PAKISTAN AND THE CHURCH
Pakistan and the Church.doc
INTRODUCTION:
1) Information about Pakistan.
2) Church History in Pakistan.
3) Christian Community Condition in Pakistan.
4) My Vision for Mission in Pakistan among Christians.
5) Mission Opportunities in Pakistan.
6) How to Evangelize the Muslims?
1) Information about Pakistan:
a) History of Pakistan
l British ruled the Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years-from 1756 to 1947.
l Pakistan means “Land of the Pure.”
l Pakistan separated from India on 14 August 1947 in two parts: West Pakistan, as Pakistan stands today, and East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh.
l In January 1972, cause of ‘Civil War’ East Pakistan separated from West Pakistan as an independent state of Bangladesh.
b) Pakistan and the Flag
l Country Name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan (long form). Pakistan (short form), West Pakistan (former).
l Capital: Islamabad.
l Flag Description: Green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam.
c) Geography of Pakistan
l Border countries: Iran and Afghanistan in the west, China in the north, Kashmir in the northeast and India in the east.
l Four Provinces of Pakistan:
1) Sind, 2) Punjab, 3) NWFP, 4) Baluchistan
l Ethnic Groups: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pastun (Pathan), Baloch, and Muhajir (Immigrants from India at the time of Partition and their descendants).
l Languages: Urdu (official) and English (official); Sindhi, Punjabi, Baluchi, Pashtu and many different dialogues.
l Population: 160 Millions
l Religion: State Religion: Islam
l Demography: Muslim: 96%
l Hindus and Other Groups: 2 %
l Christians (Protestants and Catholics): 2.00%
2) Church History in Pakistan:
a) Early History of the Church
The ancient church of the so-called Thomas Christians in South India staunchly maintains that the apostle Thomas himself brought Christianity to India in the first century. This claim cannot be definitely proved or denied, but there is strong historical evidence that by the third century A. D. parts of India had been Christianized. The rise of Islam had a serious effect on Christianity in South India. However, Marco Polo in the late thirteenth century mentioned in his encouraging reports about the survival of Christianity in India, including the Mar Thomas Church on the Malabar Coast in the south-west.
An ancient carved cross discovered at Taxila indicates an early date for the arrival of Christianity in the area which is now Pakistan. When the Church of Pakistan was inaugurated on 1 November 1970, the Pakistan Times carried the following report: "The United Church has taken as its symbol the Taxila Cross which dates back to the second century A. D. and was recovered from the old city of "Sirka" in 1935. The discovery of the Taxila Cross and some other objects of the same date give clear indication of the Christian Church having been in this part of the world"
Nestorian missionaries came to the Punjab during the eighth century, but their work had no lasting results. By the late ninth century Gandispur (modern Shahabad) in the Punjab is reported to be the seat of a metropolitan: senior bishop.
b) Roman Catholic Missions
European Christianity next found its way to the subcontinent (India), when Vasco de Gama sailed into the Indian Ocean in 1498. In the century that followed, the Roman Catholic Portuguese opened enclaves along the Indian coasts while the Muslim Mughals were spreading over much of the interior. Jesuit mission began early with the arrival of Francis Xavier in GAO in 1542.
In 1579, the Mogul Emperor Akbar, head of a great Muslim empire in India, invited Christian priests to come to his court and in 1581 Jesuit missionaries from Portugal arrived at Akbar's court at Fatehpur Sikri. Many attempts were made to convert Akbar, the Jesuits recognizing that if he converted to Christianity, others in the Empire would follow. At one point when Akbar was showing a strong interest in Christianity, he ordered the demolition of all minarets in Lahore and ordered that mosques should be changed into grain stores and stables. In 1594 Akbar gave permission to the missionaries to build a church as well as to preach publicly and make converts. In early 1600 two Jesuit priests persuaded Akbar to issue a firman (a sovereign's edict) granting freedom of worship, the right to preach publicly and to make converts.
Akbar was succeeded by his son Jehangir in 1605. Like his father he was tolerant of all religions and the Jesuits had great hopes that die would become a Christian. He provided generous fights for the building of churches in Lahore and Agra. But a violent rivalry between the English and Portuguese at Jehangir's court provoked his displeasure from 1613 to 1615. During this time churches were closed, and life became very hard for the Christian community, who moved to Agra.
Jehangir's son, Shah Jehan was a much stauncher believer in the greatness of Islam, but tolerated the Christians at Agra until the appalling behavior of the Portuguese community at the port of Hugh came forcibly to his attention. The Hugh Portuguese made most of their wealth by a flourishing slave trade in Mogul subjects, whom they kidnapped. In response Shah Jehan attacked Hugh in June 1632, killing most of its inhabitants. A few survivors were taken back to Agra, and Christians in general fell out of favor. In 1633/4 Shah Jehan issued a decree which ordered the closure and destruction of all Christian places of worship. At this time the church at Lahore was destroyed. He also issued a decree which forbade conversion from Islam and Christian public worship. The Jesuits dared not go outside for fear of the mob. Shah Jehan soon relaxed his anti-Christian orders, but the general unpopularity of Christians continued, so that the mission at Agra could achieve little.
Returning our focus to Pakistan, it should be mentioned that Augustinian missionaries worked in the Sindh in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and Carmelites founded a church and mission at Thatta, near Karachi in 1618. By 1672, their work had come to an unfruitful end, and no more trace of Christianity is found in the area until after the British conquest of Sindh in 1842-43.
c) Protestant Missions
Protestant Christianity was established in the area which is now Pakistan during the nineteenth century by a number of western mission societies and churches, including the Church Missionary Society (CMS), Presbyterians, the Salvation Army and the brethren.
In the fall of 1833 Rev. and Mrs. John C. Lowrie, American Presbyterians arrived in Calcutta bound for the Punjab to establish a mission to the Sikhs. Mrs. Lowrie died of tuberculosis shortly after arriving, but her husband decided to proceed alone to the Punjab. The following year he founded an American Presbyterian mission at Ludhiana, from where he visited Lahore in 1835: The Sikh ruler of Lahore, Maharaja Rangit Singh, invited him to open a school there, but ill health and repeated attacks of malaria forced him to return to the United States, where he became secretary of the Presbyterian board of foreign mission. It was left to his successors; John Newton and Charles Forman, to begin Protestant missionary work at Lahore in 1849, the year after second Sikh war brought the Punjab under British rule. Forman spent more than forty years in the Punjab, found the college in Lahore which is still known by his name.
CMS missionaries first went to Pakistan in 1850 and settled in Sindh, where the first resident Roman Catholic priest in the modern era had preceded them in 1843. In a few years they had also moved into Baluchistan, the Punjab and the North West Frontier Province. Dr. Karl G. Pfander, a German scholar who had worked successfully among Muslims in the Middle East and India, opened a CMS station in Peshawar on the Afghan frontier in 1854. Along the borders of Afghanistan the Church Missionary Society established a string of hospitals as evangelistic outposts, which were distinguished by men like Dr. Theodore Pennell, who, at the end of the nineteenth century, was almost alone among British missionaries in adopting Indian dress. In the twentieth century a CMS doctor, Sir Henry Holland, performed contract operations; vbicb gave sight to more than a hundred thousand people in Sindh and Baluchistan during his long lifetime of Christian witness and service. While English missionaries under CMS (later assisted by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society) were more widely spread over northwest India than those of any other group.
The Associate Presbyterian Church of North America started mission work in the Punjab in 1855. In 1858 they merged with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church to form the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The latter Church subsequently grew to be the largest Protestant denomination in Pakistan. Work was started in Sialkot amongst Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. In 1856 the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) also began work in Sialkot district with the arrival of Thomas Hunter to start a Punjab Mission. After just six months Hunter, his wife, and their baby boy were killed by an escaped prisoner during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Although the Scottish mission was resumed by others in 1861. Progress was slow, by the 1880's they had fewer than 200 Christians. After twenty years they could count 1523 adult communicant members, most of who had been disowned by their upper-class families.
In most of India during this period, missionary work was directed toward wining educated and high-caste people, largely in urban centers through schools and orphanages as well as through preaching, medical work followed later. The converts, mostly young single men expelled by their families, were housed in or around mission compounds, where they were given food and work or land. In general these attempts were rather unsuccessful because they separated new believer from their own people and created a spirit of dependence on the mission. A change in emphasis came to the Sailkot district in 1873 with the conversion of Ditt, a partly crippled, dark-skinned seller of bides from the outcaste Chuhras. Three months later he brought his wife, daughters and two neighbors who had become Christians and wanted baptism, after baptism they returned to their villages to witness to other people. Ditt's occupation took him from village to village, where he started to witness to his relatives. By 1935 nearly all of Ditt's people had become Christians, and today some 90 percent of the Christians in Pakistan trace their ancestry to this Chuhra caste.
The Salvation Army started work in the Punjab in 1883 by setting up a station in Lahore, soon expanding to other areas of the Punjab. They were particularly involved with the Chuhra people in the Sialkot (Zafarwal) area where many were converting to Christianity.
The Churhras are important in our understanding of the history of Christianity in Pakistan. The majority of today's Pakistani Christians are descended from the Scheduled Castes, that is, the despised, downtrodden and usually destitute peoples who were not considered to be a part of respectable society in the sub-continent. The Chuhras formed the largest group within the Scheduled Castes in the Punjab and were regarded as the lowest and most despised people of the Scheduled Castes. The Chuhras are considered to be basically Hindu in origin although their beliefs have been influenced strongly by Islam.
The Brethren entered the Punjab around 1890 and set up a number of congregations throughout the area, the largest groups being in Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Kohat. In 1975 it was estimated that had 50 assemblies, a Christian community of about 11,000 and about 2,000 communicant members.
The Anglicans and American Presbyterians also began to turn frm concentrating primarily on educated, city dwellers to more responsive peoples in the rural areas. As the group movement developed, village schools were opened primarily for the education of Christian children and not for evangelistic purposes among non-Christians, as bad previously been attempted.
In 1904-05, the famed Sialkot Convention revival was at its height under the spiritual leadership of John "Praying" Hyde. This resulted in a deepening of spiritual life among the growing congregations. Many pastors volunteered to be supported by their churches instead of by the mission, and this gave further impetus to the Christ ward movement among the Chuhras.
American Methodists opened work in Karachi in 1873, the year of Ditt's conversion, and also moved into the Punjab to participate in shepherding the group movement among the depressed classes.
In 1910, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Mission from America started work i the Punjab, from where the vast majority of Pakistani Christians have come. These Protestant bodies together with the Roman Catholics claim the allegiance of more than 95 percent of the Christians in Pakistan today.
Smaller groups which have had an important role in the evangelization of Pakistan before its independence from India include the Brethren (1892), Danish Lutherans (1903), Seventh-Day Adventists (1917), and the Church Missionary Societies of Australia and New Zealand, which have worked closely with the British CMS. The Australian and New Zealand societies have been particularly active in the evangelization of Hindu tribal peoples.
d) The Church Today
The Pakistan Christian Council was formed in the 1920s and links about half a million Protestants in common concerns. Its largest constituent member is the Church of Pakistan (united), which was formed in 1970 through the union of Anglicans, United Methodists, Presbyterians of the Sialkot Church Council and Lutherans. It has eight active bishops which presides over eight dioceses covering the whole area of Pakistan. These dioceses are: Karachi, Lahore, Raiwind, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan, Hyderabad and Peshawar (NWFP). Certain church groups including the United Presbyterians, Presbyterians of the Lahore Church Council and the Associate Reformed Presbyterians did not wish to be included in the Pakistan Christian Council.
Denominations and church groups, which are currently in Pakistan are (in descending order of membership size): Roman Catholics, the Church of Pakistan, the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan, the Associated Reformed Church of Pakistan, Salvation Army, United Church in Pakistan, National Methodist Church, Christian Brethren, Full Gospel Assembly, Indus Christian Fellowship, Pakistan Christian Fellowship, and Evangelical Alliance Churches, and some other small groups.
In Pakistan, church and mission bodies have been working together with a renewed emphasis on laying firm foundations through emphasizing personal Christian commitment. The cell-group, house-church and lay leadership offer possible patterns for the future. A "Literacy House" has introduced programmes which teach children and adults to read the Scriptures. Bible study materials have been simplified and translated into Urdu to re-vitalize the Christian community.
3) Christian Community Condition in Pakistan:
a) Some Problems among Christians
l Lack of Education
l Lack of Finance (Economy)
l Minority (near 2% among total population)
l Extended Families
l Lack of Religion Freedom
l Discrimination
l Islamic Law (Blasphemy Laws 295 B and C and 298 A).
b) Some Problems in the Church
l Lack of offerings.
l Lack of Tithes.
l Lack of Resources
l Lack of Education
l Lack of Mission (Because of first four problems happened in the Church).
c) Situation of Christians in Pakistan
Pakistan has been created in 1947 by the partition of British India. The Muslims wanted their own separate land, away from the Hindus of India. "Pakistan" means "land of the pure." In a speech founder of Mohammed Ali Jinnah on 11 August 1946, he stated his vision for the new country: "You are free, you are free to go to your temples, and you are free to go to your Mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan, Even you may belong to any religion, cast or creed. We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste and creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State." Over the years since partition, intense pressure has been applied to have Islamic principles incorporated into the Constitution and into the laws and society, a process referred to as "Islamisation." With the implementation of a new Constitution in 1973, Pakistan is experiencing this continual Islamisation in all areas of society. This Islamisation has resulted in blatant and intense discrimination against all non-Muslims a "legalized" form of discrimination in that the laws themselves discriminate against and lead to persecution of non-Muslims. Because Christians estimated at 2% of the 160 million populations are the largest majority among the minorities, Christians suffer the greatest persecution in Pakistan. Each successful persecution fuels the fire of the Islamic fundamentalists and makes them fiercer.
Now I want to share with you how the rights and freedoms of religious minorities have been eroded in Pakistan's 60-year history because of the majority community's view that this land is for the Muslims, to which many would add for Muslims only. Take a simple word like 'freely." In the original constitution of Pakistan, Christians and other religious minorities were allowed to "practice their faith freely." This word was removed from the constitution more than 30 (thirty) years ago as it was deemed to be threatening the Islamic fabric of Pakistan. As a religious minority, we live under a constant feeling of socioeconomic strangulation. We are no longer a Church serving the poor, but a Church of the poor. There is massive employment discrimination, both in the public and private sector. Usually, only the most menial jobs are available to Christians. In my own city in Karachi, Pakistan, 80% of Christians are severely deprived, working as "sweepers" who remove human excrement from the streets. We are being socially ostracized and economically paralyzed for being Christians. According to my analyze we Christians are just like Israelites in Egypt the same in Pakistan, and we need the deliverance of God.
Perhaps the worst aspect of Islamization in recent times has been the use of the dreaded Blasphemy Law. one example of systemic religious discrimination is found in Pakistani legislation that promotes a culture of intolerance, division and extremism. The legislation is the Blasphemy Laws 295 B and C and 298 A, B and C of the Penal Code that deals with offenses pertaining to religion. The offenses carry the death penalty for their violation. Since the mandatory death sentence was introduced as a result of the Amendment Act No. III of 1986 to Section 295-C, many accused were killed, in some cases, even before they were brought to trial. Those few who are acquitted by the Courts have to seek asylum in foreign countries for fear of being killed by Islamic extremists. In addition to the blasphemy laws, several laws and regulations, especially articles and provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan discriminate against religious minorities. While some are meant to give preferential treatment to Muslims, others tend to ignore the fact that Pakistan is a multi-religious society.
"Many extremists assume Christians will be natural supporters and allies of the West, and therefore consider them legitimate targets for brutal intimidation and violent revenge attacks." It is worth noting that until the introduction of section 295-C, hardly any cases under the Blasphemy Law surfaced during the previous 60 years in the life of Pakistan. I pray for wisdom, grace, and boldness in carrying out the Great Commission in the midst of persecution in Pakistan.
4) My Vision and Mission:
a) Church and Ministry Name
l Saviour Mission Church of Pakistan.
l Saviour Mission International.
b) Introduction
We are non-profit organization to the work of God especially in Pakistan. We are serving and working for God on the base of “Faith Mission.”
c) About ‘SMCHURCH’ Logo
1) Holy Bible, it’s symbolized to the true Word of God.
2) Fire, it’s symbolized the Holy Spirit.
3) Cross, it’s symbolized about Jesus Christ.
4) World, it’s symbolized the all Nations.
d) Mission Motto
Our mission motto is “To Preach, the Good News from the Bible, through the Holy Spirit, about Jesus, to all over the World.”
e) SMCHURCH Sevenfold Ministry Plans
There is sevenfold ministry plan that I want to share with you from Yesu Global Mission Church, Pakistan and I believe it can help to improve the Society among Christians. Yesu Global Mission Church has focus on Community Development. Some programs from Yesu Global Mission Church are on and some are on the way to start. I recognize the need for renewal of our Church structures to facilitate the fulfillment of God’s ministry. Laity should be equipped to be effective witnessing Christians and trained to penetrate the city and villages with the biblical Christians’ world view and value system in their individual professions and callings in life. The Church should express both our relationship to God through worship and our concern for humanity through service. My church has small group gatherings such as family worship, neighborhood fellowships and house church worship because we don’t have specific church building to gather in one place. We are praying for the construction of our church and welfare building to accommodate the increasing members of my church in Pakistan.
I believe to the Lord that He encourages the local people and churches to experiencing difficulties, through prayer support and other practical forms of help and equip them to convert their present times of trouble into occasions for testimony to Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Church. Also prepare local people and churches in Pakistan to face possible adverse times in the years ahead. Even we can’t do everything but we want in Christ to do something for our people and contribute our best efforts for the community development among Christians because Changed lives can Change Society.
1) Church Planting:
I have vision to build the churches in urban and rural areas because still many places in Pakistan don’t have Church and Pastor to serve the people of God, and they have strong desire to praise God, but lack of leaders they can’t achieve the spiritual food on their daily life. God gave me strong desire for the church planting all over the Pakistan, especially in Punjab province because my mother language is Punjabi and it’s easy to communicate the people. Most of villages have many believers but they have no place and shepherd. But they have worship in House Church. At the present moment YGMCP have no building and having worship and fellowship in the House Base Churches in different place, because of lack of finance and supporters.
2) Outreach Evangelism:
My vision is that the un-reached people of Pakistan come to Christ and un-churched people become committed Christians and part of the life and worship of the church.
3) Home Cell Groups:
Making cell groups are the ways to worship God without church building. In this way the believers gather every evening in the church members’ houses to worship God and have a fellowship, sometime dinner, tea times and share their problems and also invite new comers. It’s good to have them a close relationship with each other as a body of the Christ.
4) Healing Crusades:
This is one of the effective ways having personal fellowship with believers and non-believers to gather people I one place and share the Good News without any barrier or denomination to glorify the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ. In Healing Crusades even believers come but sometimes unbelievers also come and have a good experience through Holy Spirit and get healing and confess their sins and believe that Jesus is the Saviour of all nations.
5) Education:
My vision, my prayer, is that all Christian can get the education and be raised to that status in Pakistan, to the glory of God and to the strengthening of His church among my nation. My first and foremost aim is to eradicate illiteracy from the country by making education accessible to all, irrespective of the gender, caste and social status and to provide quality education in little time and money but especially to the believers. Works and enables the poor to improve their lives and to develop their capacity and community strengths. For this reason I think we need biblical and secular education. That’s why god gave me a vision to build the Mission School for the students and also Bible School for the adults to train them and send them out into full-time evangelism and church planting for the extension of God’s Kingdom. I think then everyone in the society will use their full potential and lives a life of equality and dignity. To introduce such curriculum this is in line with our moral, religious and cultural values and to concentrate on moral development and character building.
6) Audio Visual Programs:
Audio Visual programs are very important to start in Pakistan, because many Christians are not educated and lack of the education, I think we need to do some audio and visual programs that if they can’t read then they can listen the Audio Bible, Messages on different topics and Gospel Music. And also they can see the religious movies and documentaries to get the knowledge to glorify the name of God. I want to provide them freely because they are not very strong in economic condition and I don’t want to put more burdens on their shoulders. I also want to arrange sometimes musical concert from the different church choirs to having a get together fellowship each other.
7) Welfare Society:
Through welfare society, I think we can help them in different ways. Likewise build an Elderly House, Vocation training center, Medical mission, Computer training center and having some other social works like feeding poor people, distributing clothes, helping finding jobs supporting orphanages and counseling the people.
5) Mission Opportunities in Pakistan
(For Missionaries and Natives)
l Open Training Centers for the Laities.
l Start Leadership and Discipleship programs.
l Establish Christians Welfare Centers and NGO’s.
l Send Professional and Tentmaker Missionaries.
l Plant Churches in Urban and Rural areas.
l Build Mission Schools for Christian Students.
l Construct Seminaries and Bible Schools.
l Focus on Native Pastors and Missionaries.
6) How to Evangelize the Muslims?
a) Evangelistic Methods or Mission Strategies
l Fellowship Evangelism.
l Personal Evangelism.
l Literature Evangelism.
l Christian Life Style Evangelism.
l Friendship Evangelism.
l Mass Media Evangelism.
l Tentmaker Evangelism.
l Drama Evangelism.
l Social Welfare and Evangelism.
l Bible School Training for Evangelism.
l Planting Churches.
l Household Evangelism.
b) My Prayer Requests for Pakistan
l Pray for my Church and Mission Center construction.
l Pray for my Church Staff, Members, Family, and Church Growth.
l Pray for my Study and Living expensive in Korea.
l Pray for my Ministry in Korea and Pakistan.
l Pray for my Future Plans for my Church Ministry.
l Pray for the Salvation of Muslims and other religious communities.
l Pray for the People of Pakistan, who they are facing problems and suffering from Flood and Raining.
l Pray for the Churches all over the World.