Church of North India

The Church of North India is a united expression of the unity of the church in India. After 40 years of prayer and negotiations it came into existence in 1970. Six churches formed the CNI: the Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India, the Church of the Brethren, the Disciples of Christ, the Church of India (Anglican, formerly known as the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon), the Methodist Church (British and Australasian Conferences) and the United Church of Northern India. The Church of North India as a United and Uniting church is committed to announcing the good news of the reign of God inaugurated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in proclamation, and to demonstrate in action the integrity of God’s creation through continuous struggle against the demonic powers, by breaking down the barriers of caste, class, gender, economic inequality and exploitation of nature (mission statement). The motto of the church is: Unity – Witness – Service.

Geographically the CNI covers the whole of India except for the four southern states, i.e. about two thirds of the entire country. It is spread over varied areas, ranging from hills to deserts and to coastal regions, covering both rural as well as urban populations. The church brings together people of diverse cultures, traditions and life-styles, journeying with them in their struggles and their joys. The priorities of the CNI for the first decade of the 21st century are: rejuvenating pastoral ministry; evangelism within and outside the church for costly discipleship; ministry of service; solidarity with the marginalized; formation of healing communities; equipping God’s people for participatory learning; re-structuring its internal organization. The church has two boards to facilitate health and development work in the dioceses. It has a programme office that works with all the dioceses to facilitate the implementation of their six-yearly “Ministry Plans”, linking up the concerns of the dioceses with the seven desks of the programme office: children, women and gender, youth, peace and interfaith concerns, marginalized, local congregational concerns and human resources development.