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India Missions Association is
the national federation of Christian NGOs in India. IMA assists missions in
India to serve all peoples, languages, cultures and geography through her
members. IMA Members partner to share resources, research, holistic service,
effective training, accountability and care of their personnel. At present
IMA represents 242 Indian mission organizations; 1200 vision partners, over
5000 Indian Missions leaders, over 2500 Indian Mission Board members and
around 55000 holistic workers within India and beyond.
National Leadership Conference 2011 is a time when the national leaders come
together to discuss and decide the way forward for the Indian Missions. We
are glad to report that NLC 2011 was held from the 14th to 17th September
2011 here at the IMA Vision City, Hyderabad.
14th September 2011
NLC-2011 started with the
spectacular opening ceremony on the 14th evening at 5:00PM with a
traditional welcome Banjara dance parading throughout the campus.
 Before
the inauguration ceremony, the IMA National Mission Library was inaugurated
by Dr. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal, IMA Chairman followed by dedicatory prayers by
Dr. Ian Payne, IMA EC Member.
 The
ceremony began with the ‘Mizo’ Choir singing their welcome song and the
dancing children of BBPT with National Tri-color Flag celebrating our
freedom and commitment to God for our dear country. The ceremony was chaired
by the Conference Chairperson Rev. Dr. Lalsingh Lazarus, who called on the
IMA Chairman Dr. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal and Rev. Dr. Richard Howell, the
General Secretary, Evangelical Fellowship of India to inaugurate the
conference by lighting the ceremonial candle. Later he called on 3 Indian
Church Leaders to stand to his left and 3 Indian Mission Leaders to stand to
his right on the stage to assist him in the ceremony. The IMA Chairman lit
the ceremonial conference candle and then the light were passed to the
Indian Church & Mission leader who later together lit their ceremonial
candles as a mark of the unique connection we have in the Gospel & in the
discipling of our nation. Then the IMA Chairman declared the conference open
followed by opening prayers led by EFI General Secretary Rev. Dr. Richard
Howell.
 There
were 465 attending delegates, representing missions and churches across
India. The Cross Fire team from Emmanuel House of Worship, Secunderabad, the
‘Mizo’ choir and Bodavo Banjara Phozear Trust school children enthralled the
participants with their worship, singing and choreography on the first
evening. The IMA NLC 2011 Chairperson Rev. Dr. Lalsingh Lazarus welcomed the
participants which were followed by the singing of the NLC 2011 theme song
led by Mrs. Asangla Patra. The IMA NLC 2011 affirmation was read out by Dr.
Ian Payne, the chairperson for the first evening meeting. Rev. Susanta Patra
briefly shared on importance of the theme, “Church & Mission,
connected...” and then prayer was led by Rev. Dr. Chiranjeevi.
 Evening
Message: Dr. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal the Chairman of India Missions
Association introduced the speaker Rev. Dr. Ajay Livingstone Lal CEO of
Central India Christian Mission based at Damoh, Madhaya Pradesh. Rev. Dr.
Ajay Lal shared the message from Acts 17:16–18. He pointed out 3 important
lessons from the particular passage;
1. Paul saw, what God wanted him to see and challenged the participating
leaders with the question; are we able to see what God wants us to see?
2. Paul had great burden in his heart on the happenings around him. He
challenged the leaders with the question; what are we doing to see our
surroundings?
3. Paul acted upon the happenings and did, what God wanted him to do. Do we
have the courage to put things in action? These were the challenge the
speaker put before the delegates. Dr. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal, IMA Chairman
closed the first day program with prayer.
15th September 2011
The day began with worship led by Rev. Sudipta Nanda of National Fellowship,
followed by a small prayer groups led by Rev. Vijay Mohod CEO of Bharatiya
Sewak Sangati.
Bible Exposition: Mrs. Sheeba Abraham Varghese introduced the speaker
Rev. Dr. Richard Howell for the morning Bible exposition. Dr. Howell spoke
on the theme ‘God’s New Society’ where he shared from the Book of Acts by
emphasizing that Paul handled the multi cultural issues wisely through the
spirit of godly wisdom and avoided major missional disasters. He emphasized
that we should not be biased with gender and culture. After message Mrs.
Jean Jeppegnanam offered the closing prayer for the session.
Plenary Session: The plenary session was facilitated by Rev.
Lalzuithanga, Executive Secretary of Synod Mission Board. There were three
presenters to present three different dimensions of missions in India. Rev.
Susanta Patra, IMA General Secretary, presented on the Indian Missions over
the 60 years and the present trends, Rev. Kennedy Dhanabalan, Director –
EFICOR presented on the holistic approach (Social & Kingdom Concerns) in
Indian Missions and Dr. Rajesh Duthie, Director – GEMS Maharashtra presented
on the issue of connecting to the masses in India through Technology. He
encouraged mission organizations to use contemporary technology to maximize
the productivity.
Book release: Christian Institute of Management released the book
‘Basic Management Handbook’. Mr. J. S. Anbu introduced the book. Rev.
Charles Finny released the book and Mr. Vijay Bhaskar led in the
intercessory prayer.
Workshops: The workshops were participatory in nature where practical
approaches were shared. The followings were the list of workshops;
1. Confronting National Challenges in Mission: Mr. Ragland Remo Paul the CEO
of Reaching Hand Society led the workshop focusing on the 12 evangelistic
challenges that India is grappling and the discussion was based on how we
can capitalized these challenges to become more effective witnesses of the
Gospel to the various segments of our society.
2. Church Women in Mission: Miss Atola Subong, Northeast of India Baptist
Women Leader from Shillong explained and challenged the attending leaders on
the importance of reaching the women in their own cultural context. The
concerns of discriminated women were highlighted. The women enjoyed
discussing on the various issues pertaining to the challenges &
evangelization women in India.
3. Mobilizing Prayer for Mission: Mr. Patrick Joshua, the founder of the
National Prayer Network led the session and shared his experiences of the
power of Prayer. The participating leaders discussed on the various steps &
strategies to take the movement forward in mobilizing prayer for missions.
4. Mobilizing resources in Mission: Mr. George Philip, the CEO of
Trans-world Radio spoke on principles of fundraising in India. He emphasized
on the Importance of accountability, transparency between donors and
beneficiaries. The discussion & strategy sessions were exciting. He called
attention to practical fund raising issues in the Indian Churches.
5. Training and Education in Mission: Rev. Dr. D. B. Kulothungan, the CEO of
Maharashtra Village Ministries shared the need and importance for church
based training and education in mission work. The participating leaders
evaluated various case studies and examples to incorporate in missions &
churches. The participating leaders prepared a clear road map on the HOW of
educating the Church in mission.
6. Market Place Mission: Scientist Siluvainathan, Board member Indian Church
Revival Movement from Mysore led the session and asked the participants to
share their experiences. He suggested some practical ways of witnessing at
the marketplace in different contexts. The participating leaders discussed
and decided to take the challenge to their respective churches and encourage
the Christian to be a witness in their marketplace where they spend most of
their time and where they work and/or people know them.
During the afternoon tea, the IMA Chairman and the Executive Committee met
the dignitaries over a cup of tea & snack. This time was set apart to listen
to the leaders and be connected. IMA Chairman enquired from each dignitary
as to how IMA could help & serve them to disciple this nation.
National Mission Celebration: The National Mission Celebration was
meant to connect missions and Churches across the country. The evening
celebration was chaired by Dr. Ian Payne, the CEO of SAIACS, Bangalore who
opened the celebration with worship led by team from National Fellowship.
The evening was filled with heartwarming songs from BBPT children and Mizo
choir. The “Connection”, IMA souvenir cum magazine, was released by Rev.
Richard Howell & Dr. Rajesh Kumar Agarwal.
Rev. Barnabas Kim, the President of Korean Mission Association (in India)
shared about the need for partnership, fellowship and orientation from both
ends. He emphasized on the working alongside to penetrate the Gospel to
different communities in our country.
Evening Message: Dr. Ian Payne introduced the speaker Rev. Augustine
Jebakumar. He challenged the participants to go to the basics in preparing
the Church in witnessing to the community since the Church in India failed
to train the people to be witnesses and disciple the people to be followers
of Christ. The participating leaders were in tears and were deeply moved by
the touch of God for a deeper passion and commitment to discipling of our
nation. Dr. Ian Payne led in the closing prayer and benediction.
16th September 2011
The day began with the worship led by National Fellowship Team.
Bible Exposition: Rev. Dr. Richard Howell led in the Bible Exposition
on the topic ‘God’s living embodiment of the Gospel’. He referred to John
18: 28-40 and as application to the Word shared the challenges faced by
Indian church which is living in deception, oppression and violence. He
exhorted the church to pursue the truth, justice and peace.
Plenary Session: Rev. Dr. Ajay Kumar Lama, the General Secretary,
Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast of India led the plenary session on
‘Indian Church’. He shared about segregation causalities and theological
immaturity among churches. He spoke on 5 missiological purposes in the
Biblical Church. His powerful presentation moved the leaders greatly.
Later the intercessory prayer was led by Dr. P. C. Mathew, CEO, Urban India
Mission, Bangalore praying for our nation, missions and churches. On the
request of the participants, Dr. Rajesh Duthie made a demo on Mission
Management System and the response was enthusiastic.
The post lunch session was Annual General Body Meeting. The session began
with prayer led by Dr. Richard Howell. Later the member missions present
introduced themselves. Rev. Paul Radha Krishnan read out the AGM minutes of
the year 2010. Rev. Susanta Patra, the IMA General Secretary presented IMA
Annual report. Mr. A. Prasad Rao presented the annual financial report on
behalf of the IMA Treasurer.
Again during the afternoon tea, the IMA Chairman and the Executive Committee
met the denominational leaders & Pastors over a cup of tea & snack. This
time was set apart to listen to the ordained ministers and be connected. IMA
Chairman requested the pastors to set connected and assured that IMA would
everything possible to help & serve them in the endeavor of discipling this
nation.
The evening session was interwoven with delightful singing & cultural
presentation by the ‘Rock Church’ team, BBPT and the ‘Mizo’ Choir. To
demonstrate the connection we have with one another symbolically, IMA
Chairman, Dr. Rajesh Agarwal, representing the Indian Mission handed over a
memento to Rev. Dr. Atul Aghamkar, the Chairman of Evangelical Fellowship of
India representing the Evangelical Church Body in India and vice versa.
Later, the same was exchanged by Rev. Susanta Patra, the IMA General
Secretary to Rev. Dr. Richard Howell, the EFI General Secretary. This was
done in representation of the decade of church & mission connections and the
new movement birthed in the work of discipling our nation.
National Award Ceremony: Mr. Sagar Singh Bhukiya(BBPT) and Miss.
Khristina Patra(NF) were the host for the national awards ceremony. The
ceremony takes place each year to create an awareness to excel in all that
the missions do and acknowledge the contribution of the missions in India.
This year NAC was done little differently. Ten awards were presented to
recognize various aspects of significant contributions in the Indian
Mission.
* Pioneering Ministry Award - Mission to the Blind, Chennai.
* Creative Strategy Award – National Fellowship, Kolkata
* Partnership Award – Missionary Upholders Trust, Vellore
* Member Care Award – Blessing Youth Mission, Vellore
* Leadership Development Award – SAIACS, Bangalore
* Innovative Younger CEO Award – Mr. Stephen Christopher, TVGM, Trichy
* Innovative Entrepreneur Award – Mr. Sam Raj, CANA, New Delhi
* Mission Board Member Award – Mr. Vasudev Deshmukh, Nagpur, Maharashtra
* Indian Donor Award – Mr. Devraj, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
* Life Time Achievement Award – Mr. Patrick Joshua, National Prayer Network.
Evening Message: Rev. D. B. Kulothungan introduced the speaker Mr.
Prem Kumar and the message was given on the topic ‘The Church – A discipling
community’. Mr. Kumar urged the participant to realize on the importance of
disciple making by elaborating on, what disciple making is, disciple making
in a community, process in making disciples, the result & reward of disciple
making. He challenged the leaders on the need for a deeper commitment to
disciple making and called on the Church & Mission in India to greater
passion to get the nation discipled through the message of the Gospel.
The day’ sessions were concluded with prayer and benediction by Rev. D. B.
Kulothungan.
17th September 2011
The day began with the worship led by National Fellowship team. The Bible
Exposition was given by Rev. Dr. Richard Howell who shared insights on the
topic of ‘God’s Kingdom under His gracious rule on earth’. His practical
teachings from the Word of God were a moving experience to all the
participating leaders. During his exposition, he brought to the notice of
the participants several practical incidents and thought provoking ideas.
Many personal decisions were made to apply the truths and follow the
teachings.
Plenary Session: The final plenary session “The Integration of
National Church & Mission” was led by Mr. P. K. D. Lee of the Methodist
Church in Hyderabad and former Vice-President of Haggai Institute
International. He defined what is church and what is mission in practical
term? He explained brilliantly through examples of how Church & Mission
should be integrated. He shared from his own experience working with the
Indian Railways. He boldly emphasized that the Indian Railway was owned by
God, not by the Government of India and that he was a missionary sent by his
Church to Railways as their missionary. The audience was stimulated by his
presentation.
Closing Ceremony: The post lunch session was a closing ceremony led
by IMA General Secretary Rev. Susanta Patra with the communion service. In
the concluding message, he challenged the leaders on the unfinished task
before us of discipling of our nation. The participating leaders during the
communion reiterated the connection between the Indian Church & Mission in
the work of bringing the people of India to the foot of the Cross. It was a
moving experience for all the delegates present. We certainly praise God for
His doing by creating a new sense of togetherness & belonging to each other
in the work of mission. The mission of God was given to the Church and
therefore, the Indian Church and Mission made a pledge to set connected and
finish the task in this decade of Church & Mission connection. Indeed, this
connection will enhance the penetration of the Gospel to all the communities
in our country.
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