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From conception to creation from birth pangs to bubbling vitality & beyond, we trace the humble origins & evolutionary trends set by this church.
. . . . Over the decades
“This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” Psa.118:23.
Giving all honour and glory to Almighty God, we have immense pleasure to reminisce the birth, growth and sustenance of the Mumbai CST unit of the “CHURCH OF GOD (FG) IN INDIA”. It goes without saying that the Almighty God has blessed this Church abundantly over the past 52 years.
The success of this Church proves true the saying that “tough times never last – tough institutions do.”
Prior to October 1958, there was no unit of the Church of God in this city, and believers used to go for worship, either to the IPC church at Chembur or to the English service conducted by Pr Louis at Parel.
Trusting in the Lord, a group of seven persons met together, discussed, prayed and decided to start a Sunday worship service at the residence of Late Bro. K M Pappy. These services were held under the direction of Pr P A V Sam. The fruitful seed thus sown has now matured into a majestic tree with presently over 31 branches in this city of Mumbai and hundreds elsewhere in the country.
The need of these gathering were made known to the then Missionary Overseer Rev. William Pospisil , who initially deputed Pastor T M Varghese to this Church for a short period and later appointed Pastor C J Mathew officially as the Pastor of this unit. By the grace of Almighty God, this worship service was held regularly at Wadala for almost a year and thereafter around November 1959 shifted to the Bharda New High School – where it continues to be even today. During the period he was with us the Church grew tremendously.
Rev. William Pospisil – the then missionary Overseer for India, was the main speaker at the first Annual Convention of this unit held from 1st to 3rd January 1960. Many accepted Christ as their personal saviour at this convention while some witnessed the Lord in Water Baptism.
After the transfer of Pr. C J Mathew, many spiritually dedicated men of God, viz. Pr K K John, Pr. George Pardeshi (Jan1961-Aug1963); Pr. Mathai P Mathai (1963-1972); Pr. P S Philipose (Feb 1972- Nov 1979); Pr. V C Itty (Dec1979-May198) & June1981-Dec1981); Pr. Thomas Andrews (Jan1982-May 1983); Pr. P N Jose (June 1983-Apr1987); Pr. Dani Joseph (May1987-Apr1992); Pr. Ebenezar Daniel (June1992- Feb1998); Pr. John V Samuel (May1998- Apr2001); Pr. Joseph Mathew (May2001-Apr2004); Pr. N P Thomas (May2004-Apr2007) have ministered in this church. This Church owes it spectacular growth over the past 50 years to the dedication & hard work of these eminent men of God. Presently Pr. Mathew Samuel is ministering here since May 2007. Through his dedication, hard work, fasting & prayers, the Church has started flourishing again after the painful events of May 2005.
The painful events of May 2005 :
Pastor N P Thomas took charge of the Church in May 2004 on the transfer of Pr. Joseph Mathew. A humble man of God, he exhorted everyone to live as per the scriptures. He was misguided by the then secretary that ultimately led to the painful events of April 2005. Understanding the events that unfolded, he realized that he had been misguided about their real intentions. Realization of their intentions dawned, when they walked out of the Church without any intimation; informing the school authorities that CHURCH Of GOD in India does not require the school premises any more; mutilating all cheques before handing it over to him. Visiting the bank (where the Church had an account) for a new cheque book, we were pained to know that the account did not even have Pastor’s name as one of the signatories. (We had to secure a letter from the Headquarters proving his identity as the Church President for the cheque book.) Amidst the above problems and many half truths being spread around to destroy & damage the reputation of the Church, he took up the daunting task of rebuilding the Church for the remaining part of his tenure till April 2007.
It is without doubt that this Church is truly global – a global reach with her members spread far and wide across most of the countries in all the five continents of this planet. The growth of the Church over the half century signifies her inherent strengths, the strength that took the Church through the initial odds and uncertainties, the strength that saw the Church grow every year, the strength that gave the Church the buoyancy to fight its way to reach this milestone after the painful events of April 2005.
Nothing is more important than the people that we have been able to reach for Christ. So, this Church took up the great responsibility of providing for the spiritual need of all those who attended our meeting or came in contact with.
Understanding the situation of the Church, Pr Mathew Samuel carried along everyone with him with a prayerful mind often exhorting everyone to live according to the scriptures. Against all odds, i.e. new believers and non believers attending our worship services were poached upon with untruths; parents & guardians of nursing students were contacted and misguided of the moral standing of this Church by the architects of the split and discouraged from attending our worship services; Pastors / believers of other congregation as well as our own were fed with untruths (unfortunately some of our own supported them surreptitiously) amidst various other problems - this man made the difference. His back to the wall strategy of fasting and praying for the Church and the problems of believers and unbelievers alike; visiting brethren of this Church spread all over the city; visiting the nursing staff and convincing them of the importance of being true to the scriptures & attending church services regularly; strengthening everyone with hopes of Godly deliverance with inspiring messages has played a large part in bringing new faces into this Church in the last one and half years. Amidst these uncertainties, we have experienced His providential care, where we just can’t stop praising His holy name. May Almighty God use him much more in the days ahead is our sincere prayer.
Being located in the heart of the city, many new faces were added to the Church every year since its inception. Due to the difficulties faced in regularly attending the worship / cottage meetings, the idea of starting new units close to the residing localities of the members were mooted upon. This idea fructified with the starting of new churches at Chembur (1968); Mumbra (1969); Goregaon (1972) and KanjurMarg (E)(1997). It is worth mentioning here that some of our past members were able to start / lead churches or take up the ministry in the Gulf region & several cities of the USA.
In 1980 under our out-reach programme, we were able to take the initiative & extend necessary financial support to start a new mission field at Vile-Parle. This unit continues today as a full fledged Church at Sahar.
Experiencing the difficulties faced over the years, a necessity was felt to have our own place of worship. Though realization dawned late, a clarion call was made by Pr P N Jose - on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee Thanksgiving Service in October 1984 - and a decision was taken to purchase a place in the heart of the city. Though the World Mission Board on the recommendation of our Regional Overseer Pr. A Mathai, financed a part of the cost in addition to the one made by our members / well wishers past and present a place was purchased in the vicinity of Mumbai CST. The exorbitant increase in real estate prices in this part of the city prevented us from purchasing a place large enough as per our requirements. The difficulties faced in not having our own place of worship, is faced much more now than any time in the past. On this occasion, we rededicate ourselves to secure a place large enough for our Church needs, and we trust that God will provide the same at the appropriate time.
In October 1998, we were able to hold our Fortieth Anniversary meeting under the guidance of Pr. K O Stephen - the then District Pastor. All churches in this district took part in the meeting.
It is a matter of great pleasure to mention here that this Church is a self supporting unit right from its inception. Even in 1968, when the present site of the Headquarters was purchased, this church paid the Municipal and other taxes, fencing charges, transfer of property charges, and other incidental charges at the various local government offices. Our main source of income is from tithes offerings and donations received from our members who are generous and sincere. This generosity has often helped the Church to grow steadily and as a result, we were able to sponsor at least three different Pastors / Churches / Bible school students every year. This sponsorship has been continuously provided every month for one year in general and in some exceptional cases extended up to three years. By the grace of God such sponsorship has been carried out continually from 1978 to 2001. Several appeals for financial assistance - in addition to the above – for Church building projects, sick and needy pastors & believers have been liberally dispensed with. We were also prompt in discharging our obligations to the Headquarters even while extending our full co-operation to the various requests from them - many a time much above their expectations.
We take this opportunity to record our sincere thanks to Bharda Marzban Educational Trust, its administrators in general and its respected Trustee Late Shri A H Mulla; the past & present administrators for extending valuable co-operation for all our Church activities over the last 52 years that we have been in this school.
On this occasion, we rededicate ourselves to the unending task of evangelization with new initiatives and progressive programmes - by using the talents bestowed on us. The LORD GOD, who has brought us this far is faithful to guide us in the days ahead. Even as we admit to our shortcomings we once again thank the LORD for sustaining us over the years. The whole-hearted valuable prayer and co-operation of one and all in the days ahead is the need of the hour. Let us join together and move forward. PRAISE BE TO HIS HOLY NAME.
May the good Lord uphold us now and for ever more.
For & on behalf of the Church Of God (Full Gospel) in India, Mumbai CST.
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