{
  "bookName": "History of Christianity in India: Source Materials",
  "authorName": "M. K. Kuriakose",
  "publisherName": "Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge",
  "publicationYear": 2011,
  "chapterNumber": 135,
  "chapterName": "1895. The Guahati Policy",
  "pageFrom": 266,
  "pageTo": 266,
  "pages": [
    {
      "pageNumber": 266,
      "ocrText": "266\nHISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA\npoor are, even now, enemies of the Christian Church! Now\ncompare this with Islam. In the Mohammedan countries, all\nthe ordinances are firmly established upon the Islamic religion,\nand its own preachers are greatly venerated by all the officials of\nthe State, and teachers of other religions also are respected.\n135. THE GAUHATI POLICY (1895 A.D.)\nThe Gauhati Policy was devised by American Baptist missio-\nnaries working the Gauhati field of the Assam Mission as practical\nmeans of implementing the much talked about three-self formula.\nLargely the work of C. E. Burdette, it is especially noteworthy for its\nviews on the proper relationship between missionaries and the Indian\nchurches. C. E. Burdette in the Assam Baptist Missionary Conference\nReport, 1895, pp. 26-29, Cited in F. S. Downs, The Mighty Works\nof God, pp. 189-191.\nThis aim (of the Gauhati policy) is not specifically and\nsimply the conversion of sinners; neither is it anything so vague\nas the conversion of the world. And whatever it is, it embraces\nmore than the conversion of souls, for it must include the building\nof them up into a Christian society. Adopting the language of\nanother it sets forth this as the true aim of missions, -\nthe development of native churches with a view to their ultimate\nsettlement upon a self-supporting, self-governing, self-extending\nsystem'...\nIn such a field as this, which has reached its present stage of\nprogress after more than fifty years of mission effort and influence,\nwe not only conceive of it as very important to do directly all we\ncan to help forward the right development of these existing churches,\nand others that may spring up in connection with them; but,\nmore than this, we conceive it to be incumbent on us not to do\nthat which would tend to hinder or thwart their truest develop-\nment. And instead of being content to look to some far-off future\nday for the 'ultimate' settlement of these churches on a self-\nsupporting, self-governing and self-extending basis; we regard\nthis ultimate end as a very present and progressively attainable\nend; and are constrained to bend our energies to its quickest\nand fullest possible attainment, confident that in this way we are\ndoing most to hasten the day when in all parts of our large District\nthe way of the Lord shall be fully known...\nWhile striving to recognize to the full our relation to the native\nChristians as their brethren, and members with them of the body\nof Christ, and as fellow-servants with them of our one Lord and",
      "status": "completed"
    }
  ]
}