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''6. Who Were The People Who Came Out And From Where:'' At that time Kerala had three main Christian groups: Eastern Orthodox Church (now split up into at least three groups), Mar Thoma Church, and Roman Catholics, in addition to the smaller Chaldean Syrian Church. Together they had close to 2000 churches in Kerala. The first batch of Brethren Believers came out from them. Most of them had to pay a heavy cost for their faith as they were excommunicated from church, society, and their families. Many of them were mercilessly beaten and humiliated throughout their life. Others were thrown out of their houses when too young to take up a job, but they all persevered. There are no known cases at that time of people going back to what they abandoned -- though many of them were invited back to positions of comfort in their ancestral families and churches.
''7. Exactly What Kinds Of Hardships Did They Have To Suffer:'' Today we live in a society so vastly different from the society of a century ago that for most of us it is difficult to understand their agonies. They lived in a close-knit community-based society where one's family and society was one's identity. Without it one was socially dead. Thus , excommunication meant virtual death, with no food, no prospect for jobs, marriages, plots of lands, or even respectability. It was common for people in the mainstream to spit upon them, strip them of clothes, or throw animal excreta upon them -- all in public. Nobody would come to the rescue of these "heretics" and "prodigals" who had abandoned the ways of their forefathers.
''7b. Can You Be More Specific About The Hardships:'' Yes, I can tell of many specific instances. The first is the case of my own great grandfather Koshy Mathunni. His Eastern Orthodox family kicked him and his young wife out because of his faith. When his wife died in her thirties, there was NO place to bury her(early 1900s). The Brethren did not have graveyards, and they were not welcome to use graveyards that were strictly under the control of nominal denominational churches. There were no common or government-controlled graveyards -- and even today these do not exist in India. Thus finally Finally he had to bury her in his own compound at the back of the house, adjacent to his bedroom. This was a sensation because nobody had ever done that in that region. Another example is that of Lonappan Upadeshi in Angamally (Kerala). Amidst all kinds of tortures he had to face the untimely death of his daughter who was barely 12. She was buried, but then next morning the family was traumatized when they discovered the coffin placed back by enemies in their courtyard. Anyone could have asked why God (apparently) failed to protect these children who had abandoned all what they had to follow Jesus. Of course Lonappan Upadeshi did not ask that question, and he went on to become one of the greatest leaders among the Brethren, but we should try to understand the trauma of this young man who did not have the benefit of hindsight that we have today when we study Brethren History of India.
''8. What Happened After The Beginning:'' As it happens in any new movement, it took some time for the new believers to understand what all is involved in the New Testament Pattern. In about 3 to 5 years time they firmly understood and declared declare the autonomy of local assemblies, the need for believers to observe the Lord's Table, and the need to emphasize the priesthood of all believers. There was also a maturing in their understanding of many fundamental and practical issues. Interestingly the oral and written ministry of several non Brethren Indian and European writers also helped in some areas.
''9. What About The Growth:'' The Indian Brethren movement was a missionary-minded movement right from the beginning. Men committed themselves to share the gospel everywhere, and women and children joined in it at great personal inconvenience and even starvation. Consequently there was an explosive increase in the number of new believers and new churches. Today (20012026) there are in excess of 2200 churches 3000 assemblies in India and 100 and estimated 200 abroad made up of Indian origin. This is more assemblies that the total number of assemblies in UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand put together.
''10. What Is The Estimated Indian Brethren Population:'' Since the Brethren do not have a central hierarchy, all numbers are only reasonable estimates and not concrete statements. Surveys have been conducted by Gospel Literature Service, Stewards Association, Insight India (insight_India@yahoo.com) and others and a compilation of the data shows in excess of 2200 3000 churches, more than 50,000 baptized members and 120,000 total members. There are over 100 200 Brethren assemblies of Indian origin in the Gulf, USA, Canada, and some other countries with an estimated 5000 10,000 baptized believers.
''11. What Kind Of Church Government Do They Practice:'' except for a minority, the Indian Brethren emphasize the autonomy of local churches, and practice it rigorously. Each church is overseen by a plurality of mostly self-appointed (and in some cases, elected) elders. A few churches have deacons too. There is a strong aversion to the perceived one-man ministry of other churches including the Pentecostals. The setup is mostly democratic with Christ as the head, but at the same time they are substantially different from the setup seen in democratic countries. A minority of churches (Less than 100 among the 22003000) are controlled by people who are "outsiders" to the churches. The This unbiblical control has developed over the years through some individuals who have preferred to run these churches as they pleased so as to be able to "report" them as "their" work.
''12. What Is The Strength Of Evangelists:'' It is difficult to give an exact number because there are at least three kinds of evangelists in India: the commended ones, the non commended ones, and the tentmakers. Of these the first two together will have in excess of 1500 1700 evangelists. (This is more than the combined number of foreign missionaries sent by the assemblies in UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) There is no record of Tentmakers and their number might exceed the number of those who are in full-time ministry, though they are often not identified as Tentmakers. Also, there is no systematic emphasis as yet on the role and importance of Tentmakers in modern India, though some have begun to speak out.
''13. How Are The Brethren Evangelists Supported:'' right from the start of the movement the Brethren have emphasized the need for evangelists and people in full-time Christian ministry to depend upon the Lord for their financial support, which is often called "living by faith". They are supported by the freewill gifts of people, which usually has no predictable frequency. This a system difficult for non-Brethren to comprehend, but it has worked well in the last one century, and even today in excess of 1500 men and their families continue to live and labour under this system, which is the largest indigenous missionary force in India. There are some indigenous missionary-funds run by assembly believers, and they render a valuable service to the evangelists, the total quantum of support received through them usually does not exceed 20% of the yearly financial needs. These missionary funds have no supervisory role over the evangelists, and the evangelists have no official obligation to these funds. The handbooks released by these funds, often at an yearly basis, are used by many churches to pray systematically for the evangelists. Some assemblies and many individuals use these lists to pray for and support evangelists. Not all funds support all evangelists, and there are many who because of one reason or other are supported only by one or even by none of the missionary funds. The uncertainty about financial support (humanly speaking) has been exploited by some Indian and many foreign believers into manipulating about ten percent of evangelists and churches to do as these believers dictate from outside. They have been able to exercise this control by providing a steady financial support, but with strings attached. This has caused not a small amount of damage to the assemblies in India.
