Overview
The Early Years
It was on July 25th, 1944, when the Christ of the Cross confronted Mr. K. V. Cherian with this question, “All these have I done for you, what have you done for me?” that Mr. and Mrs. K. V. Cherian resigned their well settled white collar jobs and stepped out for Christ’s Mission.
1950 - 1951
They served as missionaries of National Missionary Society in Dasarpuram village in Thiruninravur. In 1950, Mr Cherian got the opportunity to be involved in the translation of the Revival Magazine to Malayalam. The first issue of Navajeevodayam meaning ‘dawn of new life’ was published from Kottayam in February, 1951.
1951 - 1952
Mr. Cherian had a vision for uniting committed believers across denominations which he believed would pave the way for revival in the Church. The first meeting of the All Kerala Christian Fellowship (AKCF) in 1951. Soon AKCF meetings began to be conducted in different parts of the state. The sessions saw many people taking fresh commitment for the Lord as well as rededicating their lives for His work. Mr. Cherian developed Jeeva Prakasham, the Malayalam translation of the “Light of Life” Bible correspondence course in 1952.
1952 - 1954
In August, 1954, the Cherians moved to Theepeny in Tiruvalla. Monthly fellowship meetings called Worker’s meetings started to be conducted on the first Tuesday of each month.
Mr. Cherian was deeply committed to the distribution of Christian literature and therefore setup a printing press. He was instrumental in distributing thousands of copies of the Gospels to evangelists who faithfully laboured in the vineyard without financial support from organizations.
1954 - 1984
In August, 1954, the Cherians moved to Theepeny in Tiruvalla. Monthly fellowship meetings called Worker’s meetings started to be conducted on the first Tuesday of each month.
Mr. Cherian was deeply committed to the distribution of Christian literature and therefore setup a printing press. He was instrumental in distributing thousands of copies of the Gospels to evangelists who faithfully laboured in the vineyard without financial support from organizations.
The name, Evangelize India Fellowship was registered as a religious and charitable society in 1972. The present property was bought on behalf of the ministry on May 2, 1964. The first ever ‘First Tuesday meeting’ on the present campus was held in July 1964. Keswick in South India conference was started in December, 1964.
In 1965, Mr Cherian started conducting Bible studies and evangelism training programmes of 1-3 month duration on campus. These short term programmes continued till the inception of the long term training programme in 1983.
Mr Cherian had a personal evangelical library comprising of valuable books on Theology, Bible, Missiology and Christian History. His collection of 4000 books paved the way for the development of the present library on campus
Dr. George Samuel was co-opted into the executive committee of EIF in 1973. A one year programme on ‘Bible and Evangelism’ was started in 1983.
In spite of the fact that Mr. Cherian was diagnosed with an enlarged heart in 1954, he rallied on simply trusting in the One who called him, until he left his earthly abode on 20th February, 1984.
1985-2003
The one year Certificate in Theology program and the two year Diploma in Theology program (in Malayalam medium) were introduced in 1986. In 1987, the three year Bachelor of Theology program (in English) commenced under the auspices of Navajeevodayam Bible College.
2004 – 2019
In 2004, Mrs. Anne Elizabeth Samuel joined NBC as its Director. In 2009, ATA accredited the DipTh and BTh programmes. The MDiv programme was accredited in 2012. The Governing Council renamed Navajeevodayam Bible College as Olive Theological Institute in 2012. The ATA re-accredited the DipTh, BTh and MDiv programmes of OTI in 2017 for a period of 5 years.
2019 – Present
Vocational skill training was integrated into the curriculum in 2019. Certificate programmes in tailoring & garment making and office automation are offered now. Non-formal programmes aimed at providing specialized ministry training in instrumental music, and counselling are also a part of the academic curriculum of OTI.
Two new programmes are in the offing since 2022. A year-long extension training program in the vernacular language providing contextual training for church and field workers is offered off-campus. A new M.Div program that specializes in organizational leadership and management serves to train Christian leaders and managers who are passionate about leading their church/organization as well as managing their resources for God’s glory. The programme is offered in hybrid mode.