Divided Baptist factions meet in India to reunite

ONGOLE, India — Several thousand members of the Baptist Convention of Telugu Churches (BCTC) gathered in Ongole, South India, Jan. 15 to celebrate the uniting of two divided factions.
The BCTC is a reconstituted body that replaces the Samevesam Telugu Baptist Churches (STBC), which split into three factions over property and leadership disputes more than 20 years ago. As a result of the disputes, STBC was suspended from membership in the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF), one of six continental federations that are part of the BWA.
Two of the three factions have now reconciled after several years of negotiations, which began in Manila in the Philippines in 2002, led by the BWA and the APBF.
Among the ministry objectives of the BCTC are the construction of 100 rural churches, the education and training of more than 1,000 pastors and evangelists and the establishment of an HIV/AIDS education program.
The BCTC has an estimated membership of more than 970,000 baptized believers, making it the largest of the more than 20 Baptist conventions and unions in India.