Indian Pentecostal Church of God

The Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) is one of the

The Indian Pentecostal
largest Pentecostal Christian Denomination in India,[2] with
over 10,000 congregations worldwide. Its organisational
Church of God (IPC)
headquarters located in Kumbanad, Kerala, India. IPC has Abbreviation IPC
similarities with the Kerala Brethren denomination in terms of Classification Protestant,
its beliefs on orthodoxy and eschatology, as a large portion of Evangelicalism
IPC's founders and early members were from the Kerala
Brethren. IPC tends to shy away from ecumenism, and some Orientation Pentecostal
of its leaders reject high church liturgy as a method of Polity Presbyterian polity
worship, instead opting for low church congregational
Region India and Worldwide
worship.
Headquarters Kumbanad, India

History Founder Pastor P M Samuel

Pastor K E Abraham
Pastor K C Cherian
Origins (Early 20th Century)
Pastor P T Varughese
Protestant evangelical low church movement flourished in Pastor T G Oommen
Kerala after the translation of the Bible by Hermann Gundert Pastor T K Mathew
and Benjamin Bailey who also established the first printing
Pastor A C Samuel
press in Kerala in mid 1800s. George Burg, an American-
German missionary first introduced the Pentecostal Pastor V V Thomas
experience in early 1900s. During those times, many Origin Started on July 1924,
evangelical low churches were from the Kerala Brethren and
as ‘Thennindia
followed reformed puritan practises (Verubadh Sabha) and
Pentecosthu
these churches was pioneered by K.V. Simon, Volbrecht
Nagel, Anthony Norris Groves etc. The origins of the Indian Daivasabha’
Pentecostal Church can be traced back to K E Abraham, who Registered on 9
belonged to the Kerala Brethren denomination during the December 1935 as
period of the native revival movement in Travancore. "The Indian
Abraham was born on March I, 1899 to Jacobite parents in Pentecostal Church of
Mulakuzha, India. He left Jacobite church at young age and God" at Eluru
was rebaptized on February 27, 1916, by Brethren minister
Congregations 10,000+
and theologian Mahakavi K.V. Simon. During his younger
years, Abraham ministered among the youth, and as a result, Official website https://ipc.international
many people accepted Christianity. As a Christian minister, he
had built a small place of worship adjacent to his house in Mulakuzha in 1920 for a Puritan Assembly.

The missionaries from the west also came at the same time to South India for the propagation of the
Pentecostal doctrine. Many native people accepted it. On 22 June 1923, it was alleged that Abraham also
received the gift of speaking in tongues and became a Pentecostal believer at the house of C. Manasseh at
Paraniyam at Neyyattinkara. Because he accepted the Pentecostal faith, the Puritans did not accept him.
During the time of rejection and separation from his erst while group, he wrote a book, Baptism of the Holy
Spirit advocating a second baptism, baptism by the Holy Spirit strongly in line with Wesleyan Christian
Perfection which made a way for him to be known; it opened many ways to preach and to propagate the
Pentecostal message. Several prayer groups and fellowships sprang up in Travencore.

Following that, more churches were established and subsequently on 13 April 1924 a monthly gathering
was started with all these churches, which is still continuing among all the IPC churches in different places.
These independent movement churches were given a name in July 1924 ‘Thennindia Pentecosthu
Daivasabha’ (The South India Pentecostal Church of God). Even when Abraham and colleagues formed
these independent churches, they were in cooperation with Rev. Robert F. Cook who headed "Thennindia
Poorna Suvishesha Daivasabha" and Mary Chapman the Assemblies of God missionary.

There was a dispute on a ‘land registration’ with Assemblies of God, which caused Abraham to disconnect
his relationship with the AG church for a while, at least until the return of Rev. Robert F. Cook from
America. When Cook returned Pastor K.E Abraham along with Rev. Cook formed a new organization
called Malankara Pentecost Daivasabha by merging the "Thennindia Pentecosthu Daivasabha" (K E
Abraham) and "Thennindia Poorna Suvishesha Daivasabha" (Robert F. Cook). These churches had
affiliation from Assemblies God as an independent denomination. However, Malankara Pentecosthu
Daivasabha was a native movement under the leadership of Cook and K E Abraham. The joint venture
helped the church grow faster and many accepted the new faith.

Even though Thennindia Pentecosthu Daivasabha and Thennindia Poorna Suvishesha Daivasabha merged,
the churches that were under the jurisdiction of Abraham kept an independent nature. Even though the two
organizations merged there was a separate meeting of the Thennindia Pentecosthu Daivasabha held at the
house of Abraham on 9 April 1927.

In 1929, the Malankara Pentecost Daivasabha completely separated from the fellowship of AG due to their
restriction concerning the ministerial areas for the work of the missionaries. It was not acceptable to
Abraham and other native ministers; therefore, they encouraged Cook to detach Malankara Pentecost
Daivasabha from AG fellowship. Cook, who was also aware of the future of Pentecostal movement,
decided to detach from AG mission and thought of giving more opening to the native ministers for ministry
and administration.

The unity between Cook and Abraham did not last longer because Abraham decided to separate from Cook
in January 1930. There are two reasons Abraham indicted for the decision behind separation, first, the
freedom of local churches and second, the assumption that an apostolic faith life will not be possible by
being with Cook. The diplomatic thought of apostolic life was the influence of Pastor Paul who came and
preached in South India. Pastor Paul is the founder of Ceylon Pentecostal Mission, which is today known
as ‘The Pentecostal Mission’. Some of the believers from Kumbanad tried to unite Rev. Cook and
Abraham, but it did not work out.

Abraham accepted the same name that was given to the independent churches in 1924 as ‘Thennindia
Pentecosthu Daivasabha’. After the separation from Cook, Pastor P M Samuel joined Thennindia
Pentecosthu Daivasabha with the seventeen churches that he had established. The churches also grew in
number in the ministry of native ministers. Since Abraham and his colleagues were challenged by the life
and faith of Pastor Paul, they also decided to follow "the Apostolic Faith life".

The Thennindia Pentecosthu Daivasabha came in cooperation with the "Ceylon Pentecostal Mission" in
1930 and the fellowship and ministry together existed until 1933, but Abraham had to leave the fellowship
due to some doctrinal differences and differences regarding baptism. When Abraham, Alwin and Paul
failed to settle the issue after many written discussions, Abraham took a decision to separate from Ceylon
Pentecostal Mission in 1933. It was the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission chief Pastor Paul who ordained K E
Abraham in 1933 as Pastor. Today Rev. DR. T. Valsom Abraham (grandson of K E Abraham) serves as the
General President of IPC ministry.

The following 8 Pastors were the founders of this organization. Pastor K C Oommen - (Kodumthara)
Pastor K E Abraham (Kumbanadu) Pastor K C Cherian (Mazuvali) Pastor P T Varughese (Chethakkal)
Pastor T G Oommen (Povanmala) Pastor T K Mathew (Karamvali) Pastor A C Samuel - Koyipparam
(Later went back to AG Church) Pastor V V Thomas (Ranni)

The era of expansion and renaming (1933-1950)

By 1933 the ministry of Thennindia Pentecosthu Daivasabha expanded outside Kerala state, therefore, the
ministers requested the leaders of the church to establish a council.[3] The first minister's council was
formed on 5 June 1933. There were 17 members selected in the council and they were:

1. P.M. Samuel (President), Faith Home, Thogur, Tanjore Dist. Missionary

2. K.C. Cherian (V.P.), Faith Home, Kankanady, South Kanara. Missionary
3. P.T. Chacko B.D. (Secretary), Kumbanad, Travancore, Missionary
4. K.E. Abraham, Faith Home, Kumbanad, Travancore Missionary
5. T. Kochukunju, Faith Home, Trivandrum, Travancore. Missionary
6. K.C. Oommen, Faith Home, Kumbanad, Travancore. Missionary
7. P.T. Mathew Poovathur, Kumbanad, Travancore. Missionary
8. V.V. Thomas Faith Home, Ranni West, Travancore. Missionary
9. P.O. Thomas Salem, Ranni East, Travancore. Missionary
10. T.G. Oommen Ayroor, Kozhencherry, Travancore. Missionary
11. P.T. Varghese, Faith Home, Kunnamkulam, Cochin State. Missionary
12. K. M. Zachariah, Punnakadu, Kozhencherry, Travancore. Missionary
13. P.M. Thomas B.A., Kalpathi, Palghat, Malabar Gospel Work.Missionary
14. E.K. John 'Bethel', Kottarakkara, Travancore. Missionary
15. M. Simon Faith Home, Calicut, Malabar, Missionary
16. T.V. Issac Kunnamkulam, Cochin State. Teacher

P M Samuel was selected as the first president of this independent organisation and the council was
registered in Aranmula. The head office of the organisation was in Kumbanad, Kerala. Since the work of
the Thennindia Pentecosthu Daivasabha reached far beyond South India, the name was changed to India
Pentecosthu Daivasabha (Indian Pentecostal Church of God). The organisation is registered in Eluru,
Andhra Pradesh under the Societies Act XXI of 1860 on 9 December 1935.[4]

K E Abraham started a bible school at his house, which was unnamed until 1932 and then given the name
Hebron Bible College. HBC is an institution that has trained more than 14,000 church leaders, pastors,
missionaries, evangelists and students belonging to various denominations for over 83 years.

The organisation since 1950s

Thereafter, the IPC made a remarkable progress in founding local churches and taking the gospel to
different parts of Kerala as well as other states of India. By 1950, IPC was the leading Pentecostal
organisation in South Kerala. However, the period from 1953 to 1966 was also marked as the period when
the church split also referred to as ‘the Dark Age’ of IPC. The split among IPC workers caused many to
leave the organisation. The division briefly affected the growth of the church and it is written that K.E.
Abraham had contemplated leaving the organisation. After the 1970s the IPC formed a national council for
the smooth expansion of the organisation. Today, with more than a 7500 congregations, IPC has founded
local churches in all the major continents of the earth. The native leaders’ vision and hard work can be
primarily attributed to the growth of the IPC. In Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, Pastor P.M. Samuel,
Pastor Paramjodhi - Andhra Pradesh, Pastor K.G. Koshy - Chennai and Pastor Abraham Samuel - Andhra
Pradesh developed the local churches and ministries and they were able to bring many to Christ and
through their work in Andhra and Tamil Nadu there are many thousands that are believers in Christ. As a
result of their work, there are large churches that bring in thousands of people to worship each Sunday.

Beliefs
The Statement of Faith is the Indian Pentecostal Church of God's doctrinal standard.[5][6]

Statement of Faith

Statement of Faith as per IPC Constitution are as shown below:

1. The Holy Scriptures as the revealed will of God, the all sufficient rule for faith
and practice. The Holy Bible consisting of sixty-six (66) books including the Old
and New Testament, is the inspired Word of God, a revelation from God to Man,
concerning the will of God in all things necessary to our faith, conduct and
salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an
article of faith (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17).
2. In one God, eternally existing in three persons, namely the Father, the Son and
the Holy Ghost (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29).
3. That Jesus Christ is the only Begotten Son of the Father, conceived of the Holy
Spirit, and born of virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 3:16-17)., that Jesus Christ
died at the cross, and was buried and raised from the dead; that He ascended to
heaven and is today at the right hand of the Father as our intercessor.
4. In the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, who proceed from the Father and
the Son; who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified (John
14:16-17).
5. That man was created in the image and likeness of God, but fell by voluntary
transgression and his only hope of redemption and salvation is in Jesus Christ;
that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, that repentance is
commanded of God for all, and is necessary for forgiveness of sin; that salvation,
new birth and justification are wrought by the grace of God, and faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ and the renewing work of the Holy Ghost (Genesis 1:26-31; 3:1-7;
Romans 5:12-21; 6:23; 10:13; Titus 2:11, 3:5-7).
6. The inward evidence of salvation, new birth and justification to the believer is
the direct witness of the Spirit, and the outward evidence to all men is a life of
righteousness and holiness (Romans 8:16; 12:1-2).
7. In the ordinance of water baptism by immersion, in the name of the Father, and
of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, for all who repent and believe Jesus Christ as
Saviour and Lord (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47; Romans 6:4).
8. All believers are entitled to and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ;
that the full consummation of the Baptism of the believers in the Holy Spirit is
evidenced by the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit give
 utterances and by the subsequent manifestation of the gifts and fruits of the Spirit
(Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-6; 1:8; 2:4; 2:38; 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9; 19:2-6; 1
Corinthians 12:1-31).
9. The Lord’s Supper consisting of the elements of bread and the fruit of the wine,
is a memorial of His sufferings and death and a prophecy of His second coming,
and will be enjoined by all believers, "until He comes" (Luke 22:17-20; 1
Corinthians 10:16,17; 11:23-32).
10. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement and is the
privilege of all believers, and the anointing of the sick with oil for healing and the
laying on of hands (Isaiah 53:4; Matthew 8: 16-17; Mark 16:18-20; James 5:14-
16).
11. The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with
divine appointments for the fulfillment of His great commission; and that a
divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry have the two fold purposes of
evangelization of the world and the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians
1:22,23; 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; Mark 16:15-20; Ephesians 4:11-13).
12 In the pre-millennial second coming of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of those
who are asleep in Christ, and the rapture of those who are alive and remain in
the coming of the Lord, is eminent and is the blessed hope of the Church
(Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Titus 2:13).
13 In the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, the salvation of all
Israel, and the millennial reign of Christ on this earth is the scriptural promise and
the world’s hope (Romans 11:25-27; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Revelation 19:11-16;
20:1-7).
14 That the devil and his angle, the beast and the false prophet, and whosoever
is not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into everlasting punishment
into the lake that is burning with fire and brimstone (Revelation 19:20; 20:10-15).
15 In His promise and look for new heavens and a new earth wherein the
righteous will dwell (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).[7]

Administration and Governing

Indian Pentecostal Church is governed by General Presbytery and General Council. The general
management of the Church are carried by the general council, whereas spiritual administration, doctrines
and matters pertaining to church ministers are carried by general presbytery.

Presbytery

IPC has a presbytery in three levels of administration: General, Region or State, and District. The members
of the presbytery are ordained ministers. All ordained offices held in IPC are exclusively for men. As per
the constitution, the General Presbytery meets when called by the General Secretary on behalf of the
General President. The General Presbytery is the 'Court of Appeal' in all matters of the church and its
decision is considered as final. The ministers who form the General Presbytery are:

The minister executives of the General Council

Senior General Ministers
The presidents, vice presidents and secretaries of the State/Region Councils which has
more than 500 local churches
The presidents, and secretaries of State/Regions Councils which has 101 to 500 local
churches
 The presidents of State/Region Council that has 100 or less local churches

Matters pertaining to the transfer of a minister, ordination of a minister etc. are decided by the respected
Region or State Presbytery on the recommendation of the District Presbytery.

Council

Council consists of both ordained ministers and elders from local churches. All members of a council are
men. They are in charge of management of the church, finances, church buildings and assets, conventions
and conferences etc. Councils are found in every level of management: General, Region or State, District,
and local church. The executive members of the council are the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Joint-
Secretary and Treasurer. Ordained ministers are not allowed to hold the post of a treasurer, usually joint-
secretary post in General and State Councils are reserved for non ministerial elders, however, there could
exist two joint-secretaries, one elected from ministers and one from believers. The executive members are
assisted by council members, both ordained ministers and elders. The usual term of a council is 3 years.

Local Church Council: The management of local church is carried out by the Council of
elders elected by the General Body of that local church. The president of the local church is
an ordained minister who serves as the pastor of that church. Any member who serves as a
pastor of another local church or is in charge of a district cannot be part of the local church
council. They can be ordinary members of the church.
District Council: The president of the district council is reserved for the District Pastor, who is
appointed by the State/ Region Presbytery. The local churches of a district will convey to
elect members to the district council. District vice-president post is reserved for a senior
minister, and a minister will serve as secretary. Joint secretary and treasurer posts are held
by believers. The district council must have council members in the ratio of 11 ordained
ministers to 10 elders from local churches of that district.
State Council: State council consists of president (minister), vice-president (minister),
secretary (minister), joint-secretary (elder) and treasurer (elder) and council members
consisting of ministers and elders from local churches from that State.
General Council: General council consists of president (minister), vice-president (minister),
secretary (minister), joint-secretary (elder) and treasurer (elder) and council members
consisting of ministers and elders from local churches.

The president, vice-president, secretary and minister-joint secretary will be part of the Presbytery and will
serve in that office in the Presbytery.

Prayer and Worship

In traditional IPC worship, believers participate in a variety of activities, such as prayer, singing, preaching,
utilizing spiritual gifts, intercession, tithing, announcing events, sharing personal testimonies, musical
offerings, reading the Bible, and occasionally the Lord's supper. As with most Pentecostal denominations,
the defining characteristic of IPC worship is its spontaneity. Prayer is a particularly important aspect of its
spontaneous worship, often including collective oral prayer in either the vernacular or a combination of
glossolalic and earthly languages. During prayer, individuals may lay hands on those in need or raise their
hands in response to biblical direction. Another common practice during worship is the raising of hands
while reciting prayers in the orans posture as per Biblical origins.[8] The IPC Church does not engage in
reaching out or proselytizing to Indian Christians and people of other nations, communities and languages
as preached by Jesus[9] but focuses majorly on the keralite community and its interests thereby deviating
from Pentecostalism and most of its churches as well as evangelical churches that hold spreading the
Gospel to everyone including and especially foreigners to the church community as a key tenet of Christian
faith. Which is why as a principle almost all IPC's services, within India as well as internationally, including
the worship and sermon are delivered in the vernacular language of Malayalam from the Indian state of
Kerala where IPC originated. Services in English services are so few and rare that less than 1% of IPC
Churches globally hold English language services and when they do usually branch out of the IPC
umbrella because most non-Malayalam speaking Indian Christians automatically do not attend IPC
Churches due to its closed vernacular focus. There are few bilingual IPC keralite pastors that hold services
in other Indian states in their respective local languages but the congregation of IPC in general is usually
always a majority of Christians who are keralite, of keralite origin or those who understand Malayalam
such as people from the Tamil community.

Related bodies
There are many auxiliary ministries associated with IPC such as Bible Colleges & schools, Pentecostal
Young People Association (PYPA),[10] Fellowship of Women - Indian Pentecostal Women's Association,
Sunday School[11] and Christian publications, magazines and journals. All these auxiliary ministries have
contributed to the growth of Pentecost entirely. PYPA is one of the leading auxiliary ministries and a
grooming ground for new leaders and preachers for the church. Many talented ministers and believers have
emerged and continue to emerge from the folds of PYPA. The Sunday school association also has been
carrying a systematic ministry for years. The Sunday School consists of 15 grades and the people that
faithfully complete the 15th class are awarded a Diploma in Theology from IPC Sunday School
Association.

Kumbanad Convention
The famous Kumbanad convention is an annual Pentecostal convention that is held by the Indian
Pentecostal Church of God at Hebronpuram, Kumbanad. It is one of the oldest and the largest Pentecostal
conventions in India. First General Convention of IPC was held at Kalakkattu Purayidam near Ittyappara
Ranni from Wednesday 1 April to Sunday 5 April 1925. The IPC convention is usually held in January and
the 97th Kumbanad Convention was held online from 18–24 January 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic
and the 98th Kumbanad Convention was held at Hebron ground, Kumbanad from 16-23 January 2022 in a
hybrid mode (virtual media and physical gathering) with limited number of participants in the physical
gathering due to covid related restrictions.

External links
Indian Pentecostal Church of God Website (http://ipc.international/)
Indian Pentecostal Church of God, Bangalore Website (https://ipcbangalore.org/,)
Indian Pentecostal Church of God and PYPA (United Kingdom and Ireland) Website (https://
pypauk.org/)
Indian Pentecostal Church of God (Canada Website) (https://www.ipccanadaregion.com/)
Indian Pentecostal Church of God, PYPA Kerala, Website (http://www.pypaonline.org)
Indian Pentecostal Church of God, Hyderabad PYPA Youth wing Website (http://www.pypah
yderabad.org/our-churches.html)
Indian Pentecostal Church of God, PYPA Kumbanad Centre Kerala (http://pypakumbanadce
ntre.in/)

References
1. "Home page of Indian Pentecostal Church of God". IPC Home (http://ipcsite.org/) Archived (h
 ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140106034345/http://ipcsite.org/) 6 January 2014 at the
Wayback Machine. Accessed 4 January 2014.
2. "History – Indian Pentecostal Church of God" (https://ipc.international/history/).
3. Burgess, Stanley (2001). "Pentecostalism in India: an overview" (http://apts.edu/aeimages/Fi
le/AJPS_PDF/01-1-SBurgess.pdf) (PDF). Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies. 4 (1): 85–
98.
4. Michael Bergunder, The South Indian Pentecostal Movement in the Twentieth Century, Wm.
B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2008, p. 33
5. "Statement of Faith | IPC" (https://www.ipc.live/statement-of-faith/).
6. "About Us – Indian Pentecostal Church of God" (https://ipc.international/about-us/).
7. "Statement of Faith | IPC" (https://www.ipc.live/statement-of-faith/).
8. "Bible Gateway passage: 1 Timothy 2:8 - New King James Version" (https://www.biblegatew
ay.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%202%3A8&version=NKJV). Bible Gateway.
Retrieved 25 June 2023.
9. "Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 28:18-20 - New King James Version" (https://www.bibleg
ateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028%3A18-20&version=NKJV). Bible Gateway.
Retrieved 25 June 2023.
10. "Pentecostal Young Peoples' Association" (http://www.pypaonline.org/). Retrieved 5 January
2014.
11. "IPC Sunday School, Maharshtra Region" (http://www.sundayschool.in/). Retrieved
5 January 2014.

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