Rev. Stephen Samuel, MDiv
Rev. Samuel serves as Pastor of Westbury Tabernacle
in Westbury, NY. He is an instructor at the Bible Institute in Jamaica,
NY, and an ordained minister of the Bethel Gospel Tabernacle
Fellowship International, Inc. His parents, Rev. & Mrs. M. S. Samuel,
immigrated from India to the United States during the 1960s.
Stephen developed his ministry gifts in the multi-cultural church his
father pastors in Flushing, New York. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Queens College, New York, and a Master of Divinity
degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Massachusetts,
graduating Magna Cum Laude from both institutions. In the past,
Stephen has been a speaker for the Pentecostal Conference of North
American Keralites as well as for other events sponsored by
members of the Indian Christian community. He has contributed
articles to the Indian Christian periodical "Kahalam" ("Trumpet"), and
has ministered in India. Stephen and his wife Elizabeth reside in
Jackson Heights, NY.
Articles by this Author
Multicultural Ministry: A Challenge for the Indian Christian Community
- By Rev. Stephen Samuel, MDiv
- Published 01/7/2009
- Indian Christian
- Unrated
IN
EXPLORING THE IDEA of multicultural ministry in the local church, we
should first be convinced of its necessity. The why should precede the
how and what. This why is found in the pages of Scripture. For it is
in the Bible that God has most definitively revealed His mind, His
character, and His redemptive plan. To understand Him and His
redemptive plan is to understand the reason why sections of the
Universal Church, including the Indian Christian Community, must be
seriously engaged in the pursuit of God’s will regarding those outside
its cultural hedge. By surveying the Biblical record in both the Old
and New Testaments, we find that God has acted redemptively to choose
for Himself one people comprised of many peoples. This holds several
implications for the Universal Church, and for the Indian Christian
Community in particular. First, however, let us consider the
Scriptural record and be convinced of God’s multicultural intentions.