Southall Church of God
Our church is a place of hope and healing and a global family where everybody is valued and engaged in the life and service of the community.
“I will build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.†said Jesus(Matthew 16:18).
The History of the Southall Church of God spans over decades, a story that is inspiring, and narrating God’s faithfulness in establishing his church in a community that desperately needs the love of Christ.We are blessed with an opportunity to serve many nations without going very far.
1983 (October 20th): Pastor George Alexander and family
The establishment of the Southall Church of God began with the arrival of Pastor George Alexander and his family, who were appointed by the Church of God World Missions USA. The first meeting took place on Sunday 20th October 1983 in the Southall Town Hall. The meeting was attended by a few people however it was the advent of a new era of preaching to the nations in Southall.
1985: Pastor Alexander leaves
The family served faithfully and in June 1985, Pastor Alexander and his family returned to America to continue with his studies.
1985 (October): Pastor Joe Kurian & Family Arrives:
The Church of God World Missions approached Pastor Joe & Sis Simone Kurian concerning taking over the work in Southall. After seeking God diligently, Pastor Joe Kurian accepted this great challenge and arrived with his family. The Sunday afternoon meetings continued to be held at Southall Town Hall. There were no members to meet on Sundays. However, the family would meet at various homes to conduct the Malayalam fellowship and other prayer meetings. Pastor Joe and few friends were faithfully going door to door and inviting people to the church, and handing out gospel tracts and preaching on the main street corner.
1986 (June 27th) The first Evangelistic meeting:
The Church under the leadership of Pastor Joe Kurian held the first Evangelistic meeting. God enabled the church to cater to fifty people who attended the meeting. The church also received support from the former General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Rev. Aeron Morgan.
1987: The Rededication
The Evangelistic meetings continued with the favour of the Lord and God was faithful in helping Pastor Joe Kurian in conducting these meetings that served as a conduit for Gospel to propagate in the community. The Lord further established Southall Church of God after the rededication ceremony which was attended by national overseer of the New Testament Church of God, Rev. S.E. Arnold
1988 (April) the stones and mortar that followed:
The membership continued to increase and God was adding to the faithful who attended and it became apparent as having their own church building as the need of the hour. The church continued in their works preaching the gospel to all nations in and around Southall and in April 1988, the Church moved to the AUEW Hall, Woodlands Road, and Southall.
God also added many flavours to the meetings in the form of Youth meetings, prayer meetings, Bible studies, Choir practices, street witnessing, and Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi services.
The Church knew that God was preparing them for the tasks ahead. Later on in the year, the Sunday morning service was transferred to the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Southall. The facilities available were adequate, because it had sufficient room to cater for the growth of the Church. However, the services were held there only for four weeks, before returning to the AUEW Hall. In 1991, the Church moved to the Shackleton Hall, in Southall. The morning service was conducted in this hall.
The Shackleton Hall is situated in a centralised area. Then the Church moved to the Kings Hall Methodist Church and later on in 1996 to the Ramgarhia Hall.
1996-2002
The Sikh Community was favourable to the church and provided their Ramgarhia Hall (for rent)on the Southall Broadway for the church services between 1996 and 2001. The physical presence of the church in the heart of Southall gave opportunities to be more visible to the multi national/cultural community. Many members were added to the church from various non Christian back grounds during this period. By a divine intervention, though with a loss of musical and P.A equipments, the church had to make yet another move to rent the facilities of the Southall Evangelical Church on 9 Norwood Road, in Old Southall.
By the beginning of 2002, the Church had to move to 9 Norwood Road, Southall Evangelical Church.
2003 (January)
The Lord has blessed us to purchase the property from the Evangelical Church in January 2003, thus securing a “home†for the congregation. Ever since the church occupied a permanent home, regular activities and services for the members and community began to develop. Many transformations of lives, healings, baptisms, child dedications, marriages, and other family functions and spiritually uplifting services took place in this “our homeâ€.
2009 till now
Multitudes are gathering Sundays and other days in services and functions to hear the Word of God and receive hope and healing for the families and individuals. Due to the large number of people that come, the church had to find ways to accommodate the additions to the family of God.
Multiple Services: Four services are being held on Sundays currently (9:30 a.m.-English; 10:30 a.m.- All Age Sunday School;11:30 a.m. Bi-Lingual; 2:00 P.M.- Youth).
Building Extension: The vision for growth has prompted the church to extend its facilities to seat more worshippers. In August 2012, the extension project has started and thus a new and larger sanctuary is ready for the use.
The membership and adherents of the Church exceeds 300. The Southall Church of God is a branch of the New Testament Church of God in England and Wales. It is Pentecostal/Holiness in doctrine and practice and is also a member of the Evangelical Alliance in UK. It is a Church with an international flavour and is renowned for its warm, loving family spirit and fellowship, without any prejudice.
