Renovation at EMC
It was in 1997, after torrential rains when the Church building received a soaking, it dawned on us that urgent steps needed to be taken to restore the aging building. Soon the excitement for a renovation project caught on and many shared the dream and desire to renovate this deteriorating and dilapidated building.
The Word of the prophet Haggai further strengthened this desire. “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”
In June 1998, plans were submitted to the Chennai Corporation and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. After much prayer and waiting for almost one and a half years, the sanction was granted in January 2000. The wait was worthwhile. It taught us not to compromise but trust in God.
This renovation work could be compared to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. During the tenure of Rev. Michael Peppin, the renovated church was dedicated by Bishop S. V. Sampath Kumar on December 16, 2000. It has been decided that the anniversary and thanksgiving of the Church will henceforth be held in December.
Emmanuel Home for the Senior Citizens
During the renovation of the church building, God placed the burden in the heart of Rev. Michael Peppin who was the pastor at that time to make a facility for those senior citizens who needed to be cared for. Hence the project for a senior citizen’s home was started. After a decade of planning and prayer, The Emmanuel Home for Senior Citizens finally became a reality in 2010 as a piece of land was bought and construction began under Rev. Dr. S. C. Paulraj.
By the grace of God, Emmanuel Home for the senior citizens is up and running with 13 residents. There has been a steady increase in the number of residents. We have been learning to minister to the senior citizens. We are truly grateful to God for His grace and mercy in running this home.
Vision & Mission
Today EMC has a vision statement…
We want to be a community that is passionately maturing in Christ and compassionately reaching out to the world for the glory of God.
And a threefold mission statement…
EMC, as empowered and led by the Holy Spirit, will seek to build the Kingdom of God by being: A worshipping community that is rooted in Christ and centered on the Word. A welcoming community that cares and shares. A witnessing community that uses its gifts & talents to impact multiple spheres of life.
In the year 2015 there was a need felt to reach the professionals of the IT industry. Hence Abundant Life Outreach was started in OMR. Mr. Christopher David headed this when we started. Mr. Emmanuel Dutt and his wife Judy Dutt subsequently took over and were there till 2018. Mr. Roy Samson looked after this outreach in the year 2019, at present Mr. Naveen Roshan and his wife Anukripa are looking after it. The Outreach has been steadily growing with the help of members who live in OMR and the Lay Preachers of EMC. Regular services are held on Sunday evenings at 6.30 pm at the recreational centre, Kriyates. Our dream is that one day this will become a self-propagating church that caters to the next generation.
The vision to reach the unreached continued as we planted a church at Nandambakkam and adopted a small group of believers who were meeting in Hanumantheertham in 2016. Today that outreach is growing under the leadership of Evangelist Solomon Raja and his wife.
The Methodist Men of EMC adopted another outreach Andiyur which is in Vellore district in June 2019. In the year 2018, EMC adopted a Telugu Outreach at Girija Nagar in North Chennai. The Church building was completed and Bishop Dr. E. D. Yesurathnam dedicated it in December 2018.
Missions Conference
In the year 2016 God gave the leadership the vision to make our church more missional and to draw upon the resources of the many who have answered God’s call for ministry over the years. Thus began the first Mission Fest in 2016 in the month of September. In 2017 the name of this missionary conference was changed to Transformation Fest. In the year 2018 it was called Transformation 2018. These Conferences have given us a fresh vision of missions and missionary organizations. We have been blessed to have Rev. Dr. Sam Kamaleson, Mr. C. B. Samuel, Dr. Martin Alphonse, Dr. Cecil Clements, Rev. Robin Paul, Rev. Michael Peppin, Rev. C. A. Benjamin, etc. speak at the fests.
In the year 2018 the Lord impressed upon EMC the vision to “seek the welfare of the city”, and take a fresh look at Urban Missions. Dr. Mark Viswasam, Dr. James Patole, Mr. Ramesh, Rev. Edison Christian, Dr. V. V. Thomas and Dr. Prabhu Singh shared the word at Transformation 2018.
The fest led to the formation of the Urban Mission team who have been prayerfully looking at new ways of reaching the city of Chennai for the Lord, in the light of rapid urbanization of the cities in India.
There is a renewed emphasis on the urban youth because, “Every third person in an Indian city today is a youth. In about seven years, the median individual in India will be 29 years, very likely a city-dweller, making it the youngest country in the world”. (The Hindu: APRIL 17, 2013) God is leading us down a path which is exciting and at the same time full of challenges.
The urban mission thrust has five emphasis in equipping and reaching out to the city of Chennai. Youth and ministry to them and through them Professional networks, Address Social issues – focus on the immediate need around us like homelessness, and Influencing thought in the public arena – outreach and education. Equipping and training the church to be witnesses in the Urban context. The Urban Mission Team was formed to work as another track under the Committee on Missions and Evangelism. The Urban Mission Team is headed by Ms. Rebecca Swamikan.
Missions to the Homeless
This year, the burden was felt to reach out to the homeless who live around Egmore and Periamet. Every week teams of youth and young adults are reaching out to these homeless pavement dwellers with food packets. They also spend time with them and listen and try to help them with their needs. Some of the Young Adults have been able to provide a family a Tricycle cart. The issues of security for the girls and women among these pavement dwellers is a real concern. We need to find a safe place for them during the nights.
Sports Outreach
In September 2019 we felt the need to reach out to more youth of the city and this led to the birth of Sports Outreach and the Emmanuel Premier League. Today there are more than 120 children, youth, adults and elders who are part of this initiative. Every Thursday they meet for games and fellowship at the ICF grounds from 8.00 pm to 10.00 pm. We have just concluded the First Season of this League. The Second Season started in January 2020 and each member of this league was encouraged to bring four friends who are either unchurched or from another faith. We hope to use this initiative to reach out those who do not know Christ, strengthen our church fellowship and revitalise our church youth.
