A team of eight will be flying out from FBC to Kolkata during July / August this year. For two weeks they will be visiting our friends in the city, BMS World Mission partners and local churches.

Over the next few weeks, members of the team will be writing about their hopes and fears for the trip. Here is an introduction to Kolkata 2011:

India is the world’s seventh-largest country, with an area of more than three million square kilometres, and has the second highest population, which stands at over 1.1 billion.

Kolkata (known as Calcutta under British rule) has a population of around 16 million (2001 census), with about five million living in central Kolkata and according to local sources about one third of these live on the streets or in slums.

Although India is a predominately Hindu country, Kolkata is a city of diverse religious and cultural groups, including Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

BMS World Mission has been working in Kolkata since it formed in 1792 – the days of William Carey. The organsiation owns a mission centre and guesthouse in the centre of Kolkata and this is where we will be based.

BMS partners in Kolkata include Big Life church planting ministries, the childcare work of Good News Children’s Education Mission (GNCEM), and Freeset, helping women to discover freedom. We may visiting GNCEM, singing and telling stories to the children, helping them with their English and craft activities and playing with the children who attend the mobile schools they run. We may also be involved in visiting a rural village with Big Life Ministries and seeing their work in bringing the gospel to the local people. Previous teams have also spent time with the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa’s work), Little Sisters of the poor old folks home, The Divine fellowship for the Blind, the Salvation Army soup kitchens and have been involved with the local church.

There are a large number of churches in Kolkata – including several Baptist churches (with one right next to the guesthouse), and a large Assemblies of God congregation. The team may be invited to visit church services.

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