Project Background

Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches (STBC) was established in 1963 to continue the mission of American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABFMS) among Telugu speaking people of South India. Since its founding, STBC was managed jointly by a General Council consisting of  ABFMS missionaries and STBC officers from 1963 to 1974. All STBC properties belong to Baptist Mission Trust and Baptist Church communities in the respective 30 Field Associations (FA) spread among Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Madras (currently Tamil Nadu) states.

However, over the years, multiple STBC properties were sold off or retained by certain individuals holding General Power of Attorney (GPA) from various entities tied to ABFMS, STBC and/or Property Association of Baptist Churches (PABC). All these activities contributed to severe abuse of the ABFMS original vision concerning STBC. PABC, after its inception in 1973, played a major role in selling and giving GPAs to its agents in spite of their Amalgamation petition between ABFMS and PABC was dismissed in Madras High Court in 1974. In 2017, Madras High Court issued two court orders to curb PABC and all other GPA holders from selling the Baptist Mission Trust properties. Any and all past or present sales of STBC mission properties are illegal. All violations contrary to these court orders shall be considered as the contempt of the court and thereby shall incur the legal consequences. Any new transactions by sellers or buyers are subjected to litigation.

Minority Council for Social and Legal Justice (MCSLJ), India, is seeking to restore Baptist Mission properties to its communities, and restore & reform STBC’s original vision and mission as envisioned by ABFMS. Please contact MCSLJ for any questions or inquiries concerning this matter.