Today’s Leader of Faith
Bro ARAVINDAM
Home Call : 4 January 2006
(Proverbs 10:7)
Tireless Evagelist, Soul Winner, Pioneer, Great Faithful God Servant.

Bro. Aravindam (1922-2006) was a well-known and selfless servant of God as we all know. He was one of those who were saved early, dedicated his life and continued in the Lord’s ministry, and later became drawn to Bro. Bakht Singh’s ministry and joined for full time ministry in the fellowship. It was truly inspiring that from the day he was saved, he carried a great burden for lost souls and ministered as a tireless evangelist. This ministry was a special burden given to him by the Lord, and through this burden, he won many souls for the Lord. In 1945, having heard about the ministry of Bro. Bakht Singh, in 1946, at the age of 24, he invited prominent speakers of that time, including Agrippa and John Lazarus, along with Bro. Bakht Singh, to hold special gospel crusade meetings. These meetings were organized with a grand plan in the Lutheran Mission compound in Bhimavaram, attended by thousands. At that time, this became a sensational news not only in the West Godavari district but also in the neighbouring districts. Noticing his intense zeal for the Lord, Bro. Bakht Singh invited him to come to Jehovah-Shamma, Madras. He was deeply impressed by Bro. Bakht Singh's teaching style and, whenever possible, organized gospel crusade meetings with him. In the fellowship, his ministry was the first in the twin Godavari districts, and Bhimavaram was the first congregation. He was a teacher well-versed in the Scriptures, delivering clear, understandable, and relatable messages enriched with practical, experiential examples, appropriate to the occasion, and satisfying spiritual hunger. Mainly, in Kurnool, after the mission and denominational church services were over on Sundays, people would come to listen to his second message. He had a humble nature from the beginning and preferred to wear simple, traditional clothes. He loved children a lot, which led him to take his first job at a young age as a teacher for young children at a school in Vakadu, Nellore district. His involvement with the Children's Special Service Mission (CSSM) was also partly due to this passion. Even after reaching great heights in their careers, many of his students from Vakadu never forgot him, held him in high regard, and continued to meet him with huge respect. Among them, Nedurumalli Janardhan Reddy, even while serving as the Chief Minister, would visit him when he came to Kurnool and seek his prayers. We can see how his humility and love left a deep impression on the hearts of those young children from that time. He served in Rayalaseema for a long time, and on several occasions, preached the Gospel to hardened factionists, persuading them when possible and managing to come out safely without any harm. In this way, his experiential love for God, shown to people of all walks of life, was a testament to his character. With such an exemplary life, he continued his ministry faithfully until the very end. 
 
Bro. Aravindam was born on January 9, 1922, in Gudur, Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, into an orthodox Brahmin family from the lineage of the heads of Hindu religious sects (Kashi Peethadhipathulu), to the couple Komanduru Sundarachari, alias John Sundaram, and Adhelamma. He completed his entire education at the mission schools that existed at that time. In 1937, at the age of 15, he was saved by God's grace through a missionary. From then on, driven by his passion, he would join anyone willing to proclaim the Gospel and go with them to preach the Gospel. Especially with Bro. Abhishekam, who was very senior to him and had been there before him, the two of them preached the Gospel in many places. At that time, their only complete food was rice porridge. To eat with the porridge, there were burnt dry fish heads. When he refused to eat, Bro. Abhishekam would get angry and personally feed him. They used to sleep under trees at night. He experienced many such circumstances, with hardships and struggles from a young age, which helped him face and endure the challenges of his full-time ministry with the grace of God. As an intelligent student, the Lord guided him to secure his first job as a teacher in Vakadu and his second job in Bhimavaram in the railways at a young age.

In 1947, upon the invitation of Bro. Bakht Singh, he went to Madras, where one of the elders, Bro. Dorairaj, spoke to him about his complex issue on baptism but influenced by the doctrinal beliefs of the mission, he remained distant from the servant of God for a long time as he was not convinced. Though he was already serving the Lord with a burden for ministry, by the servant of God Bhakt Singh in the year 1946, he obeyed the Lord's call in 1949 February 1 by resigning from his railway job and entered into full-time ministry under the 'Children’s Special Service Mission' CSSM of the German Lutheran Mission. In 1952, while on a mission assignment to Hyderabad, he visited Bro. Bakht Singh at Elim. This time, when Bro. Dasan spoke to him about baptism, he was convinced and testified in the waters of baptism. From then on, he worked alongside Bro. Bakht Singh in full-time ministry, serving the Lord together. After returning to Bhimavaram in 1952 December 21, he organized special meetings with Bro. Bakht Singh, where over 100 members from the fellowship testified in the waters of baptism. Among those, who were inspired and saved through him, testified in the waters of baptism were Bro. Sunder Singh, Bro. Christopher, Bro. Sadhu, Bro. Fredrick, Bro. Solomon, Sis. Roja Aravindam, Sis. Dhanyamani Ambrose, Sis. Vedhamma John Babu and Sis. Benjamin among many others. To strengthen them spiritually, Bro. Aravindam invited Bro. Bakht Singh in the same year and conducted special meetings from 1st December to 3rd December. Immediately following these gatherings, in the same month, he organized special meetings in Vijayawada, Tenali, Cheerala, Gudur, and other places. Through these meetings, the Lord raised up many living churches of faith in Bhimavaram and other places. Through his inspiration, contemporaries from the Andhra region dedicated themselves to full-time ministry and over 30 trainee servants of God were trained by him in the places where he ministered. He also arranged marriages to many of them and sent them to congregations to serve the Lord. Including Bro. Aravindam, and those who joined the ministry along with him from the fellowship, a total of over 60 individuals were greatly blessed by God. In this way, his life and ministry became a guiding light, inspiring many to dedicate themselves to serve the Lord and encouraging the believers to stand firm in their commitment and live faithfully. This is just one example of how he served selflessly and faithfully.

July 25, 1957 : Bro. Aravindam's wedding to Sister Rojamma was solemnized by Bro. Bakht Singh. She was the daughter of Pushparaj and Annamma, from Kodavalli, Bhimavaram, West Godavari district. They were blessed with two daughters and four sons: 1. Hannah, 2. Esther, 3. David, 4. Enoch, 5. Isaac, and 6. Daniel, along with 11 grandchildren, and together they ministered at many places they were sent to. Among them, his son David Aravindam, along with his grandsons Gifty Aravindam and Samuel Anthony, are faithfully serving the Lord. 
 
Note: Since his salvation, he carried a burden for ministry and a deep desire to save souls.
1937-1943 : Education + Ministry
1943-1945 : Teacher Job + Ministry 
1945-1949 : Railway Job + Ministry
The places where Bro. Aravindam was sent to and served the Lord from the time he received the call for the Lord's service include:
1949-1952: German Mission(CSSM)
1952-1957: Bhimavaram
1957-1958: Tenali
1958-1960: Kadapa
1960-1961: Proddatur
1961-1963: Guntakal
1963-1964: Proddatur
1964-1974: Kurnool
1974-1986: Guntur
1986-2006: Kurnool

Bro. Aravindam's life of sacrifice, love, and commitment is great. He was very strict in his approach, and expected everyone to be the same. The service in fellowship is entirely faith-based ministry, meaning their needs should not be shared with anyone except with God. Furthermore, they should not be prayed for in public, meaning they should not be made known to anyone indirectly as well. During that time, the offerings were less than 8 rupees a week, and in some places, they were less than 2 rupees. How difficult it must have been to support a God servant’s family under such circumstances? Even in these circumstances, the way he did not waver, and with the same zeal as before, how he cast his burden upon the Lord; whether in plenty or in want, with contentment, giving thanks to God for everything, is truly honourable. Whenever Bro. Bakht Singh visited any church, their lives would be blessed. Because, on the Lord's Day, the servant of God would place whatever he had in his pocket into the offering box. As this was sufficient for them to eat well for a short time. His strictness is another name for him! He did not use even a single paisa of the money belonging to the congregation for his own needs. From the beginning of his gospel ministry until 1986 in Guntur, he carried out all his ministry by walk or on a bicycle. Due to poor eyesight, towards the end, he used a rickshaw or any body help in Kurnool. When he worked in the railways, he used to fine the children of his relatives who came to see him for not having tickets, and he himself would pay the money back to the railways. If any body did not come on time for any meeting, he would come back without having any food, he was very punctual. Even if someone cursed him for no reason, he would go to their house before dawn the next day and greet them in the name of the Lord, He was also very humble. He did not even think much of the gifts he received, and did not even use them for his family's needs, but kept giving them back to those in need. In other words, there are many things like this related to his faith. Until the end, he lived an exemplary life and memorable to all.

Some incidents in Bro. Aravindam’s ministry:
1.When he was in Bhimavaram, missionaries and foreigners would come to hear Bro. Bakht Singh's messages and requested chairs to sit on. When Bro. Aravindam told them that everyone should sit equally, they refused, as they couldn't sit with their legs crossed, he made it possible for all of them to sit on the ground without crossing their legs by digging pits for keeping legs, and having everyone sit down equally. 2.When they went out for open-air ministry in the heat, only a few had sandals for their feet. With the thought of equality, he would make them remove their sandals and lead everyone to walk without them. The trainee God servants had a hard training with him. He would take the Bible they used regularly and, unexpectedly, give them a new Bible, instructing them to preach from it. 3.On Christmas Day, there would be a fasting prayer; on Good Friday, a love feast. There are many such instances and twists.

A few words in conclusion; It is often said that remembering the righteous is a blessing, but walking in their footsteps is an even greater blessing. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof, he used tell always. In every place he served, he demonstrated divine order and the love of God, preserving the joy of the salvation he had received, and at the age of 84, after 57 long and complete years of ministry, he kept his faith and finished his race. His final journey was completed with great honour, with more than 50,000 believers. It is remarkable that both Christian and non-Christian communities in the city of Kurnool attended his last journey. In this way, God glorified his faith.

When Bro. Aravindam came to Rajahmundry in May 2003 to start the first Holy convocations, God blessed us with the opportunity to have fellowship with him in our home for three days. At that time, he shared old memories with us from the past, according to the context. His memory was remarkable, and he had a vast knowledge of church history. The truths of the church, the memories, experiences, and the details of those who served the Lord greatly have been lost. This effort is made with the hope that, even if the truths are lost, the brief testimonies of their lives might still reach this generation, and they may be blessed and benefited by it.

"Today's Leader of Faith" Ministry aims to inspire people to serve God, by sharing brief biographies. If you have a burden, inspire others too.

Praise the Lord 🙏🏻
John Michael, Rajahmundry.