Matthew K. Thomas (born 2 November 1948) is the son of

Kurien Thomas Kurien Thomas (1922–2000) or Kurian Thomas was pioneer pentecostal missionary to Central India. Pioneering works He hailed from Kerala. In the beginning he was a missionary from the India Pentecostal Church of God but later formed a new org ...

and the present Chairman of 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 Fellows ...

. He is the present President of

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 ...

and also the President of Central India Outreach. He was also Secretary of the

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 presently serves on its Advisory Committee.

Early life

Matthew K. Thomas was born to

and Annamma Thomas on 2 November 1948. In his autobiography, Kurien Thomas mentions the events surrounding Matthew's birth:

On the 2nd of November, 1948, our second son was born. He was delivered in the house attended by a village midwife. One of the believers, a sister, was also present. She told me that according to the custom of the place, as soon as the child was born, the midwife should be given a gift of some kind. I did not have even one penny to my name; what could I give her? I went outside and began pacing up and down in the courtyard. I prayed earnestly: "Lord, please let me not be ashamed before this Hindu woman. Give me something I can give to her." I was still praying when the postman came with a money order for ten rupees. As I received the money the baby was born. At once I put a few rupees into the midwife's hand. I can't help thinking that God had a quartz timepiece long before man had one, because He is always on time.

Matthew grew up in Itarsi and went on to

Sagar University Dr. Hari Singh Gour University (Dr Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya), formerly and more popularly known as Sagar University or University of Saugor, is a central university in the city of Sagar, the state of Madhya Pradesh or (MP), India. It wa ...

where he finished his M.Sc. in Zoology. He then began to teach in a College in

Hoshangabad Hoshangabad, officially known as Narmadapuram is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Hoshangabad district and Narmadapuram division. It is located in central India, on the south ...

for sometime, before leaving India for the United States. On 2 March 1974, Matthew was married to Aleyamma who was also working as nurse in America. Matthew became successful as a businessman in US, but sooner realized that he was called to ministry in India.

Return to India and Ministry

In 1992, he returned to India to join with his father in the ministry. He was appointed as the Principal of Central India Bible College, which under his leadership, grew into Central India Theological Seminary. The biographical note on Matthew's website states:

Dr. Thomas, a flourishing businessman in the States, responded to God’s calling and left his secular orientations to enter into full-time ministry in Central India. Under his leadership, Dr. Thomas established Central India Outreach (CIO) which embodies House of Hope (Orphanages), Central India Theological Seminary (CITS), Central India Vocational Instructional Centre (CIVIC), Central India Mercy Clinic (CIMC), Central India Restoration Centre Lives Empowered (CIRCLE), and Indovision 20/20.

References

External links

Website of Matthew K. ThomasMatthew K. Thomas on the Board of Reference on Oral Roberts University pageMatthew K. Thomas on Empowered21 Leadership page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Matthew K. 1948 births Living people Indian Pentecostals

Early life

Return to India and Ministry

See also

References

External links