Chalmer Earl Stubbs (December 18, 1942 – July 15, 2008) was a Missionary of the

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

World Missions deputed to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Biography

Stubbs was born in

Williamsburg, Pennsylvania Williamsburg in Morrisons Cove, is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,241 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Altoona, PA Me ...

. He had his schooling in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

. He got baptised on April 1, 1962 in Charlestown,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Stubbs had a call to serve God and enrolled at the Central Bible College,

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

obtained a bachelor's degree graduating in 1968. For post-graduate studies, Stubbs joined the Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and pursued a master's degree in theological studies.

Contribution

The

were the outcome of the Azusa Street Revival led by

William J. Seymour William Joseph Seymour (May 2, 1870 – September 28, 1922) was an African-American Holiness movement, holiness preacher who initiated the Azusa Street Revival, an influential event in the rise of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movement, Charis ...

, the initiator of the

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

religious movement. As part of its missionary endeavor, the

began sending their missionaries to India in the early part of twentieth century. Stubb's was one such missionary sent to

Pastor

Earl Stubbs began his ministry as an Assistant Pastor at the Spanish Lake Assembly of God Church, St. Louis,

in 1969. Later in 1971, he was moved to the Assembly of God Church, Mifflinburg,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He was ordained by the Assemblies of God's Pennsylvania-Delaware District Council in 1973. The Assemblies of God World Missions deputed him to India to serve as their Missionary in 1975. It was in 1983 that the New Life Assembly of God Church was founded in

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

Bible Teacher

Having arrived in India, he proceeded to

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and served as a Bible Teacher in the Bethel Bible College,Established in 1927, the Bethel Bible College, Punalur is a Seminary of the Assemblies of God accredited with the Asia Theological Association. However, the Asia Theological Association is not entitled to issue degrees by the University Grants Commission of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

Punalur Punalur is a Municipality in Kollam district of Kerala State in India. It is the headquarter of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It's situated in the eastern part of Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River a ...

. Stubbs also served as its Principal before moving out in 1979 to the Ebenezer Bible College,G. Peter, Leader's Profile, Andhra Pradesh District Web Site. Southern Asia Bible College as an extension opened Ebenezer Bible College in Bellary in 1978 for its Telugu-speaking pupils. Internet, accessed October 26, 2008.

Bellary where he served as its Academic administration, Administrator. Stubbs toiled to infuse sound

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

education from the Pentecostal perspective to his students be it at

, Bellary, or

Miyapur Miyapur ( ), located northwest of Hyderabad, is part of Greater Hyderabad and administered by GHMC and developed by HMDA. Transportation is managed by UMTA. Miyapur has many lakes, and upscale residential apartments. The Jawaharlal Nehru Tec ...

. In fact, Stubbs pioneered the establishment of the Bible Schools in Bellary and

Leadership

Pastor Stubbs oversaw the ministerial work of the Assemblies of God in South India, particularly in Andhra Pradesh. He was instrumental in founding the Andhra Pradesh Bible College in Miyapur catering to the ministerial formation of the Pastors of the Assemblies of God. Stubbs drafted the Constitution of the Andhra Pradesh District of the South India Assemblies of God.

New Life Assembly of God Church, Secunderabad

What started as a small fellowship of just four people in Rashtrapathi Road ''(formerly Kingsway)'' in 1983 became a mega fellowship. The New Life Assembly of God Church was founded by the

pioneered by Stubbs.Times of India, Hyderabad, July 20, 2008, Special Obituary Note on Rev. C. Earl Stubbs. Internet, accessed October 26, 2008.

/ref> Catering to the English-speaking Christians of the cities of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad and

, the New Life Assembly of God Church in

also struck original ground in winning new converts to Christianity. As for ''name-sake''

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, the messages of Stubbs coupled with the prevalent spiritual atmosphere in the Church made them to re-think their faith and grow in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. With the increasing number of people coming to the Church, the Assemblies of God, Andhra Pradesh District was forced to shift the Church to a new location. The Dreamland Theatre that once screened movies for the British-residents of Secunderabad was let out and it became the venue for the Sunday worship services of the New Life Assembly of God Church until July 2018. In July 2018 the congregation moved to a newly constructed sanctuary in Kompally. Presently, the Church has more than 6000 attending the Sunday Worship spread over four services.

References

;Notes ;Further reading * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbs, C. Earl 1942 births 2008 deaths American evangelists Assemblies of God people People from Blair County, Pennsylvania Protestant missionaries in India Covenant Theological Seminary alumni Central Bible College alumni American Pentecostal missionaries American expatriates in India