Before the church building was commenced, a living church of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ had been organized at Mukti. Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission has its own church building which is located right in the heart of the whole campus. The cornerstone of the church, which was laid in 1899, bears the inscription from Zechariah 4 verse 6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord”.
Ramabai consulted an architect to ask if he could draw up plans for a large church building. The architect told her that a set of plans would cost 500 pounds, which was an enormous amount in those days and far beyond her budget. So Ramabai prayed and in a dream God gave her the plans which she then drew up and the building was constructed according to those plans. The church was to be built in the shape of a cross and constructed from locally sourced large stones and timber imported from Burma, shipped to Calcutta (Kolkata) and then transported by train to the town of Daund, some 24 kilometers from Mukti. From Daund, the timbers were transported by bullock cart. They were so long that one log alone stretched across the length of six carts. It took eight to ten days to bring each log.
There are 10 pillars holding up the roof structure. Each pillar is 30 feet, of which 10 feet is sunk into the ground. As the pillars and roof beams were cut from the logs, the surplus was cut ointo half-inch thick boards which were then used for the flooring of the church. No nails were used in the flooring, only wooden pegs securing them to the joists. 115 years after the church was built, the flooring is still sound The roof trusses are made of teak wood and the roof is covered first with corrugated iron sheeting and then overlaid with Mangalore (clay) tiles. To this day, the same tiles remain on the roof and the building requires very minimal maintenance.
The building is 135 feet long and 43 feet wide and from wing to wing its 115 feet. The building is able to seat around 2500 people.
Mukti Church’s first pastor was Rev. W.W.Bruere who served until 1927, when he was succeeded by Rev. Smeska from 1927 to 1932. For the part 130 years Mukti Church is considered to be a lighthouse in the community and it is our dream that it will fulfill the words of Haggai 2 verse 9: “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”