He walked on fire, was possessed by evil spirits, and believed this made him one of the “holy people.” David RajKumar was a Hindu in South India.
Born into a strong Hindu family in Gopalapuram, David was the fifth of seven children. His father and other family members built the Hindu temple in their town at great personal sacrifice. As a child he remembers being taught to go to the temple and worship in the morning, but he was also warned to avoid the temple at night or the god would kill him.
Because the family was poor, David attended third through eighth grades at a mission school. Until then he had heard nothing about Jesus Christ or Christianity. The teaching raised many questions in his mind.
He returned home for high school. “I remember Miss Volena Wilson, Free Will Baptist missionary, conducting Saturday evening meetings in Gopalapuram,” declares David. “Once I happened to sit in the meeting. She was speaking from Psalm 115:1-10. I was able to realize that the God of the Bible was the true and living God.”
David came to trust Christ at age 14. Though he was persecuted and opposed by his family and the village, he faithfully shared his faith. His family began to believe the gospel, and eventually the whole family accepted Christ as Savior. “Ours was the first family to accept Christ in the whole village. We were very proud and happy to experience Christ in our lives, but relatives and people in the village mocked us.”
The Bethel Free Will Baptist Church was established in Gopalapuram. Ironically, the Hindu temple built by the RajKumar family stands a scant 400 feet away.
David grew stronger in the faith and had a great thirst to know more about Christ. God called him into the ministry, and missionary Carlisle Hanna guided him to Madras Bible Seminary where he earned a B.Th. degree. After a short ministry in another province, RajKumar sensed God leading him back to Gopalapuram. The Bethel church had no pastor and was in crisis.
Missionaries Dan Cronk and Carlisle Hanna didn’t think it wise for David to pastor his home church, but David convinced them it was God’s will for him. He and his wife Helen faced many problems from church people, relatives, and deacons, but “the Lord guided us and is still leading us for His glory,” declares the seasoned pastor.
Helen says she grew up skeptical about Hinduism because the gods had two or three wives and indulged in smoking, drinking, and immoral behavior. She felt the gods set a bad example for humans. She saw a weeping father who lost a child take all his Hindu statues and break them, saying real gods would have saved his child. This made Helen more curious to know the real God.
Although Helen was invited to attend church and learn about God, her father refused to allow it. Helen completed her education and was appointed to teach in the Baptist mission school. She was able to attend chapel and developed a strong belief in Christ in spite of her family’s opposition. When she was to be baptized, her brother threatened to kill her if she followed through. She waited on the Lord, and her parents finally relented.
She and David were married in 1971. The couple has two sons, Stanley and Wesley. Helen says, “We wanted to dedicate both of them to do the ministry of God, so we fasted and cried unto the Lord. God heard our prayers.” Yet, the response did not come without difficulty.
Though brought up in a Christian family, Stanley says he was a Christian in name only. His life “went into darkness” when he entered college. He received both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in an effort to become a military officer or a government inspector.
Through the prayers and pleas of his parents, Stanley finally agreed to apply for theological training even though he continued to seek his other ambitions. He was accepted into Union Biblical Seminary, but he really didn’t intend to go. He became very ill and was hospitalized. The Lord spoke to his heart in the hospital, urging him to commit his life to God, and he did.
Stanley completed his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1999 and married Hema Christy. They moved to Coimbatore to establish a ministry. Stanley opened a one-year Free Will Baptist Bible school, fulfilling a burden of his heart and the wish of Volena Wilson, the family’s mother in the faith.
In its second year, the school was moved to Coonoor, Nilgiris, and upgraded to a three-year program offering the Bachelor of Theology degree. Now in its fifth year, the Volena Wilson Bible Institute has five students with Stanley serving as principal. Stanley also planted and pastors the Hanna Memorial FWB Church in Coonoor.
Wesley, the second son of David and Helen, had his struggles as well. He chose a worldly life and entered an aeronautic college where he was unsuccessful. He ventured into business and suffered a great financial loss. He decided to join the police force, but still found no success. Yet, he says, “I did not seek God. My parents advised me, but I didn’t listen. The only thing they could do was pray for me.”
Finally, Wesley realized all his difficulties were occurring because he was away from God. He started moving toward the Lord and submitted to Him. Several Christians counseled him to do the ministry of the Lord. But Wesley, stubborn and unwilling, was certain he could be a “good Christian” without becoming a preacher. That is, until an accident from which he miraculously escaped. He accepted this as God’s warning and prayed. Enrolling in the Volena Wilson Bible Institute, he commenced a new life.
After completing his studies, Wesley went out as a church planter under a pastor. After six months he felt led by God to open a ministry in Tanjore, a village where idol worship is dominant. His wife Sugena ministers to children and women in the Horeb Free Will Baptist Church, which they founded with one family. They now have 35-40 members.
When Volena Wilson began ministering in Gopalapuram she saw people who needed the gospel. David RajKumar was the first to believe, and through him and his family many others have found the Savior.
The odds of such drastic changes taking place in the midst of Hindu dominance seem very slim. But the RajKumar family demonstrated that prayer, fasting, perseverance, and God’s grace make the difference. Indeed, the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation and the answer to changing lives forever…even entire families.
Don Robirds retired from the International Missions staff in December 2003. He served as director of public relations for 32 years and now does freelance editing, writing, layout, and design.
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