PASTOR S. JOSEPH

It was my privilege to be associated with pastor Joseph in the ministry. A great visionary and a motivator. He was an inspiration to us all.

I first met him in the Brethren Assembly in Mumbai in 1959. Always very smartly dressed in starched white shirt and trousers which was the trend those days.

Every Saturday we would be out in the open air in South Mumbai distributing tracts and preaching the gospel. He never lagged in his zeal for the Lord.

I also had the privilege of being his best man at his wedding.

I can go on telling stories of our association together but since we have to make it short I will refrain.

Our heartfelt sympathies to all the loved ones. May the Lord give you grace to bear this irreparable loss.

We have lost a great man of God May his legacy continue.

James and Margaret Roxburgh

One of the faithful servant leaders, a gem among gentlemen, a very dedicated Pastor who had a vision and passion not only to win precious souls but also win India for Christ was called to eternal Home.

There will be a great rejoicing in heaven to receive this saint (Ps 115:16) who was instrumental on founding one of the fastest growing churches in India!

I had the joy and privilege of meeting Pastor Susai Joseph about four decades ago. He was a calm, collected, soft spoken and a very enterprising Pastor with pleasing manners. When I heard him pray and expound the Holy Scriptures on several occasions, I realised he was a chosen vessel, vessel of honour, sanctified by the Lord to do every good work (II Tim 2:21) for the furtherance of His kingdom and glory. Yes, he was an erudite Evangelist, Bible Teacher and a Pastor.

When he came to know I was involved in Gideon ministry, he said you can present Gideon's world wide ministry report of witnessing for the Lord and distributing the Bibles in every NLF across the nation.

There was time every month about 3 to 4000 people from other faiths used to join NLF from across the nation every month!

Pastor Joseph will be remembered for his commitment, dedication, his tremendous faith, his unassuming nature and especially his ardent desire to reach out to people with the Love of Christ & Power of the Gospel.

He was the brain behind the campaign "I have found it!"

And during that time, thousands of people joined the church. He also spear headed the movement to "Pray for India!"

He believed in what William Carey had said - "Expect great things from God and attempt great for God!"

Christendom has lost another great General.

May our resurrected Christ and the Prince of Peace grant peace and consolation to the bereaved members of the family at this hour of grief.

Stafford Cripps

Pastor Joseph was a living legacy.

Walking down the memory lane, we have so many blessed moments recorded with Pastor Joseph.

Being part of New Life Church in Gurgaon from 2003, Pastor Joseph’s impartations were truly valuable for my family’s spiritual growth and they are so alive even today.

It has been a blessing being with Pastor Joseph all these years.

God gave our family an opportunity to have a small vacation in Mumbai in 2012 and we stayed in Pastor Joseph’s house. It was truly a blessed time to be loved so much by Pastor Joseph and Aunty Florence during our stay with them. Pastor Joseph taught us how to celebrate God on a daily basis.

We learnt loving and living God is within our reach when we are completely surrendered to God.

Remember his often said illustration “When you order Biryani for yourself, you pay for it. But when God orders Biryani for you, He pays for it”

We just need to eat in either case.

A great visionary, inspirational, spirit filled man of God who was completely devoted for the kingdom of God will always be remembered throughout all generations.

God is good.

Pastor Joseph was a most most humble person, he reminded me of Moses who spearheaded the exodus, Pastor Joseph spearheaded the Christian movment, pionered so many Churches in India and was a great blessing to lakhs of people. I pray for comfort for all the family members, may God bless you in this time of grief.

One great principle he left in my heart, I will never forget it all the days of my life;

"Never hold on to anything in this life, if someone tries to grab what you have, release it, let him take it, God will open new doors"

He not only spoke it but lived it.....Thats impressive !!!

He will be lovengly remembered by my family, heartfelt condolances from us.

Pastor Susai Joseph was a Great Man of God and Visionary. His stong Faith in Christ and Humble Charecter have made tremendous change in our life and helped us to become more humble. It was our previlige to have him as our Spiritual Father and Mentor to me and my wife Asha.

We have seen in him through his life that, whatever he says in Faith is happening. We have learn from him 'The Blessing of Giving in Biblical Way'. And many more Biblical Truths. The Blessings we have received through him was tremendous. So much help we had been received for our Media Ministry.

THE MOST IMPORTANT:

The Congregation in which we are ministering now in Charkop, Kandivili West in Mumbai is the Output of the SEED he had sown in 2007.

We are thankfuly remember his Prayers, Love and Care he had shown to us. We are praying for Aunty and the Family members.

We will see him on the other shore!

Markes Joseph & Asha Joseph

Charkop, Kandivili West.

As a child, growing up in Mumbai, I remember Dad taking us every Sunday to the 10 am morning service of New Life Fellowship.

As we entered the Library Hall that the church rented at the time, we always saw Pastor Joseph with a group of men earnestly praying in a huddle up front.

Committting the service to the Lord.

My Dad, Dr. P. K. Rajhuns, himself in. Heaven pastor's good friend always remarked that Pastor Joseph was one of the most humble men he had ever known.

Very sad to know about his death. Felt like someone very close left us. He was a leader to the leaders, pastor to the pastors and spiritual father to thousands like me. Mumbai has lost a patriarch, a guide, a visionary. Very sad that there is no one who can take his place in the City. May God raise many leaders and fatherly figure like him for our nation. Iam not from New Life but he loved me and our family ever since we met him twenty years back. He encouraged us, loved us and helped the Palghar mission work. May God bless aunty and all bereaved family members. Meet you on the other shore.

A champion has gone home. Pastor Joseph was 'my' pastor since I became a believer in 1971. He baptised me in water and laid hands on me to be baptised in the Holy Spirit the same year. He married me and Ashlyn in 1981 and dedicated our firstborn in 1984. He led by example, showing me and Ashlyn how to pastor. He taught us to lay down our lives for our sheep. He taught us to serve people selflessly and die to ourselves daily to make our service bulletproof! One of his well known sayings has kept me strong: Dead men feel no pricks.

When I felt so inadequate to work with children, he launched me into my ministry with children in 1980 with another of his famous one liners: God is looking for availability, not ability. From him I learned to give everything and expect nothing. He was my trusted advisor, champion and friend. I kept in constant contact with him specially on June 26 every year, to remind him that he didn't only have a son born on that day, but a daughter too. This June 26 was different. I thought a lot about him and prayed that he would come home to his family, but the Father had other plans. Will miss u, my father. The legacy u left in me has already been passed to the next generatio, and the treasure you found in me is still being used to build His Kingdom till He comes again.

Now and again in the history of the Jesus Movement, God raises up exceptional, `one-of-a-kind’ leaders, those who are called to be paradigm shifters - Pastor S Joseph was such a leader. Beginning with a small group of around 35-40 believers in the early 1970s Pastor Joseph led the New Life Movement to exponential growth - a large, expanding network that spread first through Mumbai city and then across India, and eventually impacting other parts of the globe. This was clearly due to his creative originality as a pioneer leader of a new Movement of the Spirit for which God had raised and anointed him.

Pastor Joseph was a rich personality with many facets - a devoted husband and loving father, a visionary leader, inspirational preacher and pastor of pastors, consumed with an unflagging passion to make Jesus famous. While these qualities earned him global recognition and fame, I truly believe the real secret of his amazing impact was his simple and genuine devotion to Christ, and the disarming sincerity and down-to-earth consistency with which he lived out his conviction that the heart of God’s call to ministry was…To Love & Serve People! That, dear Pastor, is what left a lasting impact on our lives and for which you will always be loved and remembered!

Sister Florence, Esther, Philip & Naomi and your families - please accept our deepest condolences and rest assured of our prayers for God’s comfort!

Ivan & Sheila Satyavrata

Rohan, Rahul, Phengsy & Maia

AND

The Assembly of God Church family

Kolkata, India

Pastor Joseph was one of the most humble ministers that I have ever met. His lifestyle spoke to me more than his words. He had this charisma to make anyone feel comfortable and his smile brought the warmth and peace in our hearts. He will be deeply missed but what he invested in each one our lives will continue to keep the flame burning.