On Saturday, April 23, 20220, Anugraha RP church (ARPC) in Bangalore, India joyously celebrated the fifth anniversary of her founding! With great thanksgiving for this milestone, the elders reviewed what the Lord has done in her midst, heard personal testimonies, and were challenged by the session’s vision for the future. The evening concluded with fellowship and a special dinner- the first meal that was shared together as a church family in two years, since the onset of the pandemic!
The inaugural worship service at ARPC was held on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017. In the early years, the church plant was considered a mission station with provisional elders. The Lord brought mainly young single adults into our midst along with a few families. As the ministry focused on expository preaching, discipleship, and shepherding, we witnessed growth.
By November 2019, (a period of 2 ½ years) ARPC had become a fully organized church with three elected elders (one teaching elder and two ruling elders). Four months later, the coronavirus pandemic hit, affecting the welfare of the congregation. The isolation was a hardship that we endured through three waves of Covid. Yet the Lord graciously sustained us and even brought some new families into our fold! On a typical Sunday now, we have an attendance of 40-50 for worship. Remarkably, a number in our midst are originally from the majority faith of our land.
One young lady from this faith shared how the preaching of the Word at ARPC played a part in her understanding of the gospel and her being drawn to faith in Christ. She is eager to be baptized and join the church as a communicant member. Another testimony was from one of the newest members of our flock. Just the week before, he and his wife were publicly received into church membership, and their one-year-old son was baptized. We were blessed to hear their salvation stories, how they had come to reformed convictions, and then found our church online during the pandemic. We give glory to God for how He is using ARPC to be a blessing to others!
Lastly, the elders shared their vision for the future of ARPC expressing their desire to see the church grow both quantitatively and qualitatively. Their vision is to plant another RP church in Bangalore in the next 5 years and eventually have a presbytery. We praise God for establishing the first RP church in India and trust Him to continue to build His church here in the years to come!
Please continue to Pray for the RP Church in India
- Praise God for His working amongst us in the past 5 years
- Praise for the marriages and new families being formed amongst us
- Pray for continued good fellowship and unity despite our members being somewhat dispersed
- Pray that the Lord would raise up men to be future indigenous leaders in the RP church and for wisdom in knowing how best to train and guide such aspiring men.
Thanks to Asha Rao for writing this article for us. Happily married for 41 years, Asha is the wife of Ram R. who has served as a deacon/ruling elder at Second RPC in Indianapolis, USA for 30 years, and is currently a ruling elder at Anugraha RPC in Bangalore. Both Ram and Asha were born in India and met at a Christian conference in the US. Their desire to return to India came to fruition only at retirement age when a church plant was begun in their hometown of Bangalore. They have four adult children.
