Date

9-25-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Howard D. Owens

Keywords

Contextualization, cross-cultural, culture, discipleship, evangelism, Hindu, Hinduism, outreach, relational, storytelling, training

Disciplines

Religion

Abstract

This Doctor of Ministry project addressed the lack of effective evangelism toward the Hindu community by the Telugu Christian Fellowship Church (TCFC) in Ashburn, Virginia. Located 35 miles from Washington, D.C., TCFC serves a suburban congregation of approximately 300 members, with an average weekly attendance of 250. The church is located in Loudoun County, one of America’s most diverse and affluent regions, home to over 44,000 Asian Indians and an estimated 18,000 Hindus. Despite this, the church’s outreach efforts had remained scattered and underdeveloped. Most church members lacked cultural sensitivity, feared offending them, or simply lacked the confidence to engage in evangelism. An eight-week Outreach Training Program was developed to equip members with theological formation, cultural literacy, relational evangelism, and practical tools for gospel engagement. The research employed qualitative methods and a practical theological framework. The project included 12 volunteers, and the setting involved the TCFC campus and affiliated home groups. Data were gathered through pre-intervention and post-intervention interviews, focus group discussions, field notes, and participant testimonies. The training led to a paradigm shift from fear to faith and from passive observation to active, respectful evangelism. The project reinforced the theological premise that evangelism is a Spirit-led, corporate call of the church. This thesis contributes a replicable model for equipping immigrant churches to overcome cultural and spiritual barriers and engage unreached communities cross-culturally in their local contexts.

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