Kurien Thomas (1922–2000) or Kurian Thomas was pioneer

pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

to Central India.

Pioneering works

He hailed from Kerala. In the beginning he was a missionary from the

India Pentecostal Church of God The Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) is the largest Pentecostal Christian Denomination in India. It has over ten thousand congregations around the world. Its organisational headquarters is at Hebronpuram, Kumbanad, Kerala, India. IPC chu ...

but later formed a new organization called the

Fellowship of the Pentecostal Churches in India The Fellowship of the Pentecostal Churches in India has around 1,100 churches in its network with its headquarters at Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh, India. The fellowship unanimously re-elected Dr. Matthew K. Thomas as chairman during the October Fellowsh ...

along with other Christian leaders. He authored several books originally in Hindi, English, and Malayalam. He was the pastor of the

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

Church at

Itarsi Itarsi is a city and municipality in Madhya Pradesh, India in Narmadapuram District. Itarsi is a key hub for agricultural goods and is the biggest railway junction in Madhya Pradesh. Rail services from all 4 major metropolitan cities of India ...

, Founder/Chairman and later Patron of the Fellowship of the Pentecostal Churches in India, and Principal of the Central India Bible College, estd. in 1962 (now

Central India Theological Seminary The roots of Central India Theological Seminary go back to 1962 when Dr. Kurien Thomas founded Bharosa Bible College at Itarsi, Central India. It was later renamed as Central India Bible College and then raised to a research institution in 1999 ...

) for several years. He was recipient of several awards for his outstanding contributions in the field of Christian literature, education, and ministry. His book ''God's Trailblazer In and Around the World''Kurien Thomas, ''God's Trailblazer'' (Bombay: GLS Press, 1986) was his autobiography. Kurien Thomas also began a Hindi Christian magazine called ''Satyadoot'' that is one of the prominent Christian magazine in the Hindi language. The

has now over 1100 pastors working in close network with headquarters at the mother Church at Itarsi. Pastor Kurien pastored the Church from 1945 till his death in 2000. He is now succeeded by his son Dr. Matthew K. Thomas who is also the Chairman of the Fellowship ( FPCGI), Editor-in-Chief of "Basileia"
Secretary
of

Pentecostal World Fellowship The Pentecostal World Fellowship is a fellowship of Evangelical Pentecostal churches and denominations from across the world. The headquarters is in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its leader is William Wilson (Tulsa, OK). History The Pentecostal World Fell ...

, and President/Principal of

Selected bibliography

All writings were published by Central India Bible College, Itarsi. *''अतीत की पगडंडिया'' Autobiography *''परिणयगाथा'' A Commentary on the Songs of Solomon *''प्रकाशितवाक्‍य'' A Commentary on Revelation *''मिलापवाला तंबु'' The Tabernacle *''पवित्र आत्‍मा'' Holy Spirit *''धर्मविज्ञान प्रणाली'' Systematic Theology *''Ruth: Malayalam''

References

External links

Allan Anderson, ''Asian and Pentecostal'' Kerala Pentecostalism The Trumpet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Kurien Christian clergy from Kerala 1922 births 2000 deaths Indian Pentecostals Pentecostal missionaries