Testimony:

I was born in a nominal Christian family who attended an evangelical church, and therefore I heard the gospel since childhood. However, in my early teens, I determined that God and religion were just a myth. I lived a sinful life and was the source of pain for many people. When I was 17 years old I attended a Christian youth camp. At the preached gospel, I was convicted about my sins against God. In that youth camp, I learned about Jesus’ redemptive work and therefore I committed my life to the Lord Jesus Christ. God started to change my life. I read my Bible and began to pray. I could see tangible change in my lifestyle and my affections.

In the initial years of my Christian life, no one from our church invested in me or discipled me. I soon found myself sliding back into the world. During this time, I was forced to take an engineering course by my father. Though I wasn’t qualified to get into engineering, my dad made sure that I got into it. He changed my religious status to Hindu from Christian to get some benefits at the school. I knew it was wrong and I opposed the idea as much as I could. I got into an engineering college but always had this guilty feeling in my heart that I had to lie to get into it.

During the time of my education, my dad fell into huge debts and had lawsuits against him. I was even kidnapped twice. Once by some men who were hired to get money from my dad. When I was on my way to my college, I was kidnapped and was told that they would let me go when my dad paid them money. I was terrified in the car with them, and I cried to the Lord. To my surprise, God heard my prayer, and eventually, after some series of events, they let me go. After a few months, I was taken by the police. My dad was absconding, but when I contacted him and informed him about my situation, he said that he was in a helpless situation. I was taken to a storehouse within the Police Station and was asked to stay there until my dad surrendered. I started praying to God and was hopeful of the Lord’s help even this time. After one and a half days I was allowed to go home. I was blown away by the grace and the courage that God had given me. I committed my life fully to the Lord to be faithful to Him in all my circumstances. I determined to seek the face of the Lord after these incidents. I started studying the Bible consistently and I began regularly crying out to the Lord to intervene in our family. God started working wonders. Many years later all my family members turned to the Lord.

Call to Ministry:

I made up my mind to be faithful to the Lord. The first step I took was to give up my engineering path, which I procured in the wrong way. This step upset my dad and he stopped supporting me financially. I soon started getting involved in our church. I was going out for Evangelism and mission trips. The book of Acts and biographies strengthened me to preach the gospel. The Lord started burdening my heart for His work.

One of the pastors of our church encouraged me to join the ministry team. He said that he would sponsor my secular studies and simultaneously train me for ministry. As I was preparing my heart for this new beginning, I had to witness some horrible incidents at our church. There were fights, physical brawls, and lawsuits. The sight of these things shattered me for many days.

I started attending another church and enrolled in a theological course that was taught by the church. I started working in the ministry office, and with a small para-church organization, which worked among young people in different parts of India. During this time, I enrolled myself in a university to finish my graduation.

While I was still working with this organization, I met an American brother by the name of Stephen through a common friend. He stayed in India during that time with his family. He introduced me to the reformed teachings and taught me how to read the Bible. He introduced me to good Christian reformed teachings and books. This gave me a desire to really take the study of theology seriously.

As I was studying the scriptures, the Lord was burdening my heart for the ministry. I understood that every ministry should be accountable to a local church. I resigned from my Christian organization which was not accountable to any church. After a year, I met another brother who was planting a church in my area. I became part of that new church. In January 2022, the church has commissioned me to begin a new work.