Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches in India


Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches in India is the largest Mennonite denomination of India. Its membership exceeds 100,000 persons, in 840 congregations. The Presiding officer for the conference is Dr P B Arnold. The headquarters at Jadcherla, Telangana. It is a member of larger Anabaptist worldwide community Mennonite World Conference.
The Conference also runs a Medical Center at Jadcherla by name M B Medical Center many patients are treated here. It was established in 19th century from its inception it has been doing a great service to the people. There is a proposal for a Medical College. The Mennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College is the theological arm of the Conference with affiliation to the Senate of Serampore College.
As of 1957 it was Telugu-speaking and in Andhra Pradesh. At this point, its membership is about 1% of the population of Andhra Pradesh.

Origin

The Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches of India began like many other global church communities: with mission. Mennonite Brethren Church in Russia sent their first missionaries, Abraham J. and Maria Friesen, to India in 1889. Abraham and Maria started the first mission station in Nalgonda, India. This work was affiliated with American Baptist Telugu Mission and after the discontinuation of MB Mission from Russia after World War I broke out in 1914, the whole work was taken by Baptist Mission. Andhra Mennonite Brethren Convention went on to become The Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches in India and became independent from foreign missionaries in 1957, but did not have full independence until 1973.

Timeline

Brief summary of the church today

As of 2010, Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches of India included 840 congregations and 103,488 members. The majority of the churches and the Conference's main offices are in the Telangana.

What does it mean to be Anabaptist?

Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches of India is connected to the original Anabaptists through the Mennonite Brethren missionaries. Although, "…they are not well rooted in Anabaptist teachings." Mennonite Brethren Indian historian and professor, believes that Gandhi would have respected the Mennonite Brethren church in India for embodying the teachings of Jesus.

How does the church nurture a sense of continuity with the Anabaptist tradition?

The conference has historical archives located in Shamshabad, India. The India Conference is a member of the International Community of Mennonite Brethren. In 2006, they made a mission partnership between themselves and American Mennonite Brethren. They called the partnership the Delhi Project, and it focuses on ministry of the middle class in India.

Major challenges

The India church struggles with leadership. When the church was first independent from foreign missions the leadership had conflicts rooted in "regional, family, and other social considerations…," which led to lawsuits over church power. India has a lack of qualified pastors. Rev. Dr. R.S. Lemuel, Chairman of Mennonite Brethren Board of Theological Education, says that in 1999 there were "837 M.B. Congregations and only about 197 trained pastors." India has a caste system, which primarily oppresses the Harijans group. Historically, the Mennonite Brethren church in India has also seen conversions from Islam; one mission station relocated following the conversion of several Muslims to Christianity.
The administration of the Governing Council had approved a mortgage amounting to Rs.38 Crores from various banks by using many of the properties associated to the Conference which were accumulated by the missionaries for various purposes of community development and welfare activities, such as schools, hospitals and boarding for underprivileged children. As of February 2016 the loan has not been repaid, thus the lenders are proceeding with an auction sale of the properties at Jadcherla on which the Mennonite Brethren Medical Center is present.

Key people