What is Church and Doctrines of the Church The root word of ‘church’ is derived from the Greek word ekklesia (Latin ecclesia ). The term for the church means an assembly of people, congregation, or any group of people who come together to worship God. The area which deals with the doctrine of the church is usually referred to as ‘ecclesiology’. It is the area that seeks to give theoretical justification to an institution that has undergone development and change down the centuries. This term is first used in a Christian sense in Acts 5:11.  Theological identity of the church is as follows: the church is the people of God, and the church has been chosen for the called people of God just as god called Israel in the past. The church is a community of salvation, a Church of the body which is called to bear witness as the “salt of the Earth” and “the light of the world”. It is also charged with the responsibility of going out to make disciples of all nations. The church is the body of

  CALL OF DAVID The character of David as presented in the Old Testament is hard to determine. David is also known as the sweet psalmist of Israel. Even today, psalms continue to bring life, hope, and encouragement to the people in the margin. Many psalms were sung by him both in the good and difficult times. 1 Samuel 16 it illustrates God’s passion for judging and his desire to use people whose hearts are right with Him. Saul’s heart was wicked from the beginning. But on the other hand, David’s heart is humble, prayerful, and repentant. Because of this, Saul was punished and David was rewarded. In 1 Samuel 13:14, Samuel said to Saul, “…the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you”. This word was immediately fulfilled in David, son of Jesse. Samuel was directed by the Lord to go to Jesse’s house. When Samuel reached Jesse’s house, the Lord taught him an important l

IMPORTANCE OF BEING A MINISTER AND IMPORTANCE OF THE LIFE OF A MINISTER The pastoral minister has to act like shepherds who care for the flock, this care includes teaching. The minister’s life is of emotional highs and lows. It includes criticism and unreasonable expectations from the church congregation. Stress and depression are pervasive in pastoral ministry, and it is often a secret problem. According to the Holy Bible, the characteristic features that a minister should possess in this challenging ministerial life include: ·             To be in Christ, the minister should surrender everything to Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) ·      Minister should have the experience of crucification with Christ. The death of Christ on the cross has shown, there is no hope of salvation by the law. Through Christ alone, we have life and the prospect of future glory. (Galatians 2:20) ·        Ministers should present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God. They should fully render themself

  CHURCH HISTORY OF CSI ANANTHANADARKUDY CSI church Ananthanadarkudy, known as AN Kudy is one of the oldest churches in Asia and also the oldest Protestant churches in South India. It was built during the British reign. This church comes under the Church of South India (CSI), Kanyakumari Diocese, Tamilnadu, India. Rev. William Tobias Ringeltaube: Rev. William Tobias Ringeltaube, the first Protestant missionary in the far south of India, was born on 8 th August 1770. He was the first child of Gottlieb Ringeltaube, Vicar of Scheidelwitz near Brzeg, in Silesia, Germany. After training in various missions in the London missionary society, He left England in Feb 1804 for India and arrived in Tranquebar on the 4 th of December 1804, along with two other missionaries Cran and Des Granges. He spent some days there and learned the Tamil language. During this time, he accepted the invitation of Mr. Maharasan Vedamanickam ( the pioneer Protestant Christian in Travancore) and came to a sm

  A Review of the article  Elijah’s Mantle by  Ogbu U. Kalu The article Elijah’s Mantle: Ministerial Formation in Contemporary African Christianity by Ogbu U. Kalu describes Christianity which has sprouted with vigor in Africa. Africa has played a decisive role in the formation of Christian culture from its infancy. It is ideologically telling about African Christianity without neglecting the noble roles played by Christian theologians and missionaries. The effort has been to identify the major themes or storylines in African encounters and in the appropriation of the gospel. The project has enabled these historians to work together, in an ecumenical spirit, from across many boundaries: faith, region, gender, and ancestral race. It tells more of the story of where the rain of the gospel met Africans. This is a picture of a Christianity that shares much with other Christians around the world but also is distinctly African. Retelling the complete story of African Christianity- not Chri