906.
The lure of the shore is fascinating - facilitating expedition and exploration. The maritime discoveries of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries were adventurous exploits with amazing discoveries - opening up new vistas and horizons, and adding new lands and peoples to the world map and to global demography. These sea routes to the new found lands, undoubtedly, had made their mark in bringing the world and the people together, facilitating navigation by merchants and missionaries, and promoting foreign trade and missions movement.
It was quite a revelation when I saw the lines from Bishop Clyde Hughes, the former General Overseer of the International Pentecostal Church of Christ (IPCC): In the beginning, God had a plan for India. So much of a plan that He devoted 1/12 of His original human resources, the disciples, to that land." The Lord certainly must have known that more than 1/6th of the global population would live here in this land at the end of the age. What a significant description of God's plan for India! Beginning from Apostle Thomas in 52 A.D., there were many who reached the shores of India. We see a series of visitations all through history by the explorers and the evangelists, who carried the good news - representing their diverse denominational persuasions. The Chronological Capsule of Indian Missions' in the Appendices elucidates this fact.
Only eternity will reveal how many had ventured to reach the Indian shores with the good news of Jesus Christ, and what they had experienced - tragic or triumphant - with many being buried in this soil, or in the seas before they could ever reach the shore! The significant stalwarts among those who made it, for certain considerations, were William Carey and Bishop J. H. King.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist