“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:4-5)
Under the Arabian Mission, in 1906 Reformed Church in America established the Church presently known as “National Evangelical Church”, a Hospital presently known as “American Mission Hospital” and a school presently known as “Al Raja School” in Bahrain. Initially Church had services only for English speaking and Arabic speaking members, later with the arrival of people from other languages in Bahrain for the jobs opened the doors to start services in other languages. This laid the foundation for congregations of believers from other than English and Arabic speaking communities. Now NEC has seven member congregations based on the languages, i-e English, Arabic, Tagalog, Korean, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
In 1967 a lay person named Samuel Hakim Din gathered Urdu speaking believers from Pakistan and India who were working in Bahrain to start Urdu Language Congregation under the umbrella of National Evangelical Church. Under the lay leadership congregation kept growing and was greatly supported by the ordained ministers of English and Arab Congregations.
In 1983, the need of a full time pastor was felt and after a long search the Rev. Anwar M. Khan was invited to lead the congregation. Under the leadership of Rev. Khan congregation developed a lot in every area of its life. He had to face many spiritual, administrative and financial battles in his ministry as a Pastor, but believers who has been ministered by him are witnesses of his faithful, honest and devoted ministry. He trained second line lay leadership in the congregation to be used for the development and growth of the congregation. He has been faithful to the Word of God and His Service from the start of His ministry in ULC in 1983 till his retirement in 2006.
After the departure of Rev. Khan congregation was again faithfully led by the lay leaders who kept the congregation active. There were many hurdles in calling a new pastor but by the grace of God under the devoted lay leadership, the congregation was able to call a new pastor to shepherd the flock. In March 2011 the Rev. Isaac Inayat was called to be the new pastor of the congregation.
The Urdu language congregation has certainly gone through various experiences in its history but through it all, it has remained faithful to its calling and a shining witness of the faith. In 2012 Urdu Language Congregation celebrated its 45th Anniversary in which the dedicated and faithful services of the Late Mr. Samuel Hakim Din the founding Chairman of ULC and other lay leaders were acknowledged and the Rev. Anwar M. Khan was honored with the title of “Pastor Emeritus of ULC-NEC” for his faithful service for more than two decades.