Largest Church in India has 300,000 faithful and welcomes 3,000 new ones per month

2023-12-11 20:15:19

Calvary Temple is the largest church in India, with more than 300,000 members, and is implementing an expansion plan to build 40 megachurches over the next decade.

The routine of services on Sundays at the Igreja Templo do Calvário is busy: at 4 am, the side streets around the mega-temple are already congested, and workers are divided in coordinating traffic, directing buses, cars and motorcycles.

Thousands of people come together to participate in one of the five services held during the day, which is why the space fills up 2 hours before the first celebration, which takes place at 6am.

According to information from the broadcaster Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN News), when the sun rises, 36 thousand faithful have already sat down. The main temple accommodates 18,000 people, while a side building accommodates another 15,000 and a smaller structure, also next door, accommodates another 3,000.

Although all this is already impressive, television sets in circulation areas of the church transmit sound and images of the services, and hundreds of people follow the preaching in this way.

“I have been given the grace to pastor this church that is beyond my dream and imagination,” said pastor Satish Kumar, who preaches at all five Sunday services, with the last one ending at 8 p.m.

A church started in 2005 with about two dozen people. Today, with more than 300,000 members, it is considered one of the largest churches in the world, in addition to having 11 branches and a bold expansion plan: “God placed a burden on my heart to establish 40 megachurches exactly like the ones you see here during the next 10 years”, said the pastor.

According to Kumar, the Calvary Temple Church receives 3,000 new believers every month, which indicates an unprecedented expansion of the Gospel in the country: “The hand of God is upon India, it is time for India to reach the lost, not just within the country, but across the world.”

But what has been done in the church that attracts so many people? The pastor states that growth is the result of the impact that the Bible has on those who hear the Gospel: “Preaching the pure Word of God is what attracts people, and practicing the Word of God is what keeps people within the church” , he emphasized.