Medical College Campus Church (Trivandrum)

Pastor. A. Gabriel.

In 1965 Local residents of Medical College namely Br. J. Manuel, Br. Joshua, Br. Daniel, Br. Samuel J, Br. Lazar, Br. T. Manuel, Br. Chelleyan, Br. Benny, Br. Samuel and their families used to worship at Anayara Church. In spite of all the difficulties they faced due to lack of proper roads and means of transport, they still took part in all the services and activities of the church. They felt the need for a church in this locality and told the then presiding Pastor of the church Pr. Gabriel. mentioned the matter to his superiors at the State Head Office but they rejected the request. But having fully understood the need for a church at Medical College, Pr. Gabriel started a service at ‘Puchedikkonam’ (now, Puthupally Lane, Medical College) in 1965. But this new church was not accepted by the Head Office and it continued as an independent one for almost 2 months. Afterwards, worship took place under the guidance and leadership of Pr. C.C. Abraham of Church of God in a rented house owned by Sukumaran Nair. After a few months Pr. Gabriel went away on another mission and the church was guided and overlooked by Pr. Nainachen. Pr. Gabriel returned after a few months and took charge again. Soon Pr. Chacko, Overseer, Church of God Kerala State, afflicted this church to Church of God. Total number of members, including children, was about 50 then. Sunday worship, fasting prayer, Sunday School and YPE (Youth meeting) were conducted. The church stood as one in various activities to spread the gospel and services led by Pr. Gabriel was spirit-filled and saw many miracles, like healing, freedom from demonic spirits, etc. Even cancer patients were healed fully. Pr. Gabriel was a talented singer and a song writer and he used and encouraged all talented members of his church to use their talents for the work of the Lord. After four years, Pr. Gabriel along with his wife and three children transferred to a church in Pidavoor, in Kollam district.

Pastor. Dennison

In 1969, Pr. Dennison took charge of the church. His family consists of his wife Sukumari and son Oswin. During this time, the rent for the house or Church hall at Puchedikkonam was 24 Rupees. Sis. Sukumari took Sunday school classes and taught various songs to the children. YPE meeting was conducted after the Sunday service where the young conducted various programmes. The church held public meetings at various places like Kannamoola, Muttada, Kesawadasapuram, Pongumoodu, Sreekaryam, Nalanchira etc to spread the gospel. Testimonies of various believers did in fact lead many people to salvation and baptism. Believers were also tormented by people during some of these meetings. Pr. Dennison had help in his service from his dear friend, Br. Daniel. But Br. Daniel became sick with a peculiar kind of disease in which his whole body became inflamed. He tried many medicines but to no effect, he decided to bend his knees in fasting prayer for four days and was miraculously healed. This made him a man with love for the gospel and of prayer. He prayed for many people suffering from various sickness and they were healed. There was yet another incident. Br. Daniel’s cousin Esther, while doing her pre-degree became possessed by an evil spirit, became mentally disturbed whereby she could not continue her education. One day, while Br. Daniel was praying in his house, Esther happened to be there. Here demonic spirit became violent and the matter was immediately informed to Pr. Dennison. He arranged a fasting prayer in the church the very next day and Esther was delivered from all the evil spirits. His prayer led Esther to take the decision to baptise. After a few years she decided to study the word of God and she did the same. Thus she became the first missionary from Medical College (MC) Church. The plot opposite to the church building was a field. There a three day convention was organised. Pr. P.A.V. Sam, Pr. T.M. Varghese, Pr. Chacko were some among the speakers. Sis. Rajamma of Sreekaryam AG Church and other church members came to the convention by singing songs and playing the Tamporine. The convention had a festive atmosphere. Many heard the word of God, many were healed, and many came forward with the decision to baptise. Baptism took place in the ‘Chalakuzhithodu’. Children from Kannamoola ‘Balabhavan’ played a band as the baptism ceremony took place. Many of them started attending the church and were baptised. While Pr. Dennison was in charge of the church, the first people to hold various positions in administration were J. Samuel-Secretary, Chellayyan-Treasurer and Benny-YPE Secretary. A cemetery was needed for the church. Thus the pastor and the members found time, after their daily work, to meet and collect the necessary funds from their near and dear ones to buy a plot. Thus a 5-cent plot of land was bought and written under the name of Church of God near Kumarapuram Pushpagiri Church. The brothers of the church bought and installed a barbed wire fence around it. But, later on the plot was sold by the Head Church and gave the MC Church no details in that regard. This act hurt the sentiments of all church members and is still felt amongst all. But Pr. Dennison’s presence and his guidance encouraged everybody. At that time, if there was a difference in opinion amongst members or some other emotional pain, Pastor would visit their homes, to humbly listen to their troubles, understand it and would find the apt solution for it. No one would leave for their homes immediately after a convention or a fasting prayer. Even with inadequate transportation system and difficulties to travel at night, all members managed to attend the meetings. They used bonfire made out of dry coconut leaves to light their path home at night. Another difficult time the church faced was when their allotted duration of the rented house at Poochedikonam was over, they were asked to find another place instead. After searching for a while, they found a good house, which belonged to the daughter of a man who attended the church. They bought it for 4000 rupees. Just like the previous places, this place also did not have electricity. They worshipped in that thatched house using kerosene lamps to light the room. Members kept the house clean, plastered the floor with cow dung and maintained it well. They showed a greater interest in the maintenance of the hall than they showed for their own houses! They were more interested in fasting and praying than celebrations. The leader of the church was an apt role model to all its members. Even people of other religious denominations attended, confessed their sins to God and decided to live as a child of God. The church prayed as a whole to buy a plot for a new building. Later on, Pr. Dennison transferred to Kalliyoor Church.

Pastor.K.M. Baby

In 1974, Pr. K.M. Baby, a young man, took charge of the church. He led the church from 1974 to 1978. Medical students and hospital workers started attending the church. There would be at least two public meetings and two all-night prayers held in a month. Many patients who came forward were healed and they received salvation. YPE meetings were held with full spiritual strength. The young acted how public meetings can lead a person to salvation during these YPE meetings. The members of MC church went to Pattom church to lead YPE meetings there. Every year a 40-day fasting prayer would be conducted in the church. For the first few months after Pr. Baby took charge, the members and the Pastor could barely make their two ends meet but towards the end, the Lord brought about a change in those situations and blessed them. After four years, Pr. K.M. Baby transferred and Pr. C.A. Alex took over the position. Pr. C.A. Alex’s family consists of his wife and two children. During one of the 21-day fasting prayer, A Hindu women from Sreekaryam attended it and she was delivered from all evil spirits that possessed her. During his time as the church Pastor, Pr. C.A. Alex conducted a 4-day convention. Pr. K.C. John, Pr. M.V. Chacko, Pr. Kaanam Achan, Pr. P.A.V. Sam spoke at the convention. J.V. Peter and his wife Nirmala Peter of the band ‘Gospel Tuners’ led the praise and worship. Pr. K.V. Peter played the song ‘Neeyen Swantham, Neeyen Paksham’ using an accordion and shared with the audience his testimony of how God miraculously healed his bone cancer. The band members had a great praying mentality. Before each performance they prayed hand-in-hand. Attracted by the songs they performed, many came to the convention. Something amazing happened on the second day of the convention. It was pouring heavily just as the session started but the guest pastor prayed for the rain to stop and it did! Many were wonderstruck at the work of God.

Pastor.Johnson Zachariah

After Pr. Alex got transferred, Pr. Johnson Zachariah took charge of the church. Punalur was his native place. And so he would come to Medical College every Thursday and return on the Sunday. He would arrive by Thursday evening, conduct the fasting prayer on Friday, and visit all the families of the church on Fridays and Saturdays and then return after the Sunday service. All church activities especially Sunday School was full of blessing and spirit filled.

Pastor.T.P. Varghese

Later on T.P. Varghese took charge as Pastor of the church. The church tried and made every effort to buy a new plot of land. Thus, a plot was bought behind the Regional Cancer Centre, on the roadside. Pr. T.P. Varghese led the church for one and a half years. After him, Pr. C. Abraham took charge. He loved and considered all members as his own siblings. He transferred a year afterwards. This was a spirit filled term.

Pastor.K.G. Philip

After him, the church was led by Pr. K.G. Philip. The church had a boost in spiritual growth during his term. Every first Sunday, the Sunday School students would want and pray for the Holy Spirit. This session was handled and overlooked by Br. Samuel, Br. Markose and Br. Joshua. During those days, all were baptised in the Holy Spirit at a very young age. Those children who were anointed by the Holy Spirit were baptised in water. During Pr. K.G. Philip’s term a crusade was conducted by the church in a ground near Jai Nagar. A band consisting of some foreigners also led the worship and preached the gospel. Many were miraculously healed and many were anointed with the Holy Spirit. Br. Samkutty, one of the church members, was lame and could not walk. After attending this crusade, God healed him completely and he could walk with no difficulty. After a while, the church had to relocate as they had to move out of the rented house. Church members, attended worship at Pattom Church for almost a year. At that time, the Head Office decided to sell the plot where the present church sits.

Pastor.Eappachan Thomas

On 12 July, 1987, the church got back the house at Panavila and worship resumed under the leadership of Pr. Eappachan. The house was really small and the hall would be filled beyond its capacity. Even then, in spite of all the difficulties due to the tight fit, the presence of the Holy Spirit was strongly felt and God’s work was clearly seen. During a 21-day fasting prayer many were healed and many received the ‘gifts of grace’. Many baptised under the hands of Pr. C.C. Abraham. The young Pr. Eappachan mingled humbly with much respect with the older church members. They too, considering his young age, respected Pr. Eappachan and looked out for him. Even if they were asked to sit on a chair during the service, out of respect of God’s presence, they sat on the floor and worshipped Him. Members were all faithful to God and had a true devotion. Worship at Panavila had great oppositions from the neighbours. One day, as the Pastor was going to church to conduct the service, he found a packet of cement bought for construction purpose next door, deliberately put there to obstruct the path. Problems based on this aroused between the pastor and the neighbour and consequently it became very difficult to continue worship at Panavila. Thus, the pastor and his wife went in search of another to conduct the service. They asked for a place at Ulloor Divyaprabha and were allocated a place readily. The owner had a case and he requested for the keen prayer of the church. As a result, the verdict of the case came in favour of the owner and finally the church could worship freely. A 2-day convention was organized at Divyaprabha. Pr. M.V Chacko preached on both days. Many doctors and nurses took part and many were healed. A man named Aruldas and his family, who came to this faith after hearing the gospel from Pr. Eappachan’s father, attended the service at the church. Br. Aruldas worked for the military and one day at work he was hit by a truck and he fell into a deep pit. His colleagues informed about the accident and the church immediately knelt in prayer. A 21-day fasting prayer was organized in this regard and within a few days, his body became mobile and finally was healed completely.

Even after 30 years since its inception, MC Church did not have a hall for worship of its own. Till then services and worships were conducted in rented housed, leased houses and in auditoriums. Consequent of the team effort of the church and its prayer, the corner stone for constructing a new church hall was laid on 25-05-1993 and on 12-04-1997, Church of God, Bethesda Church Hall was blessed in the name of Jesus by the then Overseer of Church of God in India, Kerala State, Pr. P.A.V. Sam. It was a long dream-come-true for the members of the MC Church. During the initial stages of the construction of the building, the church faced strong opposition, cases and stay orders. Incidents were the workers were prevented from working had happened. But like a warrior heading off into battle, the church Pastor took the matters into his hands. Building the hall was no ‘bed-of-roses’. When faced with a stay order, Pastor would immediately organize a prayer meeting at a member’s house and pray with all might. After the prayer all obstructions would move away. One incident, the man of authority who issued the stay order tore off that paper. One day, while the work on the building was progressing, Pr. Eappachan met with an accident near Ayoor; a speeding jeep hit him and he was seriously injured. His arm broke, injured his head and felt as if one side of his body was paralysed. People on the road quickly gathered around, thinking he was dead, took him to a private hospital nearby but was referred to Trivandrum Medical College immediately. Atmosphere in the church was very sad and all members prayed with much strength. God heard their prayer and miraculously healed the Pastor. Then the construction works resumed. Whenever they faced a financial crisis, the lord opened a new way and helped them. Even with his broken arm, Pastor would still buy heavy packets of cement, place it on his scooter and ride it to the construction site. Three months after his accident the Pastor and the church members went to the site of his accident and held a public meeting. People there were amazed at the miraculous healing he had. They all believed that he had died after the accident but the Pastor and the church members were able to bring glory to the Lord with his testimony. After this the church was inaugurated. On hearing the sound of worship, many cancer patients from RCC attended the services, prayed and were healed! Medical students, hospital workers, nurses, and doctors also attended the service here. They faced many difficulties in receiving water connection and electricity connection, but through prayer, all went well! After 13 years of service at MC Church, Pr. Eappachan transferred and was replaced by Pr. Rajesh.

Pastor.Rajesh

Under Pr. Rajesh’s guidance, many prayer meetings and fasting were organised where blessed pastors and evangelists preached. Youth were really active during his tenure; they participated in State-level programmes and won prizes. Under the direction of the Head Office, Pr. Rajesh transferred after 11 months.

Pastor.Simonkutty

Then, Pr. Simonkutty took charge over the church. Many new families joined the church due to the continuous efforts and prayer of the Pastor. A big line of children, active and zealous youth and the blessed guidance and presence of experienced adults formed the church then. The choir group from the church led the worship at the Kerala State Church of God General Convention that year; a big honour indeed! The Lord empowered his servant to lead the church to higher spirituality. After four years, he transferred to another church.

Pastor.P.G. Samuel

Pr. P.G. Samuel took charge afterwards. He organised meeting very systematically and was able to start them at the correct time. He was definitely appointed by God to give the required material and spiritual support to the church. At that time, there was no parsonage for the church. He started the work for building a parsonage above the church hall. With no financial support, he could not continue the work. So he went abroad to find the financial increase needed to finish construction. After his service there, he returned and using the money he earned, he resumed the construction. At those times, the Sunday Service was conducted at two timings. He was able to see all members of the church as equals. After three years of service, he transferred and was replaced by Pr. V.P. Mathew.

Pastor.V.P. Mathew

All the works for the parsonage was finished, so he stayed there and led the services of the church. His style of preaching was greatly favoured by the members. After a few months, he got the opportunity to go abroad, so guest pastors led the worships of the church. After he returned from, he was hospitalized for a few months with a heart-related disease. All members did everything in their power to help him. On November 8,9,10 of 2007 a convention named ‘Spiritual Days’ was conducted near the church. These were days of spiritual joy! Pr. Nobel P. Thomas preached the gathering and prayed for the sick and they were healed. Those who cooperated with the choir team then, are now gifted music professionals. They are working in the field of the Lord at various places now. After two years of services, Pr. V.P. Mathew transferred.

Pastor.George P. Skariah

Then on, after being appointed by the Head Office, Pr. George P. Skariah took charge of the church. During services, the Sunday School students and the youth were given priority. Since the second year, Pastor conducted Children’s Fest on behalf of the Timothy Institute. Many children from the locality came forward and they were taught about Jesus. Rallies took place where students and teachers participated. The youth participated in the State YPE Camp. MC Church was the only church to participate from Trivandrum District and they were the State winners! During his tenure, members visited houses occupied by RCC patients and prayed for them and helped them in their needs. Many were healed miraculously. A person with complete kidney failure was healed. After 5 years of dedicated service, Pastor transferred to Kudapanakkunu Church.