Yehoshua was born in a Hindu family of the Dalit caste, which is made up of those who are considered the “untouchables” of India. After he was converted, the Lord called him to serve in the ministry, and he is now the pastor of a church in southern India, while he is also taking courses at a Bible institute.

Testimony of Conversion

I was born in a Hindu family as a member of the lowest caste in the Indian caste system. My family, which consisted mostly of agriculture laborers, was very idolatrous, and I never had the opportunity to learn about the Gospel from my parents. All throughout my childhood and into my adulthood I was a very worldly man and led a life of sin. In 1991 I was married, and my wife was not a believer either.

One day, a group of people who claimed to be Christian came to our village and offered employment to anyone who wanted to become a preacher. They said they would support anyone who joined them. After considering what they told us, I thought it sounded like a pretty good deal, so I accepted their offer. At this point I was not even converted, and yet I was preaching in what was supposedly a church. These people never told me anything about conversion. The leaders of this group taught that they were apostles and that if anyone wanted to truly be saved, then they had to be baptized and take part in the Holy Communion.

I was still not converted then, but in 2007, something happened that changed the way I thought. I had severe heart pain, and I began to think about what was going to happen to me when I see God. I was filled with fear because I knew that I had sinned against Him, and I knew that His Word testified against my evil works. It was then that the Lord spoke to me through Hebrews 13:5, which says, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Through this verse and other parts of His Word, the Lord opened my eyes to see that He died for me, and He saved me from my sins.

Calling to the Ministry

After that I continued to preach His Word in the same church without any training, but the next year I had to part ways with that denomination because I knew that they were not correct in the things they taught. After that, I began to lead a small church in my village. I know that it was not good for me to serve as the pastor there without being called, but there was nobody to guide me at that time. In April 2012, Pastor Samuel visited our church and preached the Gospel. He encouraged me to come to his church to learn about God’s Word, and I enrolled myself in the two-year pastoral training course at the Bible Training Institute in Jan 2013.

Mission Updates by Yehoshua A.

Mission Update India

Yehoshua A. (S. India): A Son, Now A Brother in Christ

Mission Update India

Yehoshua A. (S. India): Helping the Uneducated and Illiterate

Mission Update India

Yehoshua (S. India): An Open Display of the Gospel

All Updates by Yehoshua A.