Russians, North Americans, and Telugus

This book is an account of the Mennonite Brethren Mission effort in India, an initiative that must be understood within the context of the larger Protestant effort to bring the Christian gospel to people groups in all parts of the world. The book traces the difficulties that many missionaries faced in seeking to establish a Christian church among the Telugu speaking people. In varying degrees, the mission took on the colonial patterns of their British counterparts. In the eyes of the national Christians, the missionaries were a fortunate race--rich, resourceful, and powerful. The mission compounds, while lighthouses and centers of refuge for the ostracized, also became sources of dependency and subsequent problems. Even so, the colossal missionary effort has resulted in one of the largest conferences of Mennonite Brethren churches, continuing the work begun by Russian and North American Mennonites.