Varghese i ABSTRACT MISSIO DEI DETERMINES MISSIONES ECCLESIA: A STUDY ON THE MISSIONAL THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE AMONG IPC CHURCHES IN KOTTAYAM, KERALA, INDIA by Thomas Thoppil Varghese The purpose of this study was to evaluate the current missional theology and practice of Pentecostal churches in Kottayam. The research primarily is to listen and study the definition of the mission of the God and the mission of the church that the Pentecostal churches in Kottayam are advocating. “Mission” is an important activity of the IPC churches in Kottayam. It is reflected in their mission statement as “supporting a missionary in a mission field” and is evident by the support they provide to fifty-three missionaries in north India. This view is frequently advocated in their common meetings and conferences. This study is limited to IPC churches in Kottayam. The IPC churches in Kottayam number sixty-three. The total number of churches involved in this research are only ten. The criteria for selection of each church were: the church has existed for more than twenty years, is active has a membership of more than thirty families. The instruments used in this research were semi-structured interviews, open and closed questionnaires, focus group and participant observation. There was a total of forty-six participants involved in the research, consisting of mission coordinators, believers, Varghese ii pastors and lay leaders. The collected data was analyzed through theme analysis as laid by James P. Spradley. This research revealed the definition the IPC churches have on the mission of God and the mission of the church. The reason for holding this definition is doctrinal and historical. The present definitions of missio Dei and mission of the church by IPC churches are action oriented and focus on the spiritual dimension only. The influence of the doctrine of Parousia and fear from society was an unexpected discovery. It led them to define mission as activity in the spiritual dimension and to be much less interested with the concerns of the society. Thorough information with regard to the patterns; and principles of a missional church is needed for the churches in Kottayam to be more effective within society. Varghese iv DISSERTATION APPROVAL This is to certify that the dissertation entitled MISSIO DEI DETERMINES MISSIONES ECCLESIA: A STUDY ON THE MISSIONAL THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE AMONG IPC CHURCHES IN KOTTAYAM, KERALA, INDIA presented by Thomas Thoppil Varghese has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the DOCTOR OF MINISTRY degree at Asbury Theological Seminary Dissertation Coach Date Director, Doctor of Ministry Program Date Dean of the Beeson Center Date Varghese v MISSIO DEI DETERMINES MISSIONES ECCLESIA: A STUDY ON THE MISSIONAL THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE AMONG IPC CHURCHES IN KOTTAYAM, KERALA, INDIA A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Thomas Thoppil Varghese June 2018 Varghese 6 © 2018 Thomas Thoppil Varghese ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Varghese 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................6 LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................8 CHAPTER 1 NATURE OF THE PROJECT ...................................................................10 Overview of the Chapter .......................................................................................10 Autobiographical Introduction ..............................................................................11 Statement of the Problem ......................................................................................14 Purpose of the Project …………………………………………………………...15 Research Questions ...……………………………………………………………16 Research Question #1 …...………………………………………………16 Research Question #2 ………………………………………………...…16 Research Question #3…………………………………………………....16 Rationale for the Project…………………………………………………………16 Definition of Key Terms ………………………………………………………...19 Mission ………………………………………………………………….19 Missions………………………………………………………………....20 Missio Dei……………………………………………………………………….21 Missional Theology……………………………………………………...21 Missional Church………………………………………………………...22 1 Varghese 2 Delimitations ………………………………………………………………….23 Review of Relevant Literature…………………………………………………...24 Research Methodology ………………………………………………………….27 Type of Research ….…………………………………………………….27 Participants ………………………………………………………………28 Data Collection ………………………………………………………….28 Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………30 Generalizability ………………………………………………………….30 Project Overview ……………………………………………………………......30 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW FOR THE PROJECT .........................................32 Overview of the Chapter ........................................................................................32 Missio Dei: Definitions and Historical Traditions……………………….32 Missional Church: Definitions and Characteristics………………………41 Mission of God as Trinitarian….…………………………………………57 Biblical Foundations ..............................................................................................58 Missio Dei and Mission (sent) in O.T ........................................................59 Missio Dei and Mission (sent) in N.T ........................................................63 Research Themes Missional Church begins with God-empowered love……………………70 God’s mission shapes every missional church … …………………….…72 Missional church considers mission as participation ……………………72 2 Varghese 3 Theological Foundations ........................................................................................73 Theology of Missio Dei ………………………………………………………….73 Theology of a Missional Church…………………………………………...74 Research Themes Missio Dei describes the being of God. .......................................................78 Trinitarian mission as the basis of Mission ……………………………….79 Missio Dei institutes the Missiones Ecclesiae………………………………...79 Research Design Literature ...................................................................................79 Summary of Literature ..........................................................................................81 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR THE PROJECT Overview of the Chapter…………………………………………………………83 Nature and Purpose of the Project .........................................................................83 Research Questions ................................................................................................85 Research Question #1 ................................................................................85 Research Question #2 ................................................................................86 Research Question #3 ................................................................................87 Ministry Context(s) ................................................................................................87 Participants ............................................................................................................93 Criteria for Selection .................................................................................93 Description of Participants ........................................................................96 Ethical Considerations ..............................................................................97 Instrumentation ………………………………………………………………….98 Reliability and Validity of Research Design…………………………………….99 3 Varghese 4 Data Collection ....................................................................................................101 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................102 CHAPTER 4 EVIDENCE FOR THE PROJECT ............................................................104 Overview of the Chapter .....................................................................................104 Participants ..........................................................................................................104 Research Question #1: Description of Evidence ................................................105 Research Question #2: Description of Evidence ................................................109 Research Question #3: Description of Evidence ................................................113 Summary of Major Findings ................................................................................117 CHAPTER 5 LEARNING REPORT FOR THE PROJECT ...........................................127 Overview of the Chapter .....................................................................................127 Major Findings .....................................................................................................127 First Finding .............................................................................................127 Second Finding ..........................................................................................131 Third Finding ............................................................................................135 Ministry Implications of the Findings..................................................................138 Limitations of the Study.......................................................................................139