About EBA

Evangelical Bible Assembly is an independent church in Madurai, India.

Some members travel from other towns, arrive on Saturday evenings and stay till the evening of the Lord’s day. The church premises has basic facilities for an overnight stay. On Saturday night, the church gathers for a Bible study after which everyone retires for the night. On Sunday morning they gather again for the worship and participating of the Lord’s Table.

After a simple meal together, the church spends the rest of the afternoon on discussions and the like. It is then time for those who came from outside Madurai to travel back to their homes.

The pastor is Gnana Bhaktamitran (GB) who serves as the evangelist and pastor. He is rarely addressed as pastor by members who call him by whatever relationship is natural to them, Iyya, sir, thaathaa, and so on. He is a musician who, finding a dearth for songs with depth in Tamil, has translated and composed many songs. He has also prepared the accompaniment for all the songs that is then played from a CD.

He is peculiarly suited for the work that he does. He comes from a Lutheran family of pastors. His grandfather was also a well-known professor of theology. GB was born and raised in small towns in Tamil Nadu but went on to live in big cities like Madras, New York, Calcutta, and Bangalore. After his spiritual regeneration in 1971, because of his search for a good church, and being transferred from one city to another, the Lord took him through several churches until the planting of the Pottery Town church in Bangalore that met in his house.

The Pottery Town church soon had little branch churches or local churches in some villages and towns, and in Madurai in Tamil Nadu. In the mid 90s, he moved from Bangalore to Madurai. The church was now called Evangelical Bible Assembly. He preferred the word ‘Assembly’ to ‘Church’ because most people confused ‘church’ with a building. Speaking of buildings, the church kept meeting in his house until his nephew who lives in Texas graciously provided a small campus with a small building for worship, basic amenities for short stays by members, and a house for GB as well. All these facilities have been put to full use.

The church does not support GB financially. To be financially independent is something that he feels strongly about because it gives one the courage and freedom to speak the truth. In 1986, he retired from IIM, Bangalore after a career in Library Science and having worked in at least two well known Libraries including Brooklyn Public Library, NY.

His wife Kamala Bhaktamitran served the church faithfully with him until her passing in Feb 2003. Their daughter and her family live in New Zealand.