History of Christianity in Kapu Research

Bible’s Teachings About the Call to Share the Gospel

Christians play a great role in evangelism; God calls upon every Christian to be active in sharing His words. The Bible tells Christians about God's kingdom and how it is growing. Therefore, as Jesus's followers, Christians are invited to process what he (Jesus) did when he was here on earth in spreading the word of God. Even though experiences in evangelism may differ depending on the region or people to whom the message is being shared with, it is important to note that every evangelical activity aims at achieving a common goal, which is to spread the gospel across the world. Different bible verses demonstrate the importance of sharing God's message with others who have not known Him. However, being a Christian does not mean that one can become an evangelist because evangelism is a divine responsibility. In the book of Ezekiel 3:17 (New International Version), the bible says that "son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me." The verse goes on to describe what a wicked person is and the kind of punishment such a person will get from God including death. However, the main message is clear from the first line of the verse that explains Ezekiel's task of being a watchman of the Judah. The key idea that explains the divine nature of evangelism is Ezekiel's role in delivering God's message and warning faithfully. As a result, it is not a responsibility of any Christian, but for those who have been commissioned by God to deliver His messages.

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Evangelism has been mistaken by many people who think that it is all about preaching to people or traveling across the world preaching and appealing to people to adopt the Christian ways. Even though to some aspects it involves preaching, but this is not entirely it. The bible says that the way Christians behave is a form of evangelism. In the book of John 13:35 (NIV), the bible says that "by this everyone will know that you are my disciples; if you love one another." This verse explains the meaning of being an evangelist or Christ's follower. John wrote what Jesus told his disciples that showing love and compassion to other people can also be considered evangelical work. Therefore, as the bible says in that verse, the sharing God's message is not confined by people's lofty arguments, but it's their behavior that yields gospel's message. The church also plays a great role in expanding the word of God. The bible says in Acts 13:47 (NIV) that "for this is what the Lord has commanded us; I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." This verse demonstrates the significance of the church in evangelism. The church is the light of the world that is referred to in the verse. Therefore, as explained in the same book, Acts 20:24 (NIV), "however, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me," God wants Christians to use the church to expand the gospel across the world. Every Christian who decides to become an evangelist should prepare to face challenges and opposition. The book of 2 Timothy 1:8 (NIV) says that "so do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner; rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." In this verse, Paul wrote to Timothy motivating him that evangelism is challenging but he should not give up because opposition or resistance is to be expected as part of the gospel-sharing process.

People Group: Kapu, India

The Kapu people are agriculturist community located in the Southern Indian states. Indian communities are known with the case system; Kapu is classified as forwarding caste (Srinivasulu 4). Kapu people reside in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states in the Southern region. Kapu are also found in other states in India, but the majority stay in the two states mentioned above. Kapu's economic activity is based on their agricultural practices (Talbot 74). The religion of the Kapu people is mainly Hinduism which comprises about 99.97% of the whole population. Other religions are very few; for instance, Christians comprise about 0.03% of the population. The entire population of the Kapu people is 15,114,000, which represents about a quarter of Indian population (Joshua Project 1). There are also Muslims among the Kapu. Their Hinduism culture could pose a great threat to the missionary work in the region. Someone who has become a Christian is considered an out-caste; this means that such a person will have not friends or even relatives. Even though there are no critical environment or health concerns, but due to their minority status, Kapu people lack proper public health services to help contain health challenges. The caste-system in Kapu, which is part of the Hinduism culture, can pose a great challenge to Christianity in the region. Not many people will be willing to let go of their practices to adopt a new religion. As a religion, Hinduism is quite different from Christianity. Therefore, it would also pose a great challenge to gospel message among the Kapu people.

History of Christianity in Kapu (Andhra Pradesh)

Christianity emerged in India in three episodes. The first episode is the development of Thomas Christians in Kerala. The second episode is the Portuguese colonialism. And finally, the third episode is associated with the British conquest (Senftleben 3). As mentioned earlier, the majority of Kapu reside in the Andhra Pradesh states; therefore, it will be the point of focus in this study. Introduction of Christianity in Andhra Pradesh, where the Kapu people live is associated with one of the three episodes explained above, the British conquest. According to Senftleben, the majority of the early missionaries had interest in the Hinduism religion (3). They tried to convert the high caste members so as to win over the whole Indian population (Senftleben 3). Dhanaraju provides some historical insights on the emergence of missionary work in Andhra Pradesh. According to the author, missionary work started in Andhra in early 1874 with the coming of the British.

The missionary work in Andhra started with Rev. Samuel Day but was joined later with other evangelists like Rev. D. H. Drake and Rev. W. F. Boggs in 1895 (Dhanaraju 8). The coming of the missionaries in Andhra created opportunities for the locals to join schools as they established an elementary school in every village. After the establishment of the elementary schools, the missionaries started to introduce Christian content in education with the aim of converting the locals to Christianity in the early 19th century (Dhanaraju 10). According to Dhanaraju, in the 19th century, there were a total of 961 male Christians and 1,072 female Christians in Kapu that had been converted from Hinduism to Christianity (12). As Senftleben explains, the demand of a self-sufficient Indian Baptist Church in 1906 may have furthered the agenda of expanding Christianity in Andhra among the Kapu people (52). Further, the coming of the American missionaries in Andhra in 1920also enhanced Christian activities among the Kapu (Senftleben 56). Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church was established in Andhra in 1927 by the United Lutheran Church in America. The church ran most of the institutions such as schools, hospitals, industrial schools as well as rehabilitation centers.

Senftleben further explains that education became a vital element in the development of Christianity among the Kapu in the early 1990s. However, despite the accessibility of education, it is estimated that only about 50% of the Kapu population are literate and another half illiterate; thus, making it difficult for missionary work from outside to succeed in the region (Senftleben 89). The caste system of the Kapu made it difficult for the locals in the lower class to be converted because they could not access education. The caste system only allowed those from the upper or high castes to access education. This has existed up to date; the caste system still makes it difficult for many to access education. The introduction of education by the early missionaries aimed at enhancing the reading skills to enable the locals to read the bible. Despite the translations of the Bible today, the majority of the Kapu people still uphold the caste system which is part of the Hinduism culture.

The Current Missionary Presence in Kapu

The missionary work in Kapu is currently growing despite the challenges the evangelists are experiencing. According to Senftleben, evangelical and Pentecostal churches are growing in Andhra Pradesh with regard to attendance and membership (92). Even though the number is not growing that much faster, but there is a significant difference as compared to when the missionary work started in the early years. Joshua Project report in Kapu explains that there is a need for missionary activity in Andhra Pradesh region due to the previous success in winning the Kapu population to Christ. According to Joshua Project report, missionary activity in Kapu has demonstrated significant optimism of success.

Today there are over 30 Christian denominations present in Kapu (Joshua Project 1). Each group is trying to win over as many followers as they can. However, despite such optimism for success, the church generally has struggled with the nominalism in the community. As Joshua Project report demonstrates, there is a need for more missionary or evangelists in Andhra to help the Kapu realize the positivity of Christianity. Currently, it is still a challenge to convert many Kapus because they are more rooted in their Hinduism culture. Christian missionary activities continue to expand despite the challenges.

Christ for all in Andhra Pradesh is an initiative started by the Christian Service Unit with the aim of showing the locals God's love through the word and deed, enhance partnership and collaboration in the communities around the state irrespective of the caste or religion, and also transform lives of the local members. The organization is one of the missionary initiatives that have reached the people of Kapu in various ways. The organization provides the locals with supplies of nutritious food supplements to the sick. It also provides health assistance to the locals including the HIV victims, mentally challenged children, the elde...