History of UECF

By Mr. Syam Pilli (Former President of UECF) “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” - Psalm 100:5

INTRODUCTION:

As a former President of United Evangelical Christian Fellowship (UECF), it is my privilege to present the history of UECF as it completes 20 fruitful years of ministry. UECF was a seed that was prayerfully sowed twenty years ago, which turned into a mighty tree that yielded much fruit during the journey of faith! Established as an inter-denominational Asian-Indian church in central New Jersey, UECF has grown into a well-known Christian organization across the globe. I thank God for using me to serve Him through this wonderful church for five years.

1. MOTIVATION :

In January 1997, a small group of people felt the need for an inter-denominational fellowship that would fulfill the spiritual needs of the lay Christians in the Central New Jersey region. This fellowship would conduct the Sunday worship services without language barriers and maintain the traditions of Indian sub-continent. The intention was to serve the local community and also to bring all the people closer to help the outreach ministries serving the South Asian region.

2. INITIATION:

Initially, a group of five families put their burden in prayer for few months. They believed that it was God’s will to start a Fellowship and they sought the support of Rev. Dr. David Ravinder to serve as an honorary senior pastor and provide the spiritual leadership. With the help of Pastor David Ravinder, the place for Sunday worship service was obtained. Thus, UECF started its first Sunday service on the sixth day of the forth month of the year nineteen hundred and ninety seven at the sanctuary of the Community United Methodist Church, located at 301, Chestnut Street, Roselle Park, New Jersey.

3. INCORPORATION:

An application was submitted in April 1997 to the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for Employer status. The IRS sanctioned the application in August 1997 and approved the name United Evangelical Christian Fellowship.

After getting the EIN, an application was filed in September 1997 for New Jersey state recognition and certification of Incorporation as a Nonprofit Organization under federal IRS Code Section 501 (c) (3).

4. CHURCH LOCATION:

In the past 20 years, UECF has conducted Sunday

worship services in five different church locations.

For the first three years, the worship services were

conducted at Community United Methodist

Church, Roselle Park. During its fourth year, UECF

relocated to the New Beginnings Church of the

Nazarene located at 80 Jefferson Blvd, Edison.

By the end of the year 2002, there was a need to

look out for a new location. Upon considering few

churches, it was prayerfully decided that New Dover United Methodist Church (NDUMC) in Edison would be a strategic location for the growth of UECF congregation. UECF leadership along with Pastor David Ravinder held discussions with the NDUMC Board of Trustees and their pastor. As a result, UECF started worshipping at New Dover United Methodist Church in Edison on the first Sunday of March 2003. After 5 years, UECF moved in 2008 to Reformed Church, Metuchen. During this time, in order to accommodate larger gatherings, UECF Christmas services were held at First Baptist Church, Metuchen. During November 2014, UECF moved again and started worshipping at First United Methodist Church, 1 East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ - 07090.

5. HONORARY PASTORS:

UECF does not have a regular pastor. However, it has a unique arrangement with a team of honorary pastors who brought the word of God on the scheduled Sundays. Rev. Dr. David Ravinder has been serving faithfully as the Senior Honorary Pastor ever since the inception. He takes charge of the fourth Sunday, which is designated as Communion Sunday. Rev. Praveen Bunyan served as the first UECF Associate Pastor preaching regularly on three Sundays a week.

Rev. Sunil Balasundaram succeeded and has ministered to UECF as an honorary pastor for four and a half years. During the fourth year, Rev. Stephen Nash joined as one of the honorary pastors and served for almost 5 years. Rev. David Davis came on board as a guest preacher in June 2003 and later served as an honorary Pastor through the mid2011. Of late, Rev. Joseph Theophilus and Rev. Stanley Joseph have been filling in for preaching as required.

At one point of time, UECF felt the need for a dedicated regular pastor who would nurture and help in the growth of the congregation. A search Committee was formed to examine the alternatives and ultimately opined that this may not be feasible, considering the UECF’s financial situation.

6. GENERAL BODY MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS:

The first General Body meeting was held on June 4, 1997 for which all the local Christians were invited. In this meeting, a draft Constitution and by-laws prepared by Mr. Alfred Bhaskar were presented and approved. The first team of leaders who were elected in this General Body meeting included - President : Mr. Alfred Bhaskar, Secretary : Mr. Rajani Kantha Rao, Treasurer : Mr. Ebenezer Mallepalle, Board of Trustees Members: Mr. AjitLakra, Mr. Michael Rose, Mrs. Udaya Pulipati and Mr. Joel Dadepogu. Rev. Dr. David Ravinder was nominated by the general body to be the Honorary Sr. Pastor & Spiritual Advisor. In the second annual General Body meeting held in August 1999, the vacant positions were filled in. The third General Body meeting was held in September 2000, and new office bearers were elected.

In the General Body meeting held in September 2001, Mr. Ajay Damarapu was elected as President and Mr. Syam Pilli was elected as the Vice President. However, during the General Body meeting held on 23rd June 2002, Mr. Ajay Damarapu announced his resignation. Consequently, Mr. Syam Pilli resumed the responsibilities of the President.

In the year 2003, the Constitution By-Laws were amended and approved to include Pastorate Committee in addition to the Board of Trustees. At the end of the tenure of previous leadership, new leaders were elected for a 3-year term in the General Body meeting held on 22nd February 2004. Later, in 2007 a new body was elected with Joshua(Phani) Pilli as the President. The present team of leaders was elected in the General Body meeting held in the year 2016.

Apr 1997 – Sep 2000 Mr. Alfred Bhaskar Sep 2000 – Sep 2001 Mr. Ebenezer Mallepalle Sep 2001 – Oct 2002 Mr. Ajay Damarapu Oct 2002 – Feb 2004 Mr. Syam Pilli(ActingPresident) Feb 2004 – Feb 2007 Mr. Syam Pilli Feb 2007 – Present Mr. Joshua(Phani) Pilli

PRESIDENTS AND TENURES 7. GUEST PREACHERS:

In addition to the honorary pastors, many servants of God have graced UECF with the powerful messages. Itinerant Preachers like Acharya R. R. K. Murthy, Dr. Ramesh Richard, Heads of Christian organizations such as Mr. Joshua Daniel, Dr. Sunil Bhanu Busi, Rev. Samuel Schmitthenner; and Theological College Professors including Dr. B. C. Paul, Dr. Augustine Pagolu, Rev. Dr. Daniel Jeyaraj, Dr. Victor Luther Paul Nakka and Dr. Vasantharao Chilkuri have spiritually enriched the UECF congregation.

Renowned TV evangelists from India such as Dr. M. S. Santhavardhan, Dr. Paul Dhinakaran, Dr. A. B. Joseph Kishore, Dr. P. Joshi, Dr. John Wesly, Dr. P. J. Stephen Paul, Dr. T. D. Prasanna Kumar, Bro. Abraham, Bro. Paul Emmanuel, Dr. Devasahayam Dandala, Rev. K. Kurian, Pastor Moses Choudary, Rev. Solomon Raju Kunchanapalli, Bro.Vincent Gurrala, Rev. Dr. Timothy Kollabathula, Dr. Ranga Raju, Bro. Daniel Mylabathulaand Bro. Harry Gomes have inspired with the powerful messages time and again. God’s servants like Dr. Akbar Haqq, Bro. Anil Kumar and Rev. Naveen Balakrishnan have encouraged and challenged the attendees with the word of God through Revival meetings. The Bishops who have shared the word of God included Bishop Stanley Downs, Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, Bishop Spurgeon Raju Pachigalla, Bishop Kishore Daroga and Bishop Daniel Kalyanapu. The guest preachers list also contains the wellknown servants of God such as Rev. AzariahKorabandi, Dr.LivingsonGadde, Dr. Joe Madhu Payarda & Dr. Jessie Veena Payarda, Dr. Yesupadam Bandela, Bro. Edward William Kuntam, Dr. Samuel Mohanraj and Bro. Herford Urlica. Many God’s servants such as Bro. Santha Rao Bhogi, Bro. Michael Vijaya Kumar, Pastor Barnabas Sajja, Bro.Deevanaiah and Bro. Peter Samuel have visited and inspired by sharing their strong testimonies. Other visiting servants of God who visited and shared the Word includes Rev. Varakumar Lam, Bro. Devaraju Jakki, Rev. John Sunder Earla, Rev. DJM Vinod, Rev. D. C. Daniel Babu, Pastor Israel Chokka, Pastor Sharath Bhushan, Bro. Sunny Joseph Mylabathula, Pastor Philip Nethagani, Pastor Rajendra Dutt, Pastor K. Dinesh, Rev. Devadanam Gummadi, Bro. Kamal Manik, Rev. Victor Raj, Rev. Jospeh Moses, Geomon George, Rev. Sean Callihan, Did. Jacky Ford, Gro. Charles Kalyana Rao, Bro. Venkat Potana, Bro. Charles Kalyan Rao, Rev. Bhakthavathsaladas Ravoori, Sis. Elizabeth Vallabhaneni and Sis. Esther Rani. Host church Pastors that include Rev. Tom Sanders, Rev. Bob Costello Rev. Darryl Duer, Rev. Dr. Richard Ruch and Rev. Peter Sanfilippo, Rev. Dr. David Mertz also ministered to UECF occasionally. For a specific period, Rev. Anna Bhujbal ministered to UECF mainly on fifth Sundays and also on all possible occasions.

Rev. Richard Bailey, a Missionary from Pakistan; Rev. Rafael Flores & Pastor John Carricks, Missionaries from Paraguay; Mr. Billy & Mrs. Joanna Coppedge, Missionaries to Uganda have shared the Word.

Popular Gospel Singers and Evangelists have visited and worshipped God many a time with special music and shared the word. The noted Gospel singers include Dr. John Bilmoria Rapaka, Dr. Bhanu Murthy Nainala, Bro. William Carey, Bro. Benni Prasad, Bro. Lazarus, Mrs. Mahitha Charles Pilli, Dr. Jacob Prabhu, Bro. Daniel Akumarthi, Bro. Dayanidhi Rao, Bro. Raj Prakash Paul, Bro. John Moses Dusi and Vijay Benedict. There were many servants of God who visited, preached and encouraged UECF during the past twenty years. All the names of the those who visited are not listed here due to lack of space.

8. SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES:

UECF worship services generally started at

5:30 PM Sunday, for many years. Recently, the

start time has changed to 4:30 PM. The order

of Service is in English. The typical Sunday

service includes Praise & Worship, sharing the

joys and concerns, intercessory prayers, special

music and a Message.

Singing in regional languages: Praising the Lord with songs and hymns has always been the important part of UECF Sunday Worship Service. Praise songs have been sung in English and also in different regional languages such as Telugu and Hindi. In addition to the standard instruments like Organ, Piano and guitar, many Indian musical instruments such as Harmonium, Tabla and Congo drums have been used to bring out special music.

Many musicians have offered their talents and supported the music ministry. The list of musicians include Mr. Sushil Bhujbal, Mr. Samuel Sudhakar Chilaka, Mr. Josiah Srigiri, Mr. Nishanth Dwaram, Mrs. Suneela Ponnapalli, Mr. Simon Bushi, Dr. Gurunadham Moodey, Mr. Carol Daniel Jokmels, Mr. Junia Moses, Mr. Sunil Robert, Mr. Spurgeon Perikala, James & Jacob brothers, Mr. Peter Kollory, Mr. Arun Kolluri, Mr. Steven Perumalla, Mr. Thomas Kalyanapu, Mrs. Sinai Dadepogu, Mrs. Emily Sensen Gopal and Ms. Yuko Unehara.

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS:

The intercessory prayer time has been a great opportunity for the congregation to instantaneously share their joys, concerns and other needs of the family and friends and to offer prayers.

COMMUNION SUNDAY:

Holy Communion has been administered on the fourth Sunday of every month.

9. SUNDAY SCHOOL & YOUTH MINISTRY:

Sunday school has played a vital role in the growth

of UECF. Families have firmly believed in Proverbs

22:6 which states “Train up the child in the way he

should go, when he is old he will not depart from

it”, while inculcating children with the word of God

from the very beginning.

Sunday School has been conducted regularly during the Service to both beginners and other age groups (up to 12 years). Sunday School teachers have been following a yearly curriculum in nurturing children with the Word of God. Later, VBS courses also started and children have enthusiastically participated. Kids of different age groups exhibited their talents on all possible special occasions. Children were always excited to take part in the activities such as Sunday school retreats, Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) tournaments, dramas, skits and group dances. Sunday School children also had the opportunity to visit the orphanages and share their love.

Over a period of time, as the children have grown along with UECF, youth ministry has emerged prominently to help equip the youth with the necessary tools from God’s Word and to lay the right foundation for the rest of life.

10. BIBLE STUDY:

Group Bible study has been conducted on the second Friday of every month from 8:00 to 9:30 PM. Initially, members used to gather at their homes for group Bible Studies. Later, they started gathering at Church premises, as the location is more convenient. Laypersons had a wonderful opportunity to lead the study on all the Books of Old Testament and New Testament. The Bible studies were also based on the pre-selected topics.

11. HOME PRAYER MEETINGS:

Lenten Cottage Prayer meetings: Lenten Cottage prayer meetings take place on Fridays for six weeks during the Lent season. Congregation members always volunteered to open their homes to have Lenten cottage prayer meetings. Honorary pastors, guest preachers and laypeople have lead the Lenten meditations. Some of the members fast during the lent meditation time and generally these meetings end with fellowship meal. During this season, members express their love by contributing the canned food to the community food banks.

Praying for the sick : UECF congregation, as one body shared not only the joys and but also sorrows of the other members. Families fast and pray whenever someone in the congregation is sick.

Prayer Fellowships: In the recent past, Women’s Prayer Fellowship has started to bring women into more intimate relationship with God. These meetings take place on the fourth Friday of every month. Similarly, Men’s Prayer Fellowship also started and meets every last Friday of the month.

12. CHRISTMAS CAROLING:

Christmas caroling has been a wonderful

opportunity both for the adults and kids to actively

participate and enjoy the Christmas season. UECF

has been following the door to door Christmas

caroling tradition during this season. A special

initiative was undertaken in 2002 by visiting 36

homes. This number has been increasing year after

year. Generally, caroling starts in the first week of

December. Carolers sing in different languages and share the joy through music and dance. Families show their hospitality by welcoming the carolers and offer cheerfully. God has been faithful in guiding the carolers in the snowy season and protecting them from the chilly winter winds.

13. SPECIAL FESTIVALS & CELEBRATIONS:

CHRISTMAS : UECF has been celebrating

Christmas every year on 25th December with

gladness and joy. The Christmas gatherings have

been increasing progressively. Many families and

friends not only from USA but also from Canada

and India joined the UECF Worship Services.

Christmas celebrations included spirit filled

messages, Holy Communion, special music,

children’s special programs and conclude with Christmas banquets. In the recent years, UECF Christmas celebrations have been covered by Indian TV news channels. WATCH NIGHT SERVICE: UECF’s first watch night service started in the year 2002. Seventy seven people including children gathered at United Methodist Church, Union on 31st night of 2002 to welcome the New Year in God’s presence. The following year, a combined watch night service was celebrated along with the multi ethnic congregation from International Family Church of New Jersey (IFCNJ) congregation lead by Rev. Ashish Bhatnagar.

It has been a blessing to start every New Year with prayer and Holy Communion. Watch Night service includes testimony time, candle lighting, special music and a New Year message. God’s Promise Cards, Bible reading Planners and New Year calendars were distributed during Watch Night service every year.

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE:

In the past, UECF joined the similar congregations and participated in Good Friday Meditation services. As per the growing needs, UECF started the Good Friday meditation Service in the year 2007. Along with the pastors, lay Christians also lead the meditation on each of the seven words spoken by Jesus on the cross.

EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE:

In the initial years, it was a practice for the UECF

to join Pastor Ravinder’s United Methodist church

congregation every year for Easter Sunrise service.

This facilitated UECF an opportunity to participate

and rejoice in the combined Easter Sunrise Service

at the United Methodist Church at Berkeley Heights

and also at Community United Methodist Church,

Roselle. However, this practice was discontinued

in 2009 and UECF started celebrating Easter sunrise service in the local church.

THANKSGIVING:

UECF celebrates Thanksgiving on the Sundays just before the fourth Thursday of November every year. In the year 2002, many local groups were invited for Thanksgiving service. Apart from UECF choir, other groups also presented special music. This trend continued as the years progressed.

Families donate items for auction. The proceedings of the thanksgiving auctions are generally designated to a specific cause every

year.

CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS:

Children enjoy the special opportunity to

celebrate Children Christmas in which they

show their talents. Usually, children perform

the Nativity play or Christmas pageants during

this time.

WOMEN’S CHRISTMAS:

During the Christmas season, women separately celebrate Women’s Christmas with sharing of word and also have some fun filled activities.

MOTHER’S DAY:

In the year 2003, Mother’s day celebration got

boosted by specially honoring the 19 mothers

by their sons and daughters in a grand manner.

This trend continued with much enthusiasm

in the following years. Generally, the UECF men

folk prepare a delicious meal in honor of the

mothers.

FATHER’S DAY:

Complementing Mother’s Day, Father’s Day

also gets celebrated by honoring the Dads

on the third Sunday of June.

Apart from the regular activities, UECF joins

the similar congregations and participates in

the church anniversaries and other special

events. Every year, UECF choir joins United

Telugu Christian Fellowship of Virginia

(UTCFVA) to lead worship at Annual

Christian Family Conference in Virginia. Many a time, UECF choir sang at the churches in the neighboring states including New York, Connecticut and Delaware.

14. SPECIAL MEETINGS: REVIVAL MEETINGS:

A two-day Revival meeting was held in the year

1998 marking the first Anniversary of UECF. Dr.

Akbar Haqq, a distinguished evangelist was the

guest speaker for these revival meetings. The local

churches and UTCFNY participated in the

meetings.

During the year 2002, UECF supported and

participated in the Revival meetings hosted by the

Church of the Nazarene at which Rev. Dr. Joshua

Daniel was the speaker.

3-Day Revival meetings were held from 28th - 30th October 2005. Rev. Naveen Balakrishnan, a faithful servant of God, delivered a series of powerful messages. This series included the inspiring topics such as Salvation, Supplication, Sanctification, Scripture and Sharing. Many of the fellow Christians from neighboring areas attended the meetings and were spiritually uplifted by the messages. The Revival meetings left such an impact on those who attended that some of them started reading the Bible regularly 4 chapters-a-day as suggested by Rev. Naveen Balakrishnan. Thereafter, revival meetings have been organized once in a while for spiritual refreshing and edification.

GOSPEL MEETINGS :

3-day special gospel meetings with Bro. Anil Kumar were conducted in the first week of June 2006. During these meetings, the sanctuary was packed with a large gathering of over 250 people. Crowds were drawn from not only New Jersey but also from the neighboring states. These meetings left enduring impressions in the minds of those who attended.

10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

UECF’s 10th Anniversary was celebrated in a grand manner from 26th to 28th of October 2007. Various churches and fellowships around the region have participated in these 3day programs in which Rev. Naveen Balakrishnan and Rev. Solomon Raju Kunchanapalli delivered powerful God’s messages. A group of singers from Maryland presented special music apart from local groups. Children performed special choreography. All the previous executive leaders and their families were honored with special recognition for their services.

To mark the 10-year milestone, a Souvenir was released by Rev. Samuel Schmitthenner, former President of Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church (AELC). The Souvenir contains congratulatory letters from various dignitaries including the local Senators, Congressmen, Mayor and eminent Servants of God.

15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

UECF’s 15th Anniversary was celebrated on 1st &

2nd December, 2012. Dr. Ramesh Richard, a

renowned spiritual philosopher was the key note

speaker of this celebration and a souvenir was

released on this occasion.

20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

UECF plans to celebrate 20 years of God’s goodness

and faithfulness on 28th & 29th October, 2017. The theme for the celebration is “Rejoice”, chosen from 1 Thessalonians 5:16.

15. MARRIED COUPLES MEETINGS:

The Married Couples meetings are usually held on

the 4th Saturday of every month in various homes

that are pre-decided. Couples discuss and debate

on various topics that are very practical and use

the Bible as a guiding tool. Rev. Dr. David Ravinder

& Mrs. Sarita Ravinder have been actively leading

this ministry. A coordinator takes care of these

meetings by inviting and making potluck dinner

arrangements. This group enjoys the beach picnics

occasionally.

16. MISSIONS & OUTREACH:

Missions and outreach has played a noble part in UECF’s work. In keeping with the greatest commission given by our Savior Jesus Christ - Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), UECF has started actively distributing

gospel tracts and Jesus DVDs on regular basis in

the recent past. As part of local community support,

UECF families visit old age homes on monthly basis

and express their love towards the older adults.

As an evangelical Christian fellowship, UECF is

committed to evangelism. Over the years, UECF

has supported the gospel work and also helped

and supported the poor and needy through

numerous ministries in India and other countries. Whenever natural calamities occurred, UECF rose to the situation and contributed towards the relief efforts and helped the victims through the associated ministries.

17. SOCIAL & CULTURAL EVENTS:

UECF families actively participate in the following social and cultural events: India Independence Day Parade : In the year 2005,

India Independence Day parade was organized for

the first time in New Jersey. UECF families took

part in this secular event, which was held on14th

August 2005. It was a great experience to hold the

UECF banner along with Tricolor flags and marching

on Oak Tree Road. This certainly helped UECF in

spreading awareness in the neighborhood.

Subsequently, UECF has been actively participating

in the India Independence Day parades and leverage the occasion for distributing gospel tracts and Jesus DVDs. Some of the UECF’s parade pictures were selected to be exhibited in the ‘Beyond Bollywood’ section of Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History located in Washington DC.

UECF FAMILY PICNICS: UECF annual family picnics

are filled with lots of fun and plenty of food along

with the spiritual food. Families and friends get

together and enjoy the picnics organized in famous

Parks of New Jersey such as Colonial Park, Johnson

Park, Roosevelt Park and Cheese Quake Park.

All age groups right from children to seniors take

part in number of activities and play a variety of games

such as Bible quizzes, Bibliola (a popular UECF

activity), Tug of war, Strawberry catching, Egg throwing,

musical chairs, water balloons for children, dumb charades, Guess picture drawing, Cricket, Tennis and boat riding.

• Fellowship Time:

The fellowship time has been very helpful in bringing

cohesion among the congregation. UECF families

have always enjoyed hosting Fellowship hour after

each Sunday service with delicious Indian style home

made food while celebrating their birthdays and

anniversaries. Members volunteered to sign-up

Fellowship hour roaster, generally placed on the

notice board or over internet.

All the special occasions like Baby showers, graduation celebrations, Bridal showers, wedding receptions and thanksgiving service were always followed by fellowship meals.

• Web site:

In the year 2001, Joshua (Phani) Pilli took the initiative to develop a web site for UECF and registered this as www.uecf.net. God has richly blessed this web ministry and UECF is well known all over the world through the web site. Members and others get periodic updates on the fellowship activities through the regular web postings. The video messages and songs are posted on regular basis. The pictorial account of the past events was also archived and made available on the web. The website is rich with messages, audio video songs, testimonies, children’s programs and many useful resources; and serves globally as a one-stop resource center. Web site has been instrumental for the growth of UECF. It is wonderful to know many visitors have attended the UECF Sunday worship services and testified that they came to know about UECF through the Web site. Some such visitors started attending regularly. Joshua Pilli’s never tiring efforts are fruitful in UECF’s web ministry.

• TV Ministry:

Expanding their outreach programs, UECF has newly started broadcasting their programs using Aradana Telugu TV channel on a regular basis with specific time slots. The half-hour time slots are generally filled with sharing of the Word and the music by both adults and kids. This is a tremendous opportunity for UECF to reach out the unreached through media.

• Conclusion:

During the UECF’s 20 years of faith journey, many families have joined; some have left because of relocation or other reasons and some have come back. In this walk of faith, UECF has shared the joys while celebrating birth and mile stone events in the congregation; has seen the lives being transformed and also witnessed sorrows while celebrating the lives of those who slept in the Lord. However, like a church built on solid rock, UECF continues steadfastly in carrying out its vision and mission both locally and globally for His glory!

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16