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THE GLIMPSES OFTHE BIBLE MISSION

FOUNDER

M. DEVADAS

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THE ANNALS OF FATHER M. DEVADAS: THEFOUNDER OF THE BIBLE MISSION

(A) Meek and meditative beginnings :

1. Birth and Childhood2. Schooling and Education3. Missionary Patronage4. Meditative Solitude5. Meek Mentor

(B) Perfect Christian Profile :

1. School Teacher2. Hostel Warden3. Seminary Instructer4. Sanatorium Caretaker5. Itenerant Preacher6. Parish Priest7. Peoples Prophet

(C) Matchless matured man of God :

1. Stream of Consciousness2. Philosophy of Suffering3. Meticulous Meditations4. Ecstatic Experiences5. Hades : A New Discovery6. Universal Perspectives7. The Hallmarks

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I. THE ANNALS OF FATHER M. DEVADAS : AN OVERVIEW

Father M. Devadas is the founder of ‘The BibleMission’, a small but fast growing denomination in SouthIndia. Father Devadas remained as a bachelor through-out his life of 120 yrs. He is a mystic with many spiritualexperiences which are very peculiar to common Chris-tianity. It is a strict order from him when he was alive,that one should not resort to write his Biography. Thereason is one cannot unravel the totality of his life. So, itis only our amateur effort to record some of the eventsthat took place in his life of ecstasy which he experi-enced in deep communion with his Creator, Saviour andBridegroom, Jesus Christ. He is not a catholic Father,but is called that way by his followers.(A) Meek and meditative beginnings :

Father Devadas grew up in the humble and rusticsurroundings of the Godavari delta region of AndhraPradesh. His parents are evangelists. They are not veryrich in worldly matters. But they are far wealthier in manyspiritual aspects who used to spend their time in prayerand intercession every day till late night. As they did notbeget children after many years of their marriage, in theirold age God gave them the glorious gift i.e. a boy child,whom they named as ‘Devadas’ which means ‘Servantof God’1. Birth and Childhood :

Fr. Devadas was born in 1840 to Jonah andSatyavatamma, in Jegurupadu, a small village in EastGodavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He grew up in thebest spiritual atmosphere which his parents provided. Hewas always contemplative while his young mates engulfedthemselves in playing and making merry.

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It is incredible to the human wisdom to understandand believe some of his friendly experiences with theheavenly world and its beings, at this very adolescentage. For Example:- He used to make friendship with thedivine ‘Attributes of God’.

He used to follow his parents, in their evangelistictours and strictly observe their meditative line up by be-ing straight on his kneels. He received God’s special call-ing during these times.

2. Schooling and Education :He was sent to a small school in Jegurupadu by

his parents for his primary Education. He is a clever childand a spontaneous learner. After coming from school heused to help his parents in their ministry and day to daylife. He is very active in school and had inculcated asense of profound love for the nature and care for theliving creatures.

When he was 6 years old, his parents took him toa pastors get-together. When a missionary asked him topray there he prayed: “Lord Jesus, , Let me be like Theewhen you are in my age.” From then onwards the mis-sionaries had a special eye on child Devadas.

3. Missionary Patronage:After completing his primary education, his par-

ents took him to the Lutheran Missionaries at (N.M.E.L.C)Nigam Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church, atDhavaleswaram on the banks of river Godavari, and lefthim under their patronage for further education and spiri-tual growth. There he finished his 8th standard and quali-fied as be a Higher grade teacher. Having closely watchedhis innate zeal and strong sense of determination to serve

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the Lord, the Lutheran missionaries immediately absorbedhim in the teaching faculty of their mission schools.

He is always loyal to his authorities and is of ex-cellent disposition towards his superiors. His ideal life isa serene acme for the growing children to be punctual,sincere and humble. He marvelled his authorities in allthe challenging responsibilities that are entrusted to him.

4. Meditative Solitude :Wether at home or in missionary boarding, he in-

culcated the habit of making his mind quiet and silent,only to converse with his Father. He believed in theseverses and strictly observed them. “I am the Teacher”Jn.13:13; “ And Learn from Me” Mt. 11:28. To realize hisobjective, he spent hours of solitude both day and night.This kind of habit later, paved the way for his mysteriouslife of ecstasy. It also resulted in the visible experienceof communing with the Lord, face to face, with nakedeyes. All his meditative practices made him a perfectseer.

This is the internal dimension of his life which remainedobscure to most of his collegues and superiors. Heav-enly saints, holy angels, earthly saints and sages fromHimalayas are his regular visitors in his meditative life ofsolitude.5. Meek Mentor :

Under the patronage of Lutheran missionaries, Fa-ther Devadas developed his bodily, spiritual and mentalfaculties. There he was in the process of becoming agreat spiritual giant. His personal fellowship with JesusChrist increased day after day with mysterious experi-ences concerning heaven, earth and the nether world,

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resulting in an unequivocal understanding and analysisof the Scriptures in general and the deep meaning for thetough passages in particular. Thus he was ready as aperfect Bible teacher, trainer and mentor to humbly dis-charge his duties at various levels to various sections ofpeople in India.

(B) Perfect Christian Profile :While performing all the necessary functions of his

daily routine, Father Devadas kept up a life of direct com-munion with the Lord. This made his personality a perfectand unique one among his centemporaries.He did not doany work out of his own, but after the Lord’s command.That is why he could able to perform all the roles whichhis mission superiors had entrusted him with great confi-dence.(1) School Teacher :

Father Devadas taught all subjects at thekindergarten level. He also taught the higher gradestudents and imparted to them spiritual and moraleducation. Even the nottiest boy in the school, wouldpay heed to him, soon after listening to his kind expressionand seeing his pleasant face. He never scolded a childthroughout his teaching career. He won all their heartsonly with ‘Love.’ He wrote a simple English grammarbook specially for school children which became verypopular in those days. Any popular aspect of his life isthoroughly wrapped up in his modest character of spiritualreticence. What he demonstrated is only a fraction of whathe is and what is in him.(2) Hostel Warden :

As he is like a parent and a teacher to the chil-dren, the missionaries entrusted him with the hostel re-

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sponsibilities as well since his work place is a boardingschool. Unlike other wardens, Father Devadas was thriftand frugal in his spending and returned the remainingmoney from the allotted budget to his authorities at theend of every month. This very much astonished the mis-sionaries.

Once there took place a disastrous famine and allthe boarding schools were run with just one square mealper day because of cut in the supply of food items. But inthe boarding school managed by Father Devadas pupilwere given three full meals per day inspite of the ration-ing. This was made possible by the Lord, as be Fr. Devadasmade Him as the patron of his students and not the mis-sionaries. This is to say that Father Devadas in all hisways and at every step has always looked to the Lordbut not the missionary aid. Then the missionaries ex-claimed that “life of faith means the life of Devadas”.

(3) Seminary Instructor :Later, he was asked to teach in the Lutheran theologi-

cal seminary at Luthergiri, as part of advancing his spiri-tual teaching techniques. His teachings gave birth to manynew doctrines which are in practice of the Biblical times.His Christian rationale was universal, historical and im-partial in its nature. His teaching has always been pre-ceded by an experience where he never professed a newteaching from the Bible without receiving it from the Lord.In his teaching careers one day, he taught on the subjectmatter “Even today, God shall speak and appear (to men)”.This caused little turmoil among the students other, fac-ulty members and the Lutheran higher authorities. Someof them accepted its validity and truth value but somefelt that they do not pertain to their teaching domain. Yet,

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all his Biblical expositions coupled with sound reasoning;backed up by the powerful practical demonstrations,tranquilled all the queries and lead the students and teach-ers alike, even to experience the same. Here, it is worthwhile to quote what he observed: “my spiritual educationis from the Lord’s School. That’s why my teaching is per-fect and correct ”.(4) Sanatorium Caretaker :

Apart from the academic and theological responsibili-ties, the missionaries had also given him the additionalcharge of comforting and encouraging the Sanatoriumpatients.

According to His given schedule he used to visit pa-tients to nurse, guide and console them with his divinepresence and the words emanated from the infallible loveof Christ. According to Rev. S. Samuel the former Presi-dent of the Bible Mission and one of the close disciplesof Father Devadas, ‘The patients anticipated much forFather Devadas, than their medical staff and Doctors.’He is a man with divine nature whose words and deedsworked alike for both physical and spiritual sufferings ofthe masses.

(5) Itenerant Preacher :In his untiring services to the Lutheran Mission, he

worked relentlessly in all the possible areas his superi-ors had put him to, at his best. Yet, he also managed tobe a touring evangelist. In this ministry he captured theattention of the touring mobs gathered in great number toobserve certain rituals and religious festivals in andaround Andhra Pradesh. His reaching out to the massesis very innovative as he used to show “Magic Lanterns”,and some cultural art forms which at once astonished

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peoples attention and drew them to Him. Then he usedto relate the Gospel message to that folk art or dancewhich he performed and nativize it for their understand-ing. Afterwards his followers used to distribute the “Gos-pel tracts” published by him. One of such pamphlets is“Bountiful Message” (Pushkalopadesamu) which ad-dressed the austere audience bathing in holy rivers wherethe occasion come for each river once in twelve years.In Sanskrit, ‘pushkara’ means twelve.

(6) Church Pastor :In his association with the Lutheran Church, Father

Devadas served as a regular ‘Parish Priest.’ It was aliving experience for all who attended his service. Hisworship services have always witnessed new songs, newmessages and new explanations of the Scriptures; allreceived by him in different times and situations from theLord.

During the severest drought of the early 1940’s in In-dia, he composed a song and made it sung by the chil-dren in the Sunday service. At that time all the Churchmembers wept aloud. After the service all the mission-aries encircled him, asking How? Devadas! how? Howwere you able to manage these days?” The Hymn sayslike this: “What do I lack when my chief patron is withme!! The loving God is my Caring Supporter and my onlySaviour.(7) Christ like life :

Father Devadas was a living replica of Christ. He be-lieved and proclaimed that all children of God must re-semble Him. Throughout day he worked for his missionin preaching, teaching, nursing and caring. Throughoutnight he spent time in isolation with his Lord, in convers-

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ing with Him, about the work of the day and plan of actionand execution. and interceding for the people.

Throughout his life, he never rebuked any person orany student. Regarding this nature he gently remarkedthat, “If he would rebuke a person he can never live.” Hepresented Christ in the way, the world would best receiveHim, and in the way Christ wanted him to.

(C) A Matchless Matured Man of God :This section deals with the personality of Father

Devadas. It tries to understand him, his works and teach-ings from a typical point of view that describes his matu-rity of mind and perfection of body.

(1) Stream of Consciousness :This represents his vast and universal thought that

intended salvation even for the originator of sin in thisworld i.e. ‘Satan’. His prayer is that no man should go tohell. Every morning he used to embrace the whole uni-verse and pray for its total salvation. He wept, knelt,fasted, and finally kept his body upside down for the ful-fillment of his spiritual goals. For this he evolved a de-tailed fasting prayer order which can be adopted for vari-ous time frames and periodical sessions, i.e. for fortydays; for one week; and for a day. His saving techniquewas extended even to the living creatures such as ani-mals & birds. He prayed for the natures (redemption men-tioned in Rom. 8th ch.) salvation which in turn would makeif teach the humans openly. Thus, his views were revolu-tionary and certainly leave their own typical and indelibleimpressions on the present day Christendom.

We welcome you to know further, about this stream.

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(2) Philosophy of Suffering :Father Devadas voluntarily welcomed all types of suf-

fering and ailments. For him, sufferings are like the litter(Royal Cab) that carry the believer to the close fellow-ship of God. He preferred the internal suffering in handsof the evil powers than the bodily afflictions only to provetheir inability in driving his attention from his Creator andthe special prayers that he is offering Him.

For him, it was said that the whole day was life andthe whole night was death. For a believer to grow to thematurity of Christ and to the measure of God’s attributessufferings are the best means which shelter, guard, growand perfect his/her faith. He opined that suffering shouldbe at our disposal and it should come when invited andshould leave when ejected. When we undergo the pain ofsuffering, he said that we should talk to pain saying “Osuffering! anyway, you have come into my body! So don’tleave me until you give me the gift that you speciallybrought for me.”

Certainly there is a difference between his philosophyof sufferings and that of the reflections of the Catholicmonks of Middle Ages.

(3) Meticulous Meditation :The main focus of Fr. Devadas’ miraculous life lied in

his powerful meditations concerning man, God and Cre-ation. His concept of meditation had the Indian mode ofobserving it which was followed by the Ancient IndianRages of Himalayas.

In every aspect of creation we can see the divine formand qualities manifested either explicitly or implicity. Hecaptured this Clement of creation and thus praised God.

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For example: In the life of a small plant He displayed allthe divine qualities that are innately working in it.

In His meditations the holy saints, holy angels, earthlysaints and the holy sages from Himalayas whose headis Kailasa Rishi, the Muslim monk from Alexandria,Greece; (who was made known to western world by SadhuSunder Singh.) used to come, appear talk and communewith him.(4) Ecstatic Experiences :

As God enabled him to watch and wander in heaven,earth and Hades, alive, he had several ecstatic experi-ences of working in those wonder lands. He visited thedead souls by ‘the gift of flying in spirit and body’ andpreached them the way of their salvation as per divineorders. He visited various remote corners of the earthwith the help of that gift and came in touch with SadhuSunder Singh & Kailash Rishi and some of the mysteri-ous wonders of the Himalayas.

In his heavenly journey he met many of the Old Testa-ment saints and New Testament saints and the Chief ArchAngels. He closely observed the heavens’ schedule andthe nature of praise, people are offering there to the Lord.For all these experiences “Sannidhi” which means wait-ing in the Lord’s presence for about an hour or more withundivided attention to upon His Countenance only to lis-ten to His voice and see His form, is the sole reason andbase.5. Hades : A New Discovery :

‘Hades is a Greek term referring to the nether worldwhose particular and detailed nature and functioning wasrevealed by the Lord to Fr. Devadas.

In his ministry he paid much of his attention to theunsaved dead souls.

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In one of his “ Sannidhi” meetings at Berhampurwith Dr. Nina ottmann, God revealed him about the sorrystate of these dead souls who could not have access tolisten to the Gospel and accept Christ, over the past cen-turies when they lived on this earth. So, The Lord has -kept all - these unbelieving souls bound in Hades to bepreached to by some of His close and powerful servants.6. Universal Perspectives :

‘Fr. Devadas’ views concerning Church and God areuniversal. He said “Do not hate or despise any man orany religion, when you do not understand things, just askGod.” He opined that man, in any cultural set up, fromany corner of the globe must talk to his Creator and con-tinue to develop relations with Him, so as to fulfill His willon this soil.

He also believed that ‘the Rapture Church’, is beingprepared from among all the churches, across the worldwhich are in close union with the Bridegroom, Jesus. Hesaw good in all religions but the ultimate and perfect goodis seen in Christianity in terms of the crucifixation ofChrist.7. The hall marks :

Father Devadas life and words were a living mysteryto those around him when he lived on this soil. When hetaught about the ‘Holy Spirit Baptism’ and the direct rev-elation of Jesus Christ in form of the Son of Man manypeople were sceptical about it. As the Lutheran Missionaries asked him to show a sign in order to prove his teach-ings, he called Rev. Neidorfer Junior and asked him towrite down the details of his brother Rev. Neidorfer Se-nior who was in America. Them, Father Devadas narratedabout the work that he engaged in, the type of car that hedrove, the colour of suit that he wore; at at that particularhour and day and asked Junior Neidorfer to confirm them

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with his brother. When Senior Neidorfer wondered andconfirmed all the details, then the Lutheran missionariesbelieved Fr. Devadas and asked for his Pardon, and ac-knowledged that Father Devadas is righteous and true inhis teachings ways and revelations.

II. HISTORY OF THE BIBLE MISSION : EARLY,LATER & PRESENT.

(A) Early history of the Bible Mission :

1. The Revelation.

2. The Founding

3. Early Hardships

4. New Challenges

5. Turning Points

(B) Later history of the Bible Mission :1. Unaccepted Registration

2. First Cleavage

3. Rajahmundry to Guntur.

4. Proper Registration

5. First Executive

(C) Present history of the Bible Mission:

1. Stability and Growth.

2. Missionary Campaigns.

3. Widening Horizons

4. Able Administering

5. Beyond Boundaries

6. The Clarion Call

7. The Legacy

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II. HISTORY OF THE BIBLE MISSION: EARLYLATER AND PRESENT.

(A) The Early history of ‘the Bible Mission’ :For the convenience of the reader, we have organized

the Bible Mission history in three phases. They are : TheEarly, the Later and the Present history of the Bible Mis-sion. When Father Devadas began preaching about 1)The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, 2) The gift of tongues, 3)The gift of visions, 4) Divine healing, 5) Castingout de-mons, 6) The Rapture & 7) Waiting (for the Lord’s revela-tion); there came a great uproar from the leaders of theLutheran Mission. When asked why he is teaching them,(since they do not conform to the Lutheran doctrines) hesaid that, the reason they are in the Bible, he is teachingthem to the public. Yet, the elders of the mission forbadehim teaching them.

This is the time Lord is looking for, to reveal His “BibleMission” to this great man of God.(1) The Revelation :

On 31st January of 1938, at about 3:00 p.m, whenFather Devadas sat in prayer, a great lustre from heavenfilled his room. In that he saw the golden letters in Telugu,“The Bible Mission.” Then the Lord told him to start Hismission with His given principles & practices with Hisconstant fellowship.

Though Fr. Devadas was 90yrs old at that time heobliged to God’s revelation and started the mission hav-ing kept the Lord as the sole leader, guide, Patron and in-charge of it. He said “It is not my mission or India’s mis-sion, but the mission of the Lord. And He alone must run,cater, provide and develop His mission. With this staunchfaith he started the Bible mission in Andhra Pradesh,India.

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(2) The Founding :Father Devadas established the Bible mission on May

5th 1938, with a very limited number of followers. (It isthe Lord’s commission that the Bible mission should notdepend on the foreign aid in any form.) Even those wholoved him very much rejected him, on the pretext of theBible mission. Mere faith alone is the sole base for himand the evangelists who work in this mission. This is thebase of his faith: “The Bible Mission is not born out ofhuman efforts but of God, the Almighty.

His main ministry is in form of printing gospel tractsand distributing them among various caste Hindus. Healso used ‘ a kind of local made trumpet’, which is namedas ‘The voice of Maranatha” to preach the gospel in popu-lar indigenous forms which appeal to all sections of peoplealike.

Thus, he founded the mission on mere faith lines with-out fixing regular renumeration for his workers.(3) Early hardships :

The followers of Bible mission suffered greater hard-ships for their faith during their early years. Many people,who became a part of Bible Mission, were socially boy-cotted from their villages. They were not allowed to takewater from the village ponds. They were not sold anycommodities. They were not allowed in Church buildingsfor any marriage functions and social get-to-gathers. Theywere not given work in the fields. All these, come fromthe local Christians. Because, the some of the believersof this mission, belong to other denominations primarily,Lutheran.

This paved the way for the mission to penetrate amongthe Hindus who were convinced by the liberal theology of

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Father Devadas. As it is the message from the life ofFather Devadas, that hardships are the royal cab of glory,the early followers felt it as a privilege to suffer for theirmission. Even, they did not complain of their troubles.(4) New Challenges :

Both the Pastor and the Church suffered alike in theearly days of the mission. As the Church members wereput to all sorts of restrictions, some of them withdrewfrom the Bible Mission. In some places the Bible missionchurches were almost on the verge of extinction. Yet,they sprouted again in course of time.

As the workers didn’t have constant income and fixedsalary, these conditions augmented their woes further. Tocope up with this situation was really a challenging forthe workers to continue their ministry in the Bible Mis-sion. Many believers sold their lands and properties forsupporting their mission workers. The Christian leadersof other denominations had made it their mandate to de-base and throw false allegations on the Bible Missionand its workers. They claimed that Father Devadas wasa ‘false Prophet’ and the Bible Mission which was re-vealed in midair, would seen be mixed up in ether andwould be no more after his death.

But it is the promise of the Lord that the Bible Missionshall reach all the places where ever the air can pen-etrate. Creating faith in the Bible Mission among the Chris-tians and the fresh converts was the other tough chal-lenge, the mission had faced. The following lines are theonly answer for all the challenges and woes of the BibleMission.1) “Thou hast established” - Thou wilt provide;2) Thou hast established - Thou wilt Prosper .

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3) Thou hast established - Thou wilt lead and guide.(5) Turning Points :

In course of asserting itself in the main stream ofChristianity, the Bible Mission has witnessed many turn-ing points. The peculiar principles introduced by Fr.Devadas, formed majority of them. Since there are nofixed salaries for the workers, they always looked to Jesusfor any small help they are at need. This formed the solidbase for their life of faith which anchored them to theLord against all tempests of this world. This was led tothe futher mission expansion.

The Special Bible clases conducted by him gatheredall the workers and enriched their understanding and ex-perience on the themes of faith, hope, witness, endur-ance and so on. Since the Biblical teaching had its deeppenetration into the mindset of the workers, their com-mitment to ministry became solid and lasting. The spe-cial meetings for the anointment of the Holy Spirit arevery crucial in the Early history of the mission. The heal-ing campaigns paved the way for the people to come inand the Holy spirit anointment meetings established themin the mission as staunch believers and later turned theminto faithful workers.

This was how the early days of Bible Mission were interms of its founding and standing.(B) The Later History of the Bible Mission :

This phase witnessed some amount of steadyprogress in the mission’s struggle to assert itself on parwith the others by the efficient measures taken up byFather Devadas with the help of some resourceful peopleat his disposal. Firstly, he registered his mission and then,started certain healing centres and framed the executivebody and so on.

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1) Rajahmundry to Guntur :Due to the separatist turmoil at Rajahmundry, he had

to leave that place. In that sojournment, he came toprathipadu and started a healing centre thrse. From therehe came to Elur and finally to Guntur on 15th February1949.

This event had turned the course of Bible Mission’shistory. In Guntur he came to “Bethel House”, the resi-dence of Rao Bahadur J. Raja Rao who voluntarily in-vited him to be there. Here Fr. Devadas saw a writtenvision on which was mentioned: “Lord, Jehova had broughtyou to this place.”

This vision was fulfilled in course of 12 years, whichhe spent there, explaining the meaning of ‘The Song ofSongs’ and “The Book of Revelation.’ This place witnessedthe growth of the mission and the fulfillment of Fr. Devadas’vision.2) Proper registration :

Guntur became the centre of the Bible Mission andits main network. The fulness of the mission is slowlyseen here. Here, Fr. Devadas started his famous healingcentre at Kakani, near Guntur on ‘Monday’ the 16th ofMay 1949. Since then he concentrated on the ecumeni-cal character of the mission and published at least 40new books on various new themes, concepts and prac-tices of Christian life in the Bible Mission. At last, nearlyafter a full decade of growth and stability of the missionat Guntur, he registered his God revealed mission, ac-cording to His original revelation, as “The Bible Mission”in 1959, July 22nd. Then he praised God saying, “Lord,by now, I could able to set up your mission in the manner.Thou hast revealed me.”

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3) First Executive :After proper registration, Fr. Devadas nominated four

of his senior Reverends and as the President, Vice-Presi-dent, Secretary and Joint Secretary. When asked abouthis becoming the first President of the mission, he calmlyremarked that He was just the first member of the Biblemission and that He is only a God’s servant but not anexecutive authority in the mission.

They are; Rev. B. Elisha, Rev. B. Charles, Rev. G.Samuel and Rev. P.M. Jacob, respectively. They are outof many, some of the prominent persons that clung to Fr.Devadas in his oldage, particularly during the time of bit-ter cleavage. Thus, he set his mission on the firm ground-ing and took every step for it’s further enhancement andpenetration.(C) PRESENT HISTORY OF THE BIBLE MISSION :

Father Devadas left this world and went home in 1960.Till that time, he worked for the mission and labouredhard to make it strong. After his departure some com-mented that, this old man’s mission will soon die downlike him. Yet, the Bible mission is still alive and moreactive under the auspicious prayers of Fr. Devadas andconstant guidance and the grace of the Lord Almighty.

During his very last days he remarked that he wouldbe emptying the crucible of his suffering body and afterwhich he would make the mission run like anything. Youand I are the witnesses of that statement. For the Biblemission has reached its zenith, today, truly after the fourdecades of Father’s departure.1) Stability and growth :

Because of the unitary command of Fr. Devadas andhis teachings, though the mission expanded in terms of

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its number of branches and multiplicity of membership,since majority of them primarily came from the traditionalHindu Communities, it was stable and free from all typesof internal tumults and external cleavages.

Presently, the Bible Mission had its own place andrank among the other denominations of the Christendom.It was estimated as the first, fast growing Church in theIndian Sub continent. The Annual Convention of the mis-sion is the main attraction and prime source of its growth.Nearly, 5 lakhs of people have gathered this year andwere fed for three full days on every 27th, 28th and 29th

of January. These are the fixed dates of the Annual Con-ventions.2) Missionary Campaigns :

Chiefly, the growth was observed from the various mis-sionary campaigns organized and arranged by Rev. S.Samuel, the former president of the mission, to manycapitals and important cities of India. People who areinterested in Gospel work and tract distribution were takenby him in three to four tourist buses, depending on thenumber, to various cities only to fill them with the Gospelmessages that are typical of the Bible Mission. Most ofthe visited places now bear fruit for the Bible Mission. Itis he that sought after the mission’s development, afterthe departure of Fr. Devadas. Here, it is note worthy tomention the prayerful support of Smt. P.J. Graceammato Rev. S. Samuel, in tune with the mission’s growth andprogress.3) Widening Horizons :

With these missionary camps the Bible Mission hasmade known its existence, work and vision to the rest ofthe Christian world in India and abroad. Now its network

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has expanded even to other countries. Due to his self-less services in the mission, Rev. S. Samuel was askedto the 1984 world Christian leaders conference held atAmsterdam under the leadership of Billy Graham. But hesent Rev. P. Sajeeva Rao, the present Joint Secretary ofthe mission, in his place, to voice the message of theBible Mission. That was the first Inter national appear-ance of the Mission.

From then on wards, it never looked back. Many Gulfcountries invited the mission speakers to conduct meet-ings there. Most of the African countries witnessed theglory of the Bible Mission. Now the doors are opened forthe Bible mission and they shall never be shut until wecompletely establish our work on this surface.4) Able Administration :

In the recent past, with the advent of Rev. Dr. J. JohnSelvaraj, the mission has seen through and proper func-tioning in terms of its administrative matters. He regular-ized many things in the mission. He abolished some ofthe harmful practices, in the mission, in tune with thefoot steps of his predecessor. And incorporated certainnew visions and ideals for the efficient output and growthof the mission.

He commissioned the translations of Fr. Devadas writ-ings into various Indian languages with special referenceto English the official language of India. For his outstand-ing contribution in governing and pampering the mission,he was declared the International Man of year, 2000.”5) Beyond the Boundaries :

Now, the Bible Mission was the focus of many christianleaders and researchers, who tried to observe and analyseits activities and development from various dimensions

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of theological, religious and empirical models. This Pavedthe way for others to study and reflect upon the mission.The ‘Rainbow Team’ from the United States of Americavisited the Head Office, at Guntur and specially watchedthe healing programmes conducted there in.

Delegates from the Mauritius Islands visited varioushealing centres of the Bible Mission and glorified the workof the mission. A Doctoral thesis has been submitted tothe university of Hyderbad, on one of the premier topicsof the mission i.e. the meaning of The Song of Songs.

6) The Clarion Call :The Bible Mission with all its fulfledged state and out-

look, now stands at the cross roads of the Universe andinvites the subjects to come to the redemptive cross ofChrist. We particularly extend our warm welcomes to thepresent day Christendom to get united at His feet andlisten to His voice only to do according to what He saysin evangelizing the whole world and preparing the univer-sal church as the spot/less Bride.

This was was the small prayer offered by Fr. Devadasto realize this mission :

O Lord! appear unto me

appear unto all.

O Lord! Speak unto me

Speak unto all.

Having Christ as its chief Teacher and Modulator theBible Mission with His revealed universal expositions, prin-ciples and practices, invites the rest of the Christian worldto be prepared as His raptured “Bride Church” who put onthe form and nature of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

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7) The Legacy :Now, the Bible Mission leaves behind it a great legacy

from its varied and excellent spiritual traditions whichepitomized the Rapture preparation and the pure state ofthe young Bride. Nearly, after 64 years of its inception,the mission had become truly mature and strong enoughto influence the world in general and the Christian worldin particular towards one particular goal i.e. is the Rap-ture (The second coming of Jesus Christ).

It unfolds the path way to the ‘Bride’s line’ and en-courages the Churches to practice the silent hour(Sannidhi) so as to transform their shape and nature tothe likeness of the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ.

Dear friend, Here we invite you to ponder upon thiswonderful Mission and be a part of its glorious missionand vision. May God bless you and catch you up in HisRapture.

PRECEPTS OF THE BIBLE MISSIONThis paper on the Precepts of St. M. Devadas is

an attempt to know more about the teachings of St. M.Devadas who hailed from Andhra Pradesh and lived uptothe age of 120 years as per popular belief . Eventhoughhe lead a simple life his devotion and his teachings con-tinue to inspire many people in leading them towards ourSaviour Jesus Christ.

Precepts of the Bible Mission as professed bySt. M. Devadas:

1. Baptism: The water baptism given by the pastor isthe baptism for the spiritual life. This baptism is per-formed in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.God is our Father and we are his children. This birth

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relationship is established by baptism. In the Bible it issimply mentioned as baptism but no clear method ofbaptizing is specified. The pastor using water withoutany measure baptizes him that repents and believes inChrist in the Name of the Trinity. Therefore baptism witherby immersion or by sprinkling of water is correct. In theGospel of Matthew 28th Chapter verse 19, our Lord com-mands to baptize in the name of the father, Son and theHoly Ghost. Hence the baptism either by immersion orby sprinkling is accepted. If a person is baptized once,no matter when he received it or by whom it is performed,in which way it is performed, in which denomination it isperformed is baptism. A person baptized in the name ofTrinity should not be baptized again. The apostle Paul inEphesians 4:5 writes ‘one Lord, one Faith, one baptism.’Hence baptism is one.

2. Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Through water baptism,one will get membership in a Church. But through thebaptism of the Holy Spirit, one will get heavenly mem-bership. This baptism of the Holy spirit is given by LordJesus Christ. It is the chief instrument for the develop-ment of the spiritual life and also for the spread of thegospel. In John 3:5 it is written ‘Except a man be born ofwater and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdomof God.’ Hence, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is vital inthe life of every Christian.

3. Washing of the Feet: Our Lord washed the foot ofHis disciples before the last supper administered the lastsupper to His disciples as written in John 13:1-5. In John13:15 Jesus said “for I have given you an example, thatye should do as I had done to you.” He had set an ex-

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ample and commanded His disciples to follow. In obedi-ence to this word pastors should wash the feet of thebeliever before administering communion to him for thefirst time.

4. The Lord’s Supper: By observing the Lord’s Supperthe believer will receive the body and blood of Christ in-wardly. It is desirable to observe the Lord’s supper asoften as possible. Some sick people will be healed oftheir diseases if they observe the Lord’s supper. (I Cor11: 23-34).

5. Word of God: The Holy Bible was written by theinspiration of God. It is the base of Christianity. Thisbook reveals the mind of God. God may reveal somepoints through creation, the conscience, divine revela-tion, good deeds and through troubles. In addition to thewritten word. When we show the word of God to Satan hewill become dumb. Our Lord when He was tempted bySatan on the Mount rebuked Satan by quoting the scrip-tures. (Matthew 4th Chapter).

6. Tithes: God commanded the Jews to offer a tenthportion of their income in the temple. The Lord said toprophet Malachi that if they offered tithes they will pros-per (Mal 3:10). Apostle Paul also mentioned that theMacedonians offered beyond their power. Hence, everybeliever should sincerely contribute their tithes to thechurch and if possible try to offer amounts in excess ofthe tithes.

7. Wearing of Jewellery: Regarding wearing of Jewelleryin the Old Testament it is written that Rebecca adornedherself with precious jewellery, in the time of Moses alsothe Lord commanded that the Israelites should borrowprecious jewels form the Egyptians and adorn their women

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with them. In the new Testament our Lord says in Mark9: 43-47 “if thine hand offend thee cut it off....” Hencewhatever could offend can and should be removed. TheBride in New Jerusalem will be adorned with ornaments.They are ornaments of glory. To the Bride in this worldornaments are not forbidden. Adorning with indecentjewellery is not admissable.On faith and Healing:1. Divine Healing: Divine Healing means healing expe-rienced through the prayers of faith without the use ofmedicine. God has put the healing powers in herbs andplants. Hence, it is not wrong to use medicines. But it isbetter to get healing through prayer of faith.2. Leading a life based on faith: To believe that salva-tion is available only through Jesus Christ, its nourish-ment only available through Jesus Christ, and to believethat all the necessary things for physical and spiritual lifeare available with Christ is Faith. In Philippians 4:19 it iswritten that ‘God shall supply all your needs according toHis riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ In Matthew 10:10 itis written our Lord says ‘that the workmen is worthy ofhis meat.3. Casting of devils: Lord Jesus Christ commanded Hisdisciples in Matt 10:8 to cast out devils and has given hisdisciples the power to do so. Even today the Lord is givingthis gift to his believers to rebuke devils and cast themaway. (Some people do not believe in the existence ofdevils. The devils like this kind of false notion.)Prayer and Meditation:1. Waiting upon the Lord: Every believer should prac-tise the habit of waiting upon the Lord for an hour every-day. Distinction should be made between prayer and

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waiting upon the Lord. After we pray we should wait forsometime in His presence so that the Lord may respondto our Prayers Hence, this practise of waiting upon theLord should be observed by all the believers.2. God’s Presence: After finding a convenient time andplace and having cleanliness of heart, body and clothesif we gather together, sing a song, read the word of Godone by one, conduct prayers according to prayer stepsand if we question the Lord about our doubts and inquir-ies the Lord will appear and speak to us and will answerall our questions.a. At one time God will appear and speak.b. Sometimes, He will send His angels.c. He may send the spirit of the Heavenly saints.d. He may send the spirit of a saint on the earth.e. He may send the spirits of the ungodly people of this world.f. He may send the spirit of ungodly people who were dead.g. God will send whomsoever we request. They will ap-pear to us, talk to us and give replies to our queries.h. He may also allow a demon to appear to us. After thedemon has gone, He will comfort us saying that we shouldnot believe the word of the demon and not fear.

Even if we possess all the riches, fame, educa-tion etc. nothing can be equalled to the privilege of wait-ing upon the Lord. Because of meditation all our privi-leges will prosper.Revelations:a) Revelation by vision: In the revelations by visioneverything may appear to believers. The places such asthe earth, the heaven, the hell, upper air region and allthings in them may appear in due time. This is called

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vision. We will feel happy if God , angels and the glory ofGod appear to us. We also must feel happy if things suchas filthy places, horrible places and dangerous placesetc. appear to us for these thongs are there so let themappear to us. Ref: Isa Chapter 6; Num 12:28; Acts 9:27;Eph 3:3; Acts 10:3,4; Mt 17:3; Acts 9:12; 16:9-10.b) Revelation by voice: In this revelation the words ofour Lord and the words of the Holy people will be heard.It reminds of the words that the Lord had told in John10:27 “My sheep will hear my voice.”c) Revelation by writing: In this revelation the mes-sage or the words that were written in the air will appear.Sometimes these words may appear like the printed let-ters. It was written in the I Chronicles that God had shownto David the way of construction of the temple throughwriting. Sometimes handwriting also will be seen. Some-times a cardboard will appear from heaven and someonewill write on it and show to us. We can read and writethem down on our note books. (Exo 31:18; I Chronicles28:19; Dan 5:5; Jn 8:6.d) Vision by dreams : The angel of the appeared toJoseph in a dream and informed he matter. Likewise ourLord would appear to the believer and speak to him. Ifthe things that are seen in our daily lives appear in dreamsit cannot be called as a revelation. The revelation indreams indeed is a divine revelation. (Exo 37:7-10;Num12:6; I Kin 3:5: Mt. 1:20; 2:12,13; 27:19.).e) Vision by thought (perception): It is also one of themethods of divine revelation. It was recorded in Acts 15:28,29‘For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us ..’f) Vision by knowledge and wisdom: this is the under-standing power given by God’s knowledge and wisdom.

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Was it not through wisdom that King Solomon had judgedthe harlots? (I Kin 3:11,12). Invention of latest machines,steamers, aeroplanes, computers etc are the result ofknowledge. God by His universal love is bestowing thisknowledge to the unbelievers also. This is not spiritual wis-dom. God gives this spiritual wisdom to the believers only.It was recorded in the Bible that knowledge and wisdomare God’s gifts. (Acts 6:10 ; I Cor 1:6 ; 12:8).g) Vision by the word of God: After praying when wesearch the Bible carefully using our knowledge duly, wewill get proper word for our prayers. Luke 4:17,18. Ifsearched with ignorance and folly proper word cannot befound. To illustrate, a Christian prayed the Lord to showfrom His word what he had to do. After praying he openedthe Bible and found the words ‘Judas committed suicide.’It did not seem good to him. So he opened the Bibleagain. Now the sentence which he came across was ‘Goand do likewise.’ Ashamed of this he did not open theBible again. This is the ignorant and foolish type of devo-tion. There is no knowledge in it.Note on Visions:a) Some people may have any of the revelations citedabove. Some may have two or three. And some maypossess all of them. The dangerous thing is that whenthe evil spirit appears, some will misunderstand it as ifthe Lord had appeared. When the Lord appears, somewill misunderstand that it is a demon. When the Lord hadappeared on the sea, the disciples thought that it was ademon. So we must think carefully and properly. St.Paul writes that ‘Satan himself is transformed into an angelof light.’ (II Cor 11:14).b) The believer should be away from bad visions anddemons. When visions are not understood, pray for therevelation of their meanings.

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c) If the words ‘you has prayed but it has not been ful-filled’ are told by others or by your own mind or by ademon and even if their words however sweet they maybe should not be believed. The written word only shouldbe believed only then we can be safe.

Speaking in Heavenly tongue: This is a gift ofthe Holy Spirit to a believer. Hence, this cannot be for-bidden. Interpretation of this heavenly tongue is also agift. Those who are destined to go to heave will learn thistongue. No other gift was written in the Bible as explicitlyas the gift of Heavenly tongue. (I Cor 12:10; 13:1; 14:2,39,40; Mark 16:17).

Prophecy: By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,the prophets of the Bible period prophesied to the peopleabout the things of present, past and the future. Theyrecorded their prophecies in their writings. God is bestow-ing this gift of prophecy on some people nowadays also.Interpretation of the written prophecies with inspiration ofthe Holy Spirit is another kind of gift bestowed on some byGod. God is giving this gift to some in these days also.Some people say that today there are no such prophetsas there were during the Bible period. They think that thisgift has been stopped at the end of the Bible period but itis not true. God continues to bestow this gift nowadaysalso. (I Cor 12:10; 14:39,40; I Peter 1:10,11).

Communion with the saints: In the apostlescreed, it is mentioned that we believe in the communionwith the saints. Saints are those who are saints in thisworld and he saints in Heaven. It is easier to have com-munion with the saints who are in Heaven. They willcome to us when we pray. In this context we recall theevents of the past which read about Moses and Elijahdescending on the Mount of Transfiguration; the event of

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the holy people coming on the day of the death of ourLord and the event of coming of two men on the day ofthe Ascension are some examples regarding the com-munion of the saints.

The Second coming of Christ and the Laterevents after the Second coming:

Depiction of the Church as the Bride: Among the savedpeople those who are selected by the Lord according totheir state of heart belong to this group called the bride.Of them those who are alive until the Lord comes will becaught up in the air with life, those who believe in thesecond coming and who are ready will be caught up inthe clouds with glorious bodies along with the Lord whenHe comes. Those who died in Christ will also rise andcome. Both groups together form a single group calledthe Bride. (Rev 22:20; Heb 12:23).The Second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ: Thesigns that were to take place before the second comingof the Lord have taken place. So we believe that He willcome in our life time. We should firmly believe that He iscoming soon. What is the use of believing of the eventsin Christ’s life such as His birth, His death on the cross,his resurrection and His ascension without believing thelast and final event that is the second coming. (I Thes4:13-18; Matt 24th Chapter).The later events after the second coming: After theascension of the bride (the congregation of the believerswho are selected by the Lord) the rest of the people whoare left behind will undergo seven years of Tribulation. Thistribulation will be caused by the enemy of Christ the anti-Christ. During that period many people will get repentance.(Rev 6:1-17; Mark 13:19; Zephanaiah 1:14-18).

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Lord Jesus Christ will come form heaven and makewar against anti-Christ at Armageddon and will cast himand his companion namely the false prophet and demonsinto the lake of fire. And Jesus Christ will bind Satan forone thousand years in a bottomless pit or in the abyss.(Rev 16:12-15; 19:19,20; Zech 14th Chapter). Later the Lord Jesus Christ will reign on earth peace-fully. During this period gospel will be preached com-pletely to the whole world (Rev 20:4-6; 19:15-16; 5:10).The Lord will put His throne on the earth to judge thepeople who heard the gospel during the period of thou-sand years and He will hear their decisions. This is called‘the judgement of the living nations’ and otherwise calledthe judgement which separates the sheep and the goats.’ When the Lord looses Satan from the bottomless pit,He will come on the earth and will collect several nationsas an army and will make war against the Lord. Fire whichcomes from heaven will devour that army of Satan. Thenthe Lord will cast Satan into the lake of fire (Rev 20:7-10).Later the Last judgement, the Lord will judgeall people fromthe time of Adam. In this judgement some will ask “Lordhave we not prophesied in Your Name?” (Rev 20:11-15;Ecc 12:14; Daniel 2:27-29). The spirits of those who diedin Christ will go to Paradise. This place is also a part ofheaven. This was the place about which the Lord had toldon to one of the thieves while He was crucified. 16:22;23:43; II Cor 12:14; Rev 2:7). The spirits of those whodied without repentance will be in Hades. St. Peter in hisepistles writes about Christ going to this place and preach-ing there. Because God is Almighty He can save thosethat have repented, even after their death also. In Psalms139:8 it was written that ‘If I make my bed in hell, beholdthou art there ...even there shall thy hand lead me.’ This

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point can be known form the book ‘Heavenly visions’ writ-ten by Sadhu Sundar Singh. (Ps 9:17; 139:8; Amos 9:2; ISam 2:6; I Peter 3:20; 4:6; Phill 2:9-11; Isa 13:14). Heav-enly Congregation of Prayer: In this congregation prayerswill be made for the sake of earth. It will be very delightfulto know more about this prayer group. (Rev 4:6; Is 6:3;Eze 1st chapter). The bride will dwell in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2).Those believers who are not included in the group called‘the Bride’ will go to another part of Heaven which is called‘heaven for the saved.’ (Rev 7:1-14; 20:4; 14:3). The be-lievers during the period of vials (held by angels) will re-main on earth forever. After the thousand year reign, thisearth will be a part of heaven.’ (Rev 21:1; II Peter 3:13). The above are some of the particulars the Bible Mis-sion preaches.

THE BIBLE MISSION’S STATEMENT OF FAITHThe Bible Mission is an indigenous Christian

denomination started by M. Devadas, as per God’s writ-ten revelation, in the year 1938, in Rajahmundry, southIndia. He led an upright Christian life for 120 years withmanifold spiritual experiences. He served the LutheranMission for 46 years and held many officers dischargingvarious responsibilities upto the maximum satisfactionof his superiors, until God revealed him the Bible Mis-sion, when he was ninety years old.

The main objective of the Bible Mission is toattain optimum fellowship and indepth communion withthe Lord Jesus Christ. Its main motto is not to hate anyman or any religion but to ask God, about the unknownthings. Since God alone can clear all doubts, we shouldapproach Him for our better understanding of all the things.

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The Bible Mission believes in the following:-We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was like a

human in outward appearance but God in eternal state.We also believe that He explicitly manifested. His loveand real God-head through His divine preachings, miracu-lous good deeds and vicarious death upon the cross bear-ing my sins, diseases, punishments; and rising from thegrave on the third day and ascending into Heaven. Wealso believe that He is now interceding for all the humanbeings and shall come back to rapture His Church in HisSecond Coming. Afterwards there will be seven years ofterrible tribulation to those who were left behind. Later inthe war at Armageddon between Anti-Christ and Christ;the Anti-Christ and False Prophet shall be thrown into thehell and Satan shall be imprisoned for one thousand yearsin the Abyss, during which period the Lord shall reignover the whole earth for a thousand years. And we alsobelieve that at the end of His reign the Lord shall judgeboth the living and the dead.

As Christ, the Lord releases Satan from theAbyss, Satan will come to the earth and from two armiesnamely Gog and Magog and will fight against God only toget defeated, and Christi will throw him into hell. We be-lieve that, lateron, the Lord shall judge all the people andsend the unbelievers into Hell. We believe that, eventu-ally, as the saints on this earth are like one unified church,the earth shall become a part of Heaven and Christ, theLord shall reside both in Heaven and on earth.

We believe in the Holy Spirit and that He is unit-edly working with the Father and the Son as one God. Wealso believe that the Holy Bible was written by His mov-ing inspiration and that it can be understood only throughHis enlightenment and that He alone can handover to the

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believer the salvation intended by the Father, acquiredby the Son through His precious blood. We also believethat the Holy Spirit is the God who is equally worthy tobe worshipped along with the Father and the Son. Webelieve in the fellowship of saints, resurrection and theeternal life.

THE ACTIVITIES OF THE BIBLE MISSIONThe Bible Mission is known for its relentless ser-

vice. Its activities are not only confined to the religioussphere but also extended to the social and economicdomains of human life. Since the Bible Mission dependson the Lord to supply its needs, for all its activities itaims high and accomplishes big results. Its activities aregrouped in the following manner.

Social Activities: The Bible Mission is much in-terested in the social dimension of the gospel, since theLord fed the five thousand and taught them the goodnews,likewise, the Bible Mission too pays greater attention tothe social needs of the masses.

It involves in community developmentprogrammes that are aimed at the self-sustenance of thepoorer communities that are deprived of modern ameni-ties. It takes special interest with regard to street chil-dren whose childhood is perverted in various ways. Ithelps them by providing basic means of life and cateringto their overall well being. The Bible Mission pays specialattention to the nature calamities such as earth quakes,Tsunamis, Fire mishaps, etc and undertakes special re-lief works by sending its contingent, who are well equippedfor such purposes. They distribute clothes, blankets, plasticsheets, water food, milk and even money depending onthe need of the situation.

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Academic Activities: The Bible Mission owns aprinting press to publish its literature that is of generalinterest of the masses and also specific use of its mem-bers. It is one of the important activities of the Bible Mis-sion to distribute special pamphlets praying God to sendRains on the land. In places where there were no sea-sonal rains, when these pamphlets are distributed muchrainfall was seen. The Bible mission works hard to pro-mote peace and tranquility in the country by creatingawareness in the masses to pray God to the internal peaceof the nation and also for the friendly relations with thenighbouring countries.

Its literature brings much spiritual insight to itsreaders catering to and conducting their moral lives forthe betterment of the nation as a whole.

Other Activities: The Bible Mission conducts medi-cal camps and health awareness projects to its workers sothat they keep good health and work efficiently. It offersrefresher courses to its subjects strengthening their faithand commitment in its thinking line up and working pattern.

Apart from these secular activities the Bible Mis-sion workers conduct massive healing campaigns in theirrespective congregation. Many non-Christians join thosemeetings to receive physical and spiritual blessings.

THE ANNUAL CONVENTIONS:The Annual convention of the Bible Mission is a

Mega event that stands as a landmark in its activities. Itserves free food for nearly 1 million people for three fulldays, who participate in the event with their friends, rela-tives and the entire household. The Bible Mission hasneither fixed income nor any foreign aid. It is indigenousin its character and nature of functioning, for it raises its

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own funds through voluntary contribution of its membersand workers.

Here are some of the details of the Annual Con-ventions of the Bible Mission:1. The overall expenditure of the conventions is esti-

mated as Eight million Indian rupees, which comesto US$ 177,777.77. (Year 2005).

2. The vast pendal that was the erected with theFanpalm tree leaves covers the area of 1.2 millionsquare feet which accommodates nearly one mil-lion people.

3. Nine thousand tube lights and Five hundred lampsare arrange to illuminate the pendal and the sur-rounding open air during night time.

4. Twenty quintals of Dal is used to prepare the Sam-bar, which is the staple Indian liquid food to mix upin rice.

5. Sixty quintals of vegetables are used to preparethe Sambar.

6. One Eighty Five tones of rice is cooked for all thepeople for three full days, including the pilgrims whocome a day in advance, and depart a day after theconventions. Special canteen services are providedat subsidized rates.

7. Seven huge water tankers supply water only forcooking purposes. Water drawn from Five deep dugborewells round the clock caters to the basic needsof the pilgrims.

8. Police protection is provided for security reasonsby the government of Andhra Pradesh. A group ofdoctors assisted by committed nurses work as ateam to render first aid services.

9. The Conventions start at 9:30a.m. And closes by

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10:30p.m. Between 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. food isserved inspite of this marathon session, the pilgrimsso much attention to the programme and sit withgreat devotion. Many govt. Officials participate andreceive the blessings.

10. It’s synthesis of India in all its colours. Irrespectiveof caste, colour, creed, race, gender all communi-ties in rural and urban India participate in this megaevent without any bias.

11. True Indian spirit is witnessed in that environment.It’s a gathering of indigenized Christianity in Indiancolours and twilights. That’s why the Bible Missionis successful in its work even in many hostilitiesthat are prevalent in present day India.

12. Many foreign delegates participate and witness thedirect presence of the Lord where the moto of theconvention is not conversion but the transforma-tion of the soul to meet the Lord in clouds. This isthe dream and ambition of the Bible Mission to trans-fer this legacy to various countries.

CONCLUSIONSThus, The Bible Mission is one of the fastest

growing churches in India. Since it is revealed by God,God alone is looking after its growth and well-being. SinceGod alone is the mentor of the mission, it is being shapedin his own image and likeness according to His will. Since,God alone is its leader it is being prepared for His secondcoming, and invites the rest of the christendom to join itsfold at the feet of His presence.

If have any queries regarding the things men-tioned in this booklet, you may ask God to clarify yourdoubts, since He alone is the All of the Bible Mission.

May God bless you. Maranatha.

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For further information please contant:THE BIBLE MISSION OFFICE

Bethel House, Railpet,Guntur - 522001. A.P. India.

Phones: +91-863-2556149, +919949121777.