New Life Fellowship Association, commonly known as New Life Fellowship (NLF), is a group of
megachurches primarily located in India, that is characterised by adherence to the
Holiness movement
The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emph ...
,
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
, and
Biblical fundamentalism
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...
. New Life Fellowship Association
Mumbai (Bombay)
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
is a
megachurch with 70,000 members.
History
New Life Fellowship was founded in 1964 in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
by missionaries Graham and Pamela Truscott from the
New Life Churches of New Zealand. In 1966, the church was established in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. Dr. S. Joseph joined the Church in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
and was soon ordained
Pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
and became the founding chairman of New Life Fellowship. In India, it has more than 100,000 adherents.
[Stanley M Burgess, Eduard M van der Maas (eds) '''' (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002) s.v. "neocharismatics"]
In 2020, the Church had 70,000 people.
[ Warren Bird]
World megachurches
leadnet.org, USA, retrieved February 15, 2020
Beliefs
The denomination has a
charismatic
Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects.
Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
confession of faith
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
.
[ Allan Anderson, ''An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity'', Cambridge University Press, UK, 2013, p. 141]
Bibliography
*Brett Knowles: ''New Life: The New Life Churches of New Zealand: 1942-1979'': Dunedin: Third Millennium: 1999:
See also
*
List of the largest evangelical megachurches
*
Born Again Movement
*
Christianity in India
Christianity is India's third-largest religion with about 27.8 million adherents, making up 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census. The written records of the Saint Thomas Christians state that Christianity was introduced to th ...
References
External links
New Life Fellowship official site
{{Portal, Evangelical Christianity}
Charismatic denominations
Evangelicalism in India
Christian organizations established in 1964