STBC-Centenary Baptist Church Secunderabad is a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
Church in the city of
Secunderabad
Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...
, India which was established in 1875 by the
American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (
ABM
ABM or Abm may refer to:
Companies
* ABM Industries, a US facility management provider
* ABM Intelligence, a UK software company
* Advantage Business Media, a US digital marketing and information services company
* Associated British Maltsters, ac ...
) and was later led by the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches (STBC) through the Deccan Association. STBC-Centenary Baptist Church has a current membership of more than 3000. The original older structure and a new centenary structure built in 1991 exist side by side in the same premises. Worship services are only held in the new sanctuary. The church conducts worship in Telugu, English, Hindi and Manipuri.
Senior Pastor, The Rev.
N. Thomas, STBC, who had been ailing for a long time, died on 19 April 2021. He was born on 2 March 1946 in Nellutla near
Jangaon and underwent
Spiritual formation in
Andhra Christian Theological College
Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) is a seminary in Telangana which was founded in 1964. It is affiliated with India's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University) (a university under section 2(f) of the University G ...
,
Rajahmundry
Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...
and later upgraded his studies in
MCI-Leonard Theological College,
Jabalpur and served as a Pastor of this Church from 1991.
Funeral mass of Rev. Thomas was held at 12 noon on 20 April 2021 in Centenary Baptist Church, followed by a
Burial mass at 15:00 hours at Baptist Cemetery in Bhoiguda,
Secunderabad
Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...
.
History
The church was established on 14 November 1875 by
American Baptist Foreign Mission Society led by The Rev. W. W. Campbell,
ABM
ABM or Abm may refer to:
Companies
* ABM Industries, a US facility management provider
* ABM Intelligence, a UK software company
* Advantage Business Media, a US digital marketing and information services company
* Associated British Maltsters, ac ...
, a Baptist missionary. The first member of the congregation was Richard B. Clayburn, who was baptized on 5 December 1875. The first native Pastor Bezwada Paul, STBC was appointed in 1895. The foundation stone for the existing new church structure was laid by The Rev.
Louis F. Knoll,
ABM
ABM or Abm may refer to:
Companies
* ABM Industries, a US facility management provider
* ABM Intelligence, a UK software company
* Advantage Business Media, a US digital marketing and information services company
* Associated British Maltsters, ac ...
on 14 November 1975 during the ministry of The Rev. K. Devadanam, STBC, exactly 100 years after the first structure was built. The church was appropriately named STBC-Centenary Baptist Church. The groundbreaking however took place five years later, in 1980. The new sanctuary was completed and consecrated by the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
scholar The Rev.
G. Solomon, STBC on 17 February 1991. It took more than ten years to build the existing structure.
The church now operates 35 branch churches and 15 gospel centers in around the cities of Secunderabad and
Hyderabad.
[http://www.fouroaksbaptistchurch.org.uk/Feb_08.PDF]
Architecture
The old church is a simple Gothic structure whereas the new church is a modern structure incorporating several elements of traditional church architecture such as Gothic styled windows. A two storied bell tower forms the facade of the church.
Programmes
The Church has been witness to many programmes, some of them which etched in the
History of Christianity in India.
1978: Visit of evangelist Billy Graham
In 1978, during the tenure of The Rev.
G. Solomon, STBC, the global evangelist
Billy Graham visited Secunderabad and the STBC-Centenary Baptist Church hosted many of the programmes forming many committees and volunteers, including The Rev. J. Chiranjeevi of the Seva Bharat. Among the