OUR STORY

The narrative of my life is a signature of God’s grace and power. I grew up in a family where there was no room for Christ. My grandfather was a powerful witchcraft doctor. My father’s lifestyle was very indifferent to Christianity. My mother read the book of Acts which began to challenge her to be a true Christian. My mother’s turn towards the Bible brought a long conflict between my parents. Life became very hard for me and my siblings. However, the struggles of life didn’t drown us.  Instead, I believer, my mother’s prayer made us resolute to seek God’s grace and rebuild our lives step by step.

During those hard days, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, dedicating my life to serve him at the age of sixteen. In the midst of financial scarcity, I joined SABC, Bangalore to do my Bachelor of Divinity. However painful they may be, no experiences of life are irrelevant and insignificant when God is shaping the life. During those days of financial stress in SABC and the uncertainty about my ministry, I learned to pray and receive answers to my prayers. 

After my graduation, the Lord of grace held me back at Bangalore for two days to unfold his plan for me to minister at New Delhi. I ministered as years as a pastor, a theologian and a distance theological education facilitator for the next fourteen years in New Delhi. Ministering in the national capital meant learning, working hard, and nurturing the vision the Lord had laid on my heart. Rather than resting, I continued my studies of biblical languages Greek and Hebrew in preparation for my next level of theological studies in preparation for this vision. I married to Binita in 1993. Money was scarce with my growing family, but my passion and determination kept growing. I was convinced that the quality of my training would determine the quality of my ministry. Against all odds of scarcity and discouragements, I dared to cross the oceans to study at Trinity International University in August 1998.

My Trinity experience was both a higher academic exercise and a deeper spiritual journey. I am deeply thankful to the administration of Trinity, The Orchard, and Langham Partnership, for their faith and investment in me! The learning was great but the academic pressures of doctoral studies sapped my energy. My family and I will never forget the love and care we received from our friends in such moments. When we were finally sent off in June 2006, Binita and I departed for India with a mixture of great joy to minister in India and great sorrow of parting from those friends.                                                                                                             

We landed in Bhubaneswar confident of our equipping and peaceful for the promises of God, but uncertain due to the novelty of our vision, and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the needs around us. I will always be grateful to the Lord for always bringing the right people at the right time to help me in this task. I am amazed that we have completed eighteen academic years! When persecution overwhelmed our state, we saw the group pass by in front of our home. We were left unharmed. Praise the Lord! We have gone from strength to strength since. It is my immense joy to know that our graduates are involved in pioneering churches. Trusting in the gracious hands of the Lord we are moving into our campus in August 2024. We recognize that “Growth comes from the Lord.” I will do my part, which is really nothing. The Lord is working in and through us. May He grant us growth! To God be the glory!