We have some incredible mission outreach pastors in India. To date, we have planted and support 48 churches in India, alongside 3 children’s homes and a medical clinic. One of these campus pastors is Pastor Puniya Murthy, who uses his personal testimony to reach others in the community of Bethmangala.
Puniya was born in a staunch Hindu family in the mining town of Kolar Gold Fields. He was a practicing Hindu and followed the rituals and customs of the religion strongly. He had a very hostile heart towards Christianity and the Church since he was a staunch follower of a particular deity among the 33 million Hindu gods. It was natural that he had that kind of attitude because of his deep devotion and immersion in Hindu dogma.
Murthy encountered a tragic shock in his life when his wife-to-be died in a domestic accident. This shook him up, he hit rock bottom, and as a result of the trauma he turned to alcohol to numb the pain. By his own admission, he became an alcoholic. Puniya hated any kind of religion, and wanted to cause commotion to any meeting or gathering he knew about. This resulted in him throwing stones at the church building where Pastor Frank held his services. Looking back on the time, Puniya described himself as a mentally unstable person who was utterly dejected in life and wanted to disrupt the joy that he could see in the people who attended Ps Frank’s church.
On the verge of committing suicide, one of his friends encouraged him to come and attend a church service. Unbeknown to Murthy, he arrived at the service of Pastor Frank, at the exact building that he had been throwing stones at! After hearing about the love of Christ through his friend, the Lord touched him through The Word delivered by Ps Frank and right away Puniya Murthy accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour.
To everyone’s surprise, including Puniya himself, the Lord called him for ministry through a prophetic word. He obeyed the call of the Lord and was water baptized by Pastor Frank. With the help and guidance of Ps Frank, he attended a Bible Seminary in Coimbatore City, where he completed a Bachelor in Theology degree and transitioned into full-time ministry.
The Lord blessed him with a new marriage and presently he has two children, a boy and a girl. Pastor Frank and the church encouraged him to pioneer a ministry in the village of Bethmangala. This is a place dominated by hardcore religious fanatics and the people there show hatred towards Christianity. Today, Pastor Puniya Murthy is the campus pastor for our church in Bethmangala and we continue to support his ministry.
The person who threw stones at the church, while worship was going on, became a pastor of the same church.
