The Rich Historic Legacy of Our Church
Humble Beginning
It all began with a Christmas tree function at Juhu beach, in 1945 and nostalgia of the people of Tamil Nadu who had migrated to Bombay (now Mumbai) in search of a livelihood. At that time, there were a few established churches but the Christians from South India did not feel comfortable in those environs. Many of them skipped church services all together while a few gathered at convenient places to pray. The success of the Christmas function propelled them to think of setting up a worship centre. They approached the District Superintendent of the Methodist Church in Southern Asia in February 1951, for permission to conduct worship service in Tamil at Rahator Memorial Methodist Church, Parel, through a Marathi Pastor Deolalikar. After persistent requests by the zealous 25 Tamil families, their fervent prayers were answered by our Almighty Lord. The Methodist Bishop John A Subhan granted them permission and agreed to inaugurate the worship service on the 1st of April, 1951, at the Rahator Memorial Methodist Church, Parel. The Rev. J. F. Minnis, the District Superintendent, conducted the service and the Bishop John A. Subhan gave the message. 73 members, including children, were present on the occasion. Thus the Tamil Methodist Church (TMC) came into existence in Mumbai.
Glorious start by Rev. Justin N. Harris (1953 to 1984)
Church according to Scriptures is first an organism and then an organization. Hence it has organic growth with proper spiritual nourishment as years roll by and the good organizational characteristics of church become an enabler to enhance this growth. Lord had blessed TMC Parel with a devoted and dedicated Pastor Rev. J. N. Harris when its founder members were looking for a good spiritual leader to meet both the needs of a promising church as an organism and organization. To shepherd a small and motley crowd of Tamil speaking Christians in the vast metropolis of Bombay, now called Mumbai, of hundreds of tongues and beliefs was a challenge of unknown and frightening nature. Rev. J. N. Harris took up this formidable challenge in right earnest with the talent and strength he was endowed with by the Holy Spirit.
Rev. J. N. Harris was an evangelist to the core and he attached great importance to Outreach activities. He encouraged the Church members in the acts of evangelism and he pioneered the support of missionaries by the church. He carried out his duties in multiple roles assigned to him including that of a District Superintendent with unwavering faith and single-minded devotion. He put his heart and soul in all that he did. To sum up, he was a role model Pastor. He created a glorious epoch for Tamil Methodist Church movement in Mumbai during his stint of 30 years by laying down a spiritually strong foundation for Tamil Methodist Community in Mumbai. He set an illustrious example to Rick Warren’s statement in his globally acclaimed book Purpose Driven Church – Church’s foundation will determine both its size and strength.
Succession by well-groomed Pastors
As the congregation grew and more worship centres were opened, Rev. J. N. Harris started work to discover and to attract young pastors to Parel and then groom and train them for the complex requirements of the ministry in Bombay. The visionary insight of the missionary in him enabled him to pick up several young talented pastors in a short span of time. It is his famous saying ‘Success without a successor is not a success’. The baton of dedicated pastoral ministry was passed down the timeline through such torch bearers of the Truth with the real Wesleyan zeal and zest.
Fountain head of Worship Centres
The visionary leader in Christ, Rev. J. N. Harris pioneered the church growth strategy “Fragmentation and Church planting”. It has been a rapid spiraling growth spreading outwardly like ripples with Parel Tamil Church as the vibrant fountain head at the centre. This baton of Holy Spirit inspired growth is being passed on by spiritually motivated leadership teams during the last six decades. As a result, more than twenty Tamil Methodist churches sprouted across Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan at an astonishing fast rate. By God’s grace, Tamil Methodist Church Parel has all along been supporting and nurturing new Worship Centres till they became full-fledged independent churches.