The history of the church began at the end of the last century with a small community, which for a long time had no premises. But this only rallied the parishioners, whose number was constantly growing, and strengthened them in their faith. With the collected funds, the church’s adherents managed to buy out the building of one of the Moscow Culture Houses.
The emergence and growth of the church
The Tushino Evangelical Church in Moscow appeared at the very beginning of the 1990s. Its founders and first pastors were A. A. and M. I. Kuznetsov. The community that arose in the northwest of the capital was small, and was called the Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists. The prayer group consisted of five people who, since 1992, had been gathering for prayers in the Kuznetsov’s apartment. The number of parishioners was constantly increasing, therefore one of the cinemas in the Tushino district was rented for assembly and Bible study. At that time, the group included about 250 people, and the community continued to grow. However, the church did not have a permanent building. For some time, believers gathered in Khimki. At the end of 1992, the church, having received permission from the administration of the North-Western metropolitan area and the consent of the director of secondary school No. 883, began to conduct services in this educational institution. The cooperation of the Tushino Gospel Church with the school lasted five years.
Community Development and Permanent Building
The baptismal ceremony was first held in 1992 on December 20, when 17 believers were christened in the ice hole of Butakovsky Bay. In the spring of 1993, Alexei Kuznetsov, who became the first church pastor, A. Petrov, V. Kazakov and P. Ryazanov were ordained to the deacon’s ministry.
In late spring 1997, after a terrorist attack, the mayor of the capital issued an order prohibiting the assembly of any organizations in the territories of children's institutions. More than 200 permanent parishioners of the Tushino Evangelical Church were again left without premises for their meetings. The community gathered for some time in a Pentecostal church. By the end of 1998, believers bought the House of Culture of the bankrupt Moscow hosiery factory for $ 3.5 million with raised funds. At this address the evangelical Tushino church is located today.
Charismatic movement within the community
The new building hosted frequent events of the Moscow Association of Churches, including pastoral dinners, youth festivals, and musicians. Prominent pastors of the Pentecostal-charismatic direction took part in the services of the Tushino Evangelical Church. This situation led to the disagreement of a number of members and ministers of the community, as well as their unwillingness to accept charismatic practices and beliefs. After that, about eighty people left the group. These believers formed the Novotusha Church, in which they began to conduct independent services and now continue to serve the Lord. The newly formed church remains part of the metropolitan association of churches of evangelical Christians-Baptists (ECB).
The comfortable and spacious community building regularly hosts events that span different age groups. He leave them the warmest reviews. The Tushino Evangelical Church is pleased to welcome guests on Sundays at 13:00, after the service. In the living room of the hall, community members will meet new visitors, help to deal with any issues, while at the same time treating them to a cup of fragrant hot tea.