wfn.org | Seminary prepares for persecution by emphasizing ministry

[BethAH@mbm.org]

September 13, 2000
Beth Hawn
Mennonite Board of Missions
(219) 294-7523
(219) 294-8669
<www.MBM.org>

Seminary prepares for persecution by emphasizing ministry

ELKHART, Ind. (MBM/COM) – The students and faculty of Union
Biblical Seminary in Pune, India, do not hide from persecution,
despite growing violence toward Christians in India.  Instead,
the school’s president, Rev. Dr. Leaderwell Pohsngap, expects the
time of persecution to strengthen the church in India.

In a visit to the Mennonite Board of Missions offices on Sept. 1,
Pohsngap said the persecution signals a need to “change the way
we witness, educate and live, so that we can be even stronger in
our evangelism.”  Although Union Biblical Seminary has not been a
direct target of violence, he said the campus community is
beginning to consider ways to respond in word, deed and prayer.

“This is part of being alive to the issues, of being alive to the
need to respond,” he said.  “We also need to remind people that
[persecution] is part of the heritage of Christians.”

Incidents of violence against religious minorities in India,
especially Christians, have recently increased.  A small group of
radical Hindu fundamentalists is believed to be responsible for
the violence, which has escalated since the Hindu nationalist BJP
party came to power in 1998.  Christians make up about 2 percent
of India’s population.

Pohsngap said the school strives to remain connected to the
changing world, even in the face of persecution.  “The world is
changing very fast.  We need to be able to adjust ourselves to
the changes,” he said.  “We need to be faithful to the Bible and
relevant to the world around us.  We are a school that is very,
very intentional about being biblical.  Everything centers on the
Bible.  The emphasis on lifestyle is a result of the biblical
emphasis.”

The student body of 244 is divided into 46 ministry teams that go
throughout the city each weekend.  Some work with congregations,
others with nongovernmental organizations or slum ministries.
“All students are required to participate,” Pohsngap said.  “It
trains our students for hands-on ministry.”  Preparing students
with hands-on training shifts the focus from hiding from
persecution to strengthening ministry and evangelism skills, he
said.

After the second year of studies, all students in the four-year
Master of Divinity program participate in a nine-month
internship.  Following the internship, they return to campus for
a final year of studies to process what they learned.  “When they
come in to do their last year, you can see that they see
[ministry] totally differently,” Pohsngap said.  “We used to do
the internship at the end of the program, but we had no way to
evaluate what they had learned, and the students had no way to
discuss what they had experienced.”

“We want to be a spiritual center that produces pastors,
evangelists and missionaries,” he said.  “We’re not interested in
producing scholars.  We want to train people for hands-on
ministry.”  In the future, Pohsngap dreams of developing the
school’s mission department into a training center that offers
degrees in mission up to the doctoral level.

Pohsngap, a 1979 graduate of Union Biblical Seminary, is in his
fourth year as president of the school.  In addition to
campus-based programs of study, the school offers theological
education by extension to 500 students in English and Marathi, a
local language.

Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church mission
agencies, including MBM, were founding members of Union Biblical
Seminary in 1953 and have continued support and cooperation for
many years, including sending visiting professors to the school
yearly.

* * *

Bethany Swope