Church must remain in Christ to produce fruit: CNI moderator

Church must unflinchingly remain in Christ to produce fruit, said Rev. Purely Lyngdoh, the moderator of the Church of North India (CNI), on Saturday.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary of the CNI, Rev. Lyngdoh admonished the Church to strongly be in union with Christ to distinctly serve the people in different capacities.

"Christ, the true vine, can be served to people only when Church as its branches perform its duty," he said, adding, "This mutual bonding can yield abundant fruit."

In his sermon drawn from John 15, he challenged the Church to reexamine itself and check "if you are abiding in Him so you can contribute to the ministry." He cautioned that "without abiding in Christ Church is impotent."

"Today there are several ministries and mushrooming churches claiming to be serving God. Some of them have even sparked confusions and divisions. How will the society differentiate a true Church?" he asked.

Citing Mathew 7: 16, he answered: "It is by your fruits that people will recognize you."

He further pointed that to bear fruits, "Church must abide in Christ and serve Him diligently."

"As branches if we fail in our duty, Christ is inutile and ineffective to the people," he said.

He prayed "Church will grow in unity with Christ as it works in his vineyard serving people."

Church of North India on Friday, Nov. 27, opened its inaugural programme of year-long celebration to mark "40 years of Unity, Witness and Service".

In his keynote address, the general secretary of the CNI, Rev. Enos Das Pradhan, said the "challenge to churches in mission is to become socially located witnesses to the gospel in our diverse cultures."

The vision for CNI beyond 40 he said was to be "renewed by the Holy Spirit; to be consistent and united without contradictions; and being reformed to transform."

The Church of North India is a conglomeration of six independent Protestant churches that merged on 29 November 1970.