PASTOR S. JOSEPH

Pastor Joseph’s home call has certainly created a void in the list of the Fathers of this Nation. In recent times, great men of God have left this earth - the Earth that God has given to the children of men. Pastor Joseph is in the Presence of the One whom he served with all his heart. It is an honour for me to write a few words about him.

My first meeting with Pastor Joseph has had a lasting impact on my life. I really wanted to meet with this man of God. So I contacted him, organised the trip, and arrived in Mumbai. He, from his side, had set up my pick up from the airport, check-in at the hotel, and eventually reaching me at his house. His wonderful Staff did everything so excellently and took take care of me. I could feel the culture of honour in this ministry. I had never met him personally till then. I arrived at his house to spend some time with him, just to get to know him. On entering his house, I could see that he and the associate leaders of his movement were already in the middle of some important meetings. And here I was, a total stranger; but he took me right into their meeting. I was really wondering what was happening. I have been pondering over the fact that how could he ever take a stranger like me into their close meeting? I am not sure whether I would ever do such a thing to anyone. For several years I have been thinking about this incidence. And I came to realise in my subsequent meetings with him that he was a man of trust. He just trusted people. His heart had been so innocent and open that he didn’t have much of a problem in trusting and accepting people as they are.

Another spiritual insight that impacted me in my association with Pastor Joseph is his passion to teach the body of Christ about the priesthood of a believer. Every time I happened to meet with him, he would always be talking about the believer's authority and the place of a believer in the body of Christ. He relentlessly exhorted about how each one could be an influencer in this World. I could see that he was seeing the potentialities of every member in the body of Christ. “…….As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Eph 4:16‬ ‭NLT‬. This is the key to sharing the message of God’s love to the suffering masses. Today God has convinced me that every believer is a leader and a soul winner. And the whole World is harvestable. When we spend time with Pastor Joseph, we do not leave him thinking what a great leader he is; but on the other hand, we leave him thinking how great I am. Because he always made us realise how much more we could do. Pastor Joseph was totally a different person. Something in him always propelled people to think highly of themselves.

Yes, we will miss him on earth. But one day we will see him in glory. Surely he has left a wonderful legacy behind. When we look at all his family, children and the spiritual sons and daughters that he has raised in his earthly ministry, it is very encouraging. It is my humble prayer that his children, as well as his spiritual children, will continue his legacy and influence contemporary society with the love of.

Thanks, Pastor Joseph for your earthly life. There may be ten thousand instructors. But you have been truly a FATHER to us all.

With much love to the Family,

Pastor Jey and Pastor Lizy

Victory Churches of India, New Delhi

A tribute to Ps. Susai Joseph

I would like pay my tribute with some brief and memorable facts on Late Pastor Susai Joseph.

My journey started in Bombay almost the same time as Ps. Joseph. We began with the Fort Assembly Bombay, worked at GLS (Gospel Literature Service), Bombay and were both connected to the Rayappa family, as son-in-laws to Mr. Manohar & Mrs. Gulabi Rayappa.

Ps. Joseph would often join the ‘Open Air’ team and was very keen in preaching the gospel of Jesus to the many lost souls in Bombay. “YEH HAI BOMBAY MERI JAAN” was one of his first movies he loved, and truly in the spiritual sense he loved his Bombay and envisioned to save every soul.

The start of their journey was in Colaba at Miss. Leach’ residence, and then move to Mahim and stayed with Mr. Clement. After getting married to Florence, he had to shift and stayed in a one room, all inclusive (bedroom, kitchen, dining), in Mahim. Florence was working in Mazagon and was expecting Philip, and so lived with Rayappa family till Philip was born (premature). Mrs. Rayappa looked after him very well. Susai then moved to Thane and then to Bandra after which Esther was born. On 31st December 1965 he planned to attend the watch night service at Fort Assembly, he was on a scooter and met with an accident.

During one of his preaching in Goa in 1972, he was confronted with the enemy saying, “STOP preaching else I will attack your family”. It was at the same time that Florence was attacked by the enemy and was paralyzed at age 32 years. In the 70s people those who were paralyzed would just die, Florence asked her mum to pray, and she was miraculously healed.

Both of us married one year apart, and have been blessed with three beautiful children almost the same ages. Our first was twins who were pre-mature @ 7 months and did not live. I was away travelling and Ps. Joseph and Bro. W.E. Thompson carried the twin boys, named them “Peter and Paul” before burying them. I did not get to see my twin boys, so this act of kindness will always be remembered, and I am eternally grateful to Susai for taking over the responsibility and helping our family.

I would like to mention another memorable gesture and his gift to me. On one of our visits to Bombay and at his residence in Mahim, Susai was on his way to the US, and during our conversation asked me if there was anything I desired that he could bring from the US. I took up the million dollar request!! Yes, and being a lover of books, asked him if it was possible to get the full set of “Maclaren’s Exposition of the Holy Scriptures”. One of the finest exposition of 20 volumes. He returned and after a while I received a postal notice to pick it up from the post office in New Delhi containing the full 20 volumes. My most valuable gift and the kindest of the many gestures I have received from him through Bro. Marvin Padget of TN 37027 USA.

The volumes have been such a blessing and a feast of stored food to place before congregations. It is my prized possession and I would like to place before my children and grand children to possess.

Susai was a generous man and helped us during critical times and specially when Joyce was terminally ill with cancer, and we are so grateful to him for his willingness to go that extra mile and stand by our family.

He truly was a man of vision and loved talking and encouraging people. Every visit to Mumbai he would be busy with Leaders meetings and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has a passion and a fire within that could not be doused. We will surely miss him, and convey our heartfelt and deepest condolences to Florence, Philip, Esther and Naomi and their families.

We have the ETERNAL HOPE that we WILL meet him one day. (Being the oldest in the Khandaan, I maybe the first among the family to catch up with him and the Rayappa’s).

HE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, AND FINISHED HIS RACE WELL.

Love and blessings from Joyce and Charles Mookiah Sathiabalan, New Delhi, INDIA

So many times I came to write on this page but just couldn't write anything. There are so many memories. Didn't know where to start. Finally decided to jot down some specific things.

1. His love for God and compassion for people.This love and compassion was so deep that it used to surface in every area of his life. And was visible from everything that he spoke. It was not superficial. Witnessing this love and compassion in him, actually made us hungry and thirsty for the same. We knew that when people see this love and compassion, they feel that the God is real. We always were filled with a new zeal for the Kingdom after meeting him.

2. His attitude towards prosperity.

He enjoyed good things in life. He knew for real who His Father is. His attitude to be blessed to be a blessing inspired us. He taught us not to be apologetic towards God's blessings but to use it to bless others.

3.His desire to build leaders was amazing. And we just love some of his quotes

1) Be intolerant to poverty

2) Talk the walk instead of walk the talk ,highlighting the need to lead from the front and demonstrate true character,

these always inspired us.

4) His joyful and hospitable nature

We never saw Pastor angry. His jokes and his ability to laugh on his own jokes used to put a smile on our face even after meeting him.

We will always cherish these memories. They are very special to us. We salute this Mighty Warrior of God with utmost respect and love. ❤️

In 2011 I had received the gospel from NEW LIFE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH. And I heard about Pastor Joseph that time that he was humble child of God. And I wanted to meet him but never got opportunity. And after marriage I settled in Mumbai and in march 2021 I attended service in NEW LIFE MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL, VASHI but I was not aware that this too was Pastor Joseph church and his son Pastor Philip was leading it.

And when Pastor Joseph was promoted to Glory that time I searched about him and found out that he was the one through whose church I received Gospel. But I never met him but today after knowing the truth I am glad that GOD chose this NLMI Church VASHI for me and my family.

And I am thankful to GOD for blessing me with Pastor Philip and Sister Jyoti Philip.

All glory to God and GOD'S PLANS ARE BIGGER THAN OUR PLANS.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR PASTOR JOSEPH and his entire family. Because of their ministry MY SOUL IS SAVED and now my husband has also accepted Christ. It's been a long journey and I rejoice in this complete journey. And now through their ministry I am growing in God. All glory to GOD for Pastor Joseph vision and ministry. Praise THE LORD.

This is the story I wanted to share for Pastor Joseph.

Thank you Sister Jyothi and Pastor Philip I am so happy to be part of Pastor Joseph family ❤️🙌🏻

LORD IS GREAT AND SO GOOD that HE has blessed me unknowingly to be a part of your family, but now I came to know.

Praise the LORD 🙌

Loads of love.

Regards,

Padma Rakesh Mudaliar

Shanthkumar & Jane William -

I thank God for establishing my association with Pastor Joseph since the year 1981. I am also very grateful to God for bringing His servant Pastor Joseph into my life as my spiritual father and leader. At the very first attendance of Sunday worship service at Byculla together with my two other fellow ministry companions from OM, pastor Joseph invited us to go along with him to his house for lunch. So touched by sister Florence's motherly treat to us with hospitality and overwhelmingly inspired and captured by Pastor's love, humility, and his burning vision to take the Gospel to the nation, subsequently, in due course of time, all three of us became part of the New Life Fellowship movement and we were sent out to pioneer God’s work in different places outside Mumbai.

During these forty years of the journey together in God’s kingdom work, Pastor Joseph has been a significant influence in my spiritual growth and an integral part of my ministry as a spiritual father, always willingly available to offer his rich contribution of ministering God’s word, support, and guidance which has made a deep and lasting impact on the steady and remarkable progress of God’s work in our region. Jane and I will for all our life remember the blessing of having him solemnize our wedding 32 years ago.

Having been so close, my honest observation and experience of Pastor Joseph was that he never showed discrimination, was never biased, and was always approachable, happily available, flexible to adjust to any situation, patient to listen, very understanding and sensitive, compassionate, never angry, and rejoiced in my progress. He sincerely pursued the life of holiness. His unwavering faith in God to believe and trust for the impossible in prayers was simply amazing. His ordinary to an extraordinary life story is an inspiring example of how God can lift and use an available, faithful, and trustworthy to carry out great exploits.

It is said, “crisis doesn’t build character but reveals it”. I have witnessed Pastor when going through his most heart-breaking and testing times. He was so calm and composed, handling the whole situation with such grace, love, humility, and a forgiving spirit, which I will remember and follow all my life. What an incredible man of God he was, he lived his life larger than life-size. He was a people person and a leaders’ leader. What a great scarcity there is for such spiritual fathers in the churches today who lead their flock by modeling their life after Jesus. Some years ago, I was interviewed by a Christian magazine with a question, who has impacted your Christian life the most? undoubtedly my answer was, Pastor. S. Joseph.

I can testify without any hesitation, that Pastor Joseph truly walked what he talked about in his preaching and teaching with integrity. He did that with such an attitude of love and humility. The very thought of him and visualizing his face brings me memories of always seeing him with his joyful smile and an exuberant ‘God bless you!’ shout. Indeed, he was a man who lived in the joy of the Lord always in the midst of whatever circumstances. He truly was such a dedicated man with a burning passion for God who could say like Apostle Paul with confidence, “Follow me even as I follow Jesus”.

As Apostle Paul was to many in the early church, Pastor Joseph was to me my father, leader, and mentor. Like Barnabas in the book of Acts, Pastor was to me my great encourager whenever I found myself low. He had a gift for assessing and discerning people and their problems, and he was ever ready to let words of comfort, exhortation, and edification flow from his mouth. Everyone who has been associated with him can sure testify that he possessed an incredible deep wealth of spiritual wisdom and insight.

Indeed, Pastor Joseph truly was 'burning and a shining light for Jesus'. He lived for God serving His purpose in his generation and now he lives with God for eternity in His presence leaving behind such a rich spiritual legacy for us all to emulate in our life as we carry the baton that is passed on to us and continue to run the race, fighting the good fight of faith (like Pastor Joseph has done), till we reach at Jesus' feet for His 'well done my good and faithful servant'.

Sister Florence, Pastor Joseph wouldn’t have been able to accomplish God’s calling in such magnitude if you were not an integral and an influential part of his life as his beloved wife. Be comforted in the strength and hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He Himself has promised, "Lo, I am with you always" “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.

Dearly beloved in the Lord,

The theme for this month surfaced in our hearts, as we heard the concluding remarks of the Chairman of Inclusive Worldwide in our last international zoom meeting, “We have this treasure in the earthen vessel.” 2 Corinthians 4:7. Little did we realise that we would be focussing on this “Earthen Vessel”, the life spent for God for four score and nine years! This is none other than our beloved Chairman, Mentor, Leader and Guide, Pastor S Joseph. The news of his home call grieved us, nevertheless, the reality as Billy Graham had put it, “He has changed his residence!” brought comfort and solace to our hearts. So in this issue we want to focus on the treasure that was in this earthen vessel.

We have known him for almost 41 years and when we reminisce over his life, it is vast and makes you wonder, what God cannot do to those who love him as recorded in 1 Corinthians 2:9. We can only glean some of the best corns from his life here.

People-Lover - When you think of Pastor, what stands out most is that he loved people. He spent most of his time motivating young people, resulting in young people making history in India and around the globe!

Liberal-Giver - He gave generously to the poor and the needy as well as to the children of God and servants of God. Have you ever heard of anyone blessing servants of God to do their shopping in Bombay! That was pastor!

Radical Thinker & Trend Setter - He has been associated with us since 1980 from the very inception of the ministry. He became the Chairman and had been until last August. He was a rare kind of Chairman, who believed in blessing the organisation, he was leading! He was a trend-setter.

Not just a Hearer but a Doer - He had close communion with God and heard His voice and obeyed His Words. All our board meetings were testimonies of what God has done through His prophetic insight. As visionaries, we had no problems with the Chairman, who also dreamt big. He was the first Indian citizen living in India, who became the Chairman for Inclusive Worldwide, registered in England! IW has its ministry in more than 85 countries and his dream was to touch at least 100 countries. Is it a wonder that he became the Father of Nations!

Practised what he Preached - He lived the Great Banquet Concept, as he was challenged by Luke 14! It was the first ever wedding in his home, the wedding of his older daughter! Everyone in the city of Bombay looked forward to that event because Pastor always did everything best, no mediocrity in his dictionary! Everyone expected it to happen in a big hotel with great pomp and show. Instead, he had a simple wedding on a Sunday after the service and the people greeted the bridal couple as they stood at the door of the church. A wedding without any gifts! It was no less hue and cry to see no wedding banquet. He did have the wedding banquet on the following weekend in a slum church, where he invited the poor and the disabled and gave them a great banquet! It was an eye opener for the city pastors and Christian leaders.

Heart for the emerging leaders - It was our regular Board Meeting, held at his residence in the early 90’s; so as we entered his house, he told us, “I just heard a young man preach in the television and the Lord burdened my heart to lay hands on him and pray and so I did and I know that he will be a powerful leader.” He is none other than his successor, our present IFVH Chairman, Rev Dr K B Edison, Founder and President of Hebron Ministries.

The Mantle fell on me - “He called me last August and shared the vision and burden of churches being inclusive of people with disabilities and asked me to take over the chairmanship of IFVH from him, which was a great privilege indeed! The mantle fell over me! While I was reminiscing all those memories in my mind, the news of the home call shook me. Please accept my deepest condolences to the family and all the servants of God.”

“Vision is a revelation from God; that revelation will establish your life - present and future. Revelation will build your life.” - Pastor S Joseph

We had the opportunity to meet Pst. Joseph when he used to come to Dubai to be with our Pst. Ashish & Pst Rekha and The Dubai City Church. A smile always lit his face, grace was a garment he always wore, his words always inspired us to think big. When he spoke, we heard the visionary. He was focused on the advancement of the Kingdom - either from the church or through individual lives.

His consideration for people of every stature was resplendent and beautiful. His expectation of Peace and Joy of Heaven on earth directed his words and steps. His words & thoughts treated friends and fair-weather friends alike. He chose not to be burdened by his enemies. When the beatitudes are read, often we are reminded about him.

Pst. Joseph is one of the sweetest and most humble people that we have met. He definitely knew how to love well. Being in his presence brought a sense of peace and calm to us and that was only due to the presence of Jesus with him. The way he loved Aunty Florence and the way he loved people came out so well in each interaction.

His life story has always inspired us. Pst Joseph had sincere praise and thankfulness to people around his life. We were so privileged to learn from him and we cherish the times we had got to interact with him.

We will definitely miss him on the earth. We look forward to meeting him as one of the elders in Heaven - one with many crowns.

Love Francis & Elizabeth, Dubai

Amazing man of God with an audacious vision, ardent passion and affable disposition; pastor Joseph will be deeply missed; may his ilk rise.

He never missed responding to a notr or message and was ever encouraging! The Christendom has lost a General and the Heavens have gained a Giant!

Dear Pastor Joseph

I had a privilidge to hear you share when you came to visit my Pastor, Pastor Ashish Thomas in The Dubai City Church several times and even though I have not interacted with you personally, I can see the fruit of your life, rather one of the fruits who is my Pastor, who grew up under you. And as it is said that tree is known by its fruit, and having grown up under Pastor Ashish I can tell you that I have never met a person like him, to me he is the closest representation of Jesus on earth and given that you were his Pastor speaks louder than anything else to me.

Thank you for your life and being such a blessing. You leave a great legacy behind for many generations to come.