Dr. Jabez Rapaka publishes book on Indian Pentecostal Church

The Library is pleased to congratulate a member of its staff. Rev. Dr. Yabbeju (Jabez) Rapaka has just published his first scholarly monograph. Dalit Pentecostalism: A Study of the Indian Pentecostal Church of God tells the story of the Indian Pentecostal Church (IPC) of God in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the largest and most populous state in South India.

In his preface to the book, Dr. Rapaka writes that the genesis of the book was his discovery during his doctoral research that no substantial research had ever been done on the Indian Pentecostal Church, the largest indigenous Pentecostal denomination in India.

Dalit Pentecostalism has already garnered laudatory reviews from leading scholars of Pentecostalism. Dr. Eric N. Newberg calls the book “a groundbreaking study… [that] authenticates the formative role played by Dalits in the formation and development of the Indian Pentecostal Church.” Dr. Vinson Synan, Dean Emeritus of the School of Divinity calls the book “by far the best treatment of Indian Pentecostalism to date.”*

Dr. Rapaka has been with the Library since January 2002, serving as a circulation and reference GA, before joining the staff in March 2006. He holds M.B.A., M.Div, and Ph.D. degrees from Regent and is an adjunct professor in the School of Divinity and the College of Arts and Sciences. He and his wife Gloria are the founders of Love and Hope Ministries, which is active in India and Haiti, “meeting the physical, educational, emotional, and social needs of the poor, needy, destitute, abandoned, neglected, and the unwanted of society through providing food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education.”

Dalit Christianity will be offered for sale soon on the Love and Hope Ministries website.

 

*Emeth Press, “Dalit Pentecostalism.” http:www.emethpress.com9781609450548.htm.