Formative History

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Kothanur was a suburban region of Bangalore. KOTHANUR CSI Church began as a worshipping community in the year 1993. The population of CSI Christians who migrated to this suburb began meeting in homes of members for worship. Majority of CSI Christians were employees of the KNH residing in their residential layout in Kothanur known as ‘Bornmann Enclave’. Pastoral care from the Diocese was extended through many Presbyters who conducted regular worship services, and by the year 1998 the migration of Christian families increased and the need for a Church was realized by the worshipping community.

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Christians from various denominations began to join the worshiping group and met for regular evening worship during the weekend. In the year 1999, morning worship on Sunday began in the homes of members. This worshipping unit was formally recognized as a unit of the Karnataka Central Diocese under the Urban Church Extension (UCE) department. The UCE facilitated the process of upgrading the congregation from an extended worshipping community to a Pastorate. The Diocese Executive Committee purchased the existing land and the foundation stone for the Church building was laid on 21st March 2005. The new Church building was dedicated on 26th January 2005.

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Development of the Ministry and Mission in the Church

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After meeting all the requirements at the Diocesan level, the Church was upgraded to a Pastorate On 9th September 2005. Since 2005, the Kothanur CSI Church is actively involved in extending the Church in the regions surrounding Kothanur. The area of Bagalur became the hub of mission work. Free Medical camps are regularly conducted for the villages in and around Bagalur & Kothanur by a committed team of doctors & medical personnel of our congregation, once every 3 months.  The medicines and all expenses of the medical outreach is met by the donors in the congregation. During the growth of the medical mission, SIAACS was able to use the congregation to give ecclesial exposure to their staff and students.

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At present, the Church is part of the Ecclesial exposure for the Students of the United Theological College. Every year, 2 students of Theology are deputed to be trained in the liturgy, life and ministry of the Church.

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The rapid development of Bengaluru and the growth of the suburbs led to Kothanur becoming a part of the city planning. As such, the Church made attempts to extend mission in the surrounding villages by appointing Evangelists to work in Bagalur since 2010. However, these efforts did not bear fruit as the evangelists were not able to start outreach work. It was the failure of the evangelists, which prompted the PC to invest in purchasing a land so that mission/ outreach work can be conducted permanently. The Church began to consolidate funds were for purchase of the land through the regular contributions of the members and through the Annual Harvest Festival Fund raiser.

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(The above content is compiled by Rev. Navin K. John, from online sources, non-digital sources, physical sources, and oral traditions preserved by the members of the Church.)