Mangaluru : Evangelist from New Delhi, Dr Rajkumar Ramachandran brought his spiritual message and shared his Christian Faith at the “Festival of Great Joy and Peace”-a Christmas Spiritual event organized by Karnataka Missions Network-Coastal Zone, Mangaluru (the network of Churches in Mangaluru) at Balmatta Maidan,(Near Kaces) Mangaluru on 18th, December 2015 -the programme will last for next two days-19 and 20 December. The main focus of this initiative is to bring the message of “JOY and PEACE” of Lord Jesus Christ to the people of Mangaluru and the surrounding areas. The audience was predominately of Christians, Hindus and Muslims, who all came to listen to the message of “Joy and Peace” during this joyful Christmas Season.
The programme began with a prayer Opening Prayer by Pr.P.T.Johnson,KMN Prayer Co-ordinator and Choir led by Rev.Joy K.Peter. The Welcome address was delivered by Walter J.Maben, Chairman,KMN. After honouring the Dignitaries the Inaugural Prayer and Greetings was done by Most.Rev.Aloysius P.D.Souza, Bishop of Mangalore, following which Prayer and Greetings were delivered Rt.Rev.Mohan Manoraj, Bishop, CSI-KSD. Jacintha Alfred, Hon.ble Mayor, Mangaluru also extended her Christmas greetings during the occasion.
Addressing the audience, Bishop of Mangaluru, Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza said, ” This programme during Christmas season has brought us all together, all the believers of Jesus Christ and people of other faith. Christ gave the message of love to the world and preached brotherhood, and that all are children of god and hence we must treat each other as brothers and sisters. Christmas is the most awaited holy period in the calendar for the followers of Christ. Christmas means the celebration of god’s incredible love towards mankind. God sent his Son among the mankind to spread the message of peace and love. Today the world is drifting away from god and spiritual values. Today Dr Rajkumar is here to spread the message of Joy and Peace during this season, so that people belonging to every faith should live in peace and harmony”
Kannada Songs DVD “Nava Chethana” produced by Pr PT Johnson and released by Walter J.Maben, Chairman, KMN. Introduction of the Guest Speaker was done by Walter J.Maben, Chairman,KMN, followed by Prayer by Pr.Donald Menezes, Sr.Pr.,NLF. Then it was the much awaited moment of the day, where Dr.Rajkumar Ramachandran delivered his message on joy and peace. Following his speech, Closing Prayer with Benediction was done by Rev.Prabhuraj M.,Area Chairman,CSI-KSD, Mangalore. Before conclusion there was a Prayer for the needy. Miss.Calida Royce D’Souza compered the programme.
In conclusion, since our society is plagued with issues like violence among youth, abortion, peace-less and broken families, social and caste based issues, religious intolerance etc, so in the view of this environment around, this programme with Message of Joy and Peace is aimed in bringing a favourable effect on the community. The organizers are hoping and praying that this event will bring a dramatic positive influence on our local community and among people of different faiths. Dignitaries from the Catholic Church/Protestant Church along with prominent MLA/MLC/MCC Mayor also graced this occasion. In view of the joint effort prayerfully planned, the organizers believe, this will also be a strong message for unity among Christians to face the rising fundamentalism that we have seen in the past locally and experiencing currently nationwide.
About Dr Ramachandran Rajkumar :
Dr. R. Rajkumar, he was a deeply religious person who was told that Jesus is the only way to God. He was so offended that he set out to prove Christianity wrong. But after a year of studying the Bible in secret, he couldn’t resist the love of Jesus. Since then, he has traveled all over the world, sharing his faith with anyone who will listen.
Dr. R. Rajkumar was a devout religious Brahmin and a popular college athlete who became a successful engineer and married his college sweetheart. For all practical purposes, there was no real need for a Savior. But when a close friend told him that Jesus was the only way to God, Raj was so offended that he decided to prove him wrong. Since he believed all religions were the same, he assumed all religious books would be the same too. So he got himself a Bible and went on a quest to prove Christianity wrong from the Bible itself.
It wasn’t long before Raj was deeply affected by the life of Jesus Christ. He was overtaken by the way Jesus related to people, particularly the way He related to a woman caught in adultery that a mob wanted to kill. He was stunned by the things Jesus said about Himself. When He read for Himself that Jesus claimed to the be the only way to God, he found it difficult to digest and stopped reading the Bible. But He struggled to believe that Jesus was the kind of person who would lie about Himself. He had felt a strange sense of peace when he was reading the Bible and couldn’t resist the urge to resume his quest to know the truth.
After a year of reading the Bible and putting sincere questions to God in his prayers, Raj decided to give his life to Jesus. At the time, he was married to his wife, Ragini. Initially, she was apprehensive of trusting in Jesus. But a year later, she decided to follow Jesus as well. From the day he trusted in Jesus, Raj began to live a double life. He was a professional engineer and an earnest evangelist. He was so compelled by the love of Christ that he began to share the good news with anyone who would listen.
Though Raj wanted to leave his job in Siemens immediately, he felt that God wanted him to remain in the corporate world until the right time. In the early 90’s, Raj was offered a job by his elder brother and decided to take it. His new work took him to Siberia and Russia, where he shared his faith with eager people in a nation where the law had ruled God out of existence. The underground church in Russia gave him the nickname, The Walking Bible, because of his uncanny ability to quote scores of scriptures without referring to the Bible.
In the late 90’s, Raj felt that it was time to leave the corporate world and give his life to telling people about Jesus. Logos Ministries is the fruit of that decision. Since then, he has preached more than ten thousand sermons, in just over twelve years, across forty countries, leading thousands of people to discover the love of Jesus. His work has taken him to share his faith with political leaders in foreign governments and the rural poor in villages without electricity. His passion is to preach the Gospel and encourage Pastors to enjoy serving God in ministry. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Hindustan Bible Institute in Chennai. Dr. R. Rajkumar lives in New Delhi with his wife, Ragini. His son and daughter-in-law, Akshay and Shruti, also live in Delhi.
Glad that all Christian denominations got together in the evangelization ministry of Dr. Rajkumar. He presented to the audience of different religious background about a unique personality, GOD who took the form of a human being and came to the world, born in a manger, lived a very simple life of suffering, healed the sick, fed the hungry and preached the gospel or good news, died on the cross for the sins of the whole humanity. His birth was predicted earlier in the Old Testament. Read these passages:- Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7.14, Genesis 22:18 and Numbers 24:17. Here is another… Read more »