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Restoration of the Bisrampur Church
Church of North India
India is a country which is one-third the size of the US but has one-sixth the population of the whole world. In a country of over a billion, Christians are about 2 percent of the population. The first exposure to Christianity goes back to when St. Thomas came to India, but the main era of when expatriate missionaries came to India was in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Even though the numbers of Christians in this country are few, Christ, "The Great Healer," has left a mark. Medicine, education, and social work are all a living witness to the Indian people embodying Christ's message. Missionaries went to different parts of India in these times, including the area of Chhattisgargh in Central India. Reverend Oscar Lohr was sent out by the German Evangelical Mission from the United States in 1863. He came by boat from New York to Mumbai and then by train to Nagpur (the geographical center of India), and lastly by bullock cart, a distance of 260 miles to Bisrampur where he built the first church there, which still stands as a witness today. Mungeli Hospital is about 30 miles away. Almost 150 years after the church at Bisrampur was built, it is in great need of repair. An engineer has done a detailed study and designed a process with which to proceed. The project needs to be done slowly, one step at a time, to prevent the church from collapsing. The plan is to restore the church rather than rebuilding it. The church has many arches and windows which need special attention and there is a plan for restoring each. The crucial issues of the church have been identified and will be dealt with immediately and then slowly the secondary issues will be addressed as funds become available.
Cost estimates for the work to be done include:
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The Church of North India (CNI), established in 1970, is the main Protestant denomination in northern India formed by bringing together the area's main Protestant churches. The Church has 26 Dioceses in all but the four Southern-most Indian states and is committed to extensive ministries in health and community development. CNI also currently operates 65 hospitals, nine nursing schools, 250 educational institutions, and three technical schools. 
The plans that the engineer has prepared are without labor costs because he is from another area and cannot estimate costs for the Chhattisgargh region.