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I was born in a Hindu family.
My parents were Saiva Vellalas and they were not merely religious
but were steeped in the rituals of the Saivite worship. Naturally,
we children also followed the Salivate pattern of worship and led
a disciplined and devout life. However, we did not know the truth.
My father, Mr.Kutralam, was the first one in the family to be
saved. His search for the living God began in the year 1940 and
continued for seven long years. He was broad minded and
magnanimous and therefore he did not compel any of us to accept
Jesus Christ as the Lord. But his exemplary life and sincerity in
following Jesus encouraged every one of us to know more about
Jesus whom he was worshipping as God. But the grace of God soon
the entire family was saved one after another. Each one has a
distinct testimony about the way the Lord saved him/her.
The Lord graciously saved me in the year 1954. Before my salvation
I used to think that there was only one God and therefore the
various names by which God was called were superfluous. I also
believed that every individual had a right to worship God in his
own way. In spite of being a pious Hindu, I had no deliverance
from sin. There was always a struggle within myself and I
earnestly began to seek the truth. I had a desire to know about
Jesus and as I sincerely sought him, I was convicted in my heart.
I confessed that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, rose again
on the third day and is still alive. I knew that only Jesus could
save me from the eternal damnation of my soul.
Then I surrendered my life to Jesus and accepted him as my
personal-saviour. It was indeed a wonderful experience. My heart
was overwhelmed with Joy and peace and in obedience to the command
of Jesus, I took baptism. Soon after I obeyed the Lord, I was
baptized in the Spirit. The Lord virtually took control of me and
since then I have been led by the Holy Spirit. Although I was a
young college student, the Lord gave the courage to witness for
him during the years 1954-1959. By the grace of God I took the
B.Com (Hons) degree in 1959.
The call for full-time ministry
God’s call for full-time ministry came very clearly to me on the
night of 16th May 1960. I heard the still small voice of God
saying, “I spoke to Abraham. He obeyed and left Ur. Therefore I
blessed him. “On the following morning He gave me the scripture
portion in Gen.12:14 and confirmed the call.
Although I was convinced in my heart that the Lord had called me
to full-time ministry, I could not convince my parents and others
in the family. They were all against the idea. Even the senior
servants of God discouraged me. I was very sad when I faced so
much of opposition from all quarters. My father did not approve of
my decision in the beginning but later relented. I lingered in
prayer for a number of days. The Lord graciously opened the way
for my entering into full-time ministry. According to God’s will I
married sister Leelavathy, a younger sister of sister Beatrice
Sundram, wife of Late Pastor G. Sundram, the founder of A.C.A.
Soon after marriage the Lord enabled me to do ministry as
Assistant Pastor to Pastor G. Sundram.
Ministry at A.C.A.
Being young myself, I had a deep concern for the youth and
therefore I resolved to work among college and high school
students. In order to win them for Christ, I got my testimony
printed in an attractive way and distributed copies of them along
with tracts. I found many young people being saved by my ministry.
The Lord also gave me the grace to organize youth fellowship
through which I could lead young men to take part in village
ministry, open air preaching and outreach programs. The Lord gave
me a number of opportunities to meet and get closer to many young
men who were bogged down in sin. He gave me the wisdom and grace
to help them come out of it by teaching, counseling and warning
them with the help of the Word of God.
It was indeed the grace of God that made my ministry among the
youth very fruitful. By His grace I arranged retreats through
which they were led into deeper truths and also to the anointing
of the Holy Spirit.
The life of faith
No salary was paid to the servants of God when I came to full-time
ministry in 1961. They had to be totally dependent on the Lord for
their day-to-day expenses and as a result, their faith was
severely tested. Needless to say that my faith was also tested and
I had to go through trials and privations for a period of thirteen
years. I had to spend days and even months without financial
support. I also had difficulties in meeting the expenses for my
outreach ministry.
The Word of God says, “Faithful is He that calleth you.” It is not
surprising, therefore, that the Lord never forsook me. My faith in
God’s power to supply all my need helped me to patiently bear the
sufferings and I never once murmured against God. During the
thirteen years of privations my wife stood firmly by my side and
together we faced the grim situations of our life bravely. Like
me, she was also steadfast in faith. The Lord, however, moved the
hearts of many people to help me and in this way we met our daily
needs. After the period of trial came prosperity in the material
sense, too.
The growth of the Church in recent years
I took leadership of the church in May 1989 when Pastor G. Sundram
was called to glory. The growth of the church, especially during
the last few years, had been phenomenal. This necessitated a
spacious place of worship. Therefore, a fairly big piece of land
was bought at Purasawalkam in Madras and the work of replacing the
thatched tabernacle by a concrete structure was completed. Tens of
thousand attend the services and prayer meetings here.
Special Counsels
The number of people coming to the prayer house for prayer and
counseling during weekdays keeps increasing day by day. Broken
homes are helped to reunite and become happy families. Children
are given proper guidance to be disciplined. Backsliders are
helped to return to the Lord. Consolation and comfort are offered
to people who face loss of life and property. Marriages are
arranged according to the will of God.
Training the servants of God
Nowadays more young men are encouraged to take an active part in
the ministry. Those who dedicate themselves to full-time ministry
are given good training and the trained servants of God are place
in different branches of A.C.A.
Kindly uphold me, my co-workers and the various ministries of the
church in your individual and family prayers.
May God bless you. |
