How to Find a Church in Chennai

Chennai boasts a wide variety of churches, from denominations, style of worship, as well as architecture. Known for its traditional churches, there are however some churches that appeal to someone seeking a contemporary church. Here is a guide to few of those churches in Chennai.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Some Sunday mornings to attend a full service

How to find a Contemporary Church

1. 
    
   Powerhouse Church

   Powerhouse Church-This church, which has been running now for more than ten years, is located in the Swarna Sakthi cinema hall in the Abirami Mall. The services start at 9am. Worship is lively, and the teaching is often relevant to daily living, using illustrations from movies and popular literature. The church framework is "real radical, relational, reaching out, and relevant is based on accepting people as they are." The church is a growing church which is not afraid to explore contradictory issues together. They are an anomaly in a traditional city such as Chennai, yet there is a diversity of generations and backgrounds represented in this church. More than just Sundays, the church can be found simply just "hanging out" throughout the week in restaurants across the city, and at each other's houses.

2. Powerhouse Church in Velachery-This is church plant of the Powerhouse Church described above. It consists of a majority college-age crowd, but the worship is still contemporary and the teachings relevant. They are located on the Velachery road opposite to Vasanth Supermarket. The services are held at 6pm. The address is 44 Taramani Link Road, Velachery, Chennai 42; it's near the Baby Nagar bus stop, above Snow Park restaurant.

3. 
    
   Ashraya Church

   Ashraya meets at Chateau D'Ampa in the Basement, located on Nelson Manickam Road in Chennai. Their service begins at 10:45. Child service is provided for. Ashraya offers contemporary worship, and a family-orientated service. Outside of church, Ashraya offers specific times for groups of 4-12 year olds, 13-18 year olds, and 18-30 year olds to gather together within their age groups. They are also involved in outreach to the community. They define themselves as believing in these three things: faith, family, influence.

4. New Life Assemblies of God is a church with a membership of 30,000. They conduct four morning services and one evening service in Tamil, and two morning services and one evening services in English on Sundays. There is also an additional Youth service on Sundays at 9:15am. This is a vibrant church community which is involved in various community efforts, such as taking care of deprived children and offering spiritual fellowship for the visually challenged. They are located at 6 Anna Salai, Little Mount, Chennai 16.

5. Calvary Community Church was started in 1981 and has now grown into a church with three Tamil services and one English service. They also have a service specifically for teenagers. The Genesis Cafe is a place for youth to hang out and enjoy musical and cultural programs. The Calvary Community Church is located at 172 Canal Bank Road, Kasthuribai Nagar, Adyar, Chennai, 600020.

6. The address for the Raksha Prayer House is 61 B1, 28th Cross Street, Indranagar, Adyar, Chennai, 600020. The service is held at 8:30-10.00am.

Resources

• Powerhouse Church
• Ashraya Church
• New Life Assemblies of God
• Calvary Community Church