From Ruins to Renewal: Journey of the Ghatkopar Church, Our Third Church Rebuild in Mumbai, India
The Ghatkopar Church Grand Re-opening
When we first saw the Ghatkopar church in 2019, it was in terrible shape. The paint was chipped, the doors were rusting away, and the walls were cracked in several places. The church members could not safely worship there and had no money to repair it, so it sat empty for years.
Since the Ghatkopar church sat unused for so long, neighbors started using it to hang their laundry.
The building was full of large structural cracks like this one.
Mumbai is one of India’s most populated cities, with over 20 million inhabitants. According to the Adventist Office of Archives, Research, and Statistics, around 9,432 Seventh-day Adventists live in and around Mumbai (1).
We have a burden for the people of Mumbai to hear the Gospel, and seeing the condition of the Ghatkopar church, and several other churches like it, broke our hearts. We longed for these churches to be rebuilt to become lights in their communities again. And so did many of you!
By God’s grace, with your prayers and support, we have now been able to rebuild three churches in Mumbai. We rebuilt and added second stories to the Thane and Wadala churches, and rebuilt the Ghatkopar Church.
The First Church: Thane
The Second Church: Wadala
The Third Church: Ghatkopar
Church leaders and members gathered for Ghatkopar’s Grand Re-opening on May 6, 2023. We were so excited to see people worshipping in this place once again. The church was previously divided into two small rooms. In the new church, the contractor replaced the dividing wall with posts to enable more people to gather for worship each Sabbath.
We pray that this church will bless the church members and the community, which is mainly non-Christian. We pray that the church will flourish and grow so much that they have to plant a new one!
The Fourth Church: Chembur
(Coming Soon)
The Chembur Church, 2022
Our next and most ambitious church rebuild is the Chembur church, which has been condemned for over ten years. We have previously encountered some obstacles, but Lord willing, we hope to start demolition and subsequent construction soon. We plan to make it into a center of influence as well as a place of worship. Please pray for the Chembur church rebuild and our other church-building projects in India and throughout Asia.
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