PASTOR S. JOSEPH

Pastor Jospeh a true man with a living

Pastor Joseph, My Mordecai!

Pastor Joseph’s passion for evangelization was second to none. I have never seen this passion fade over the 40 years I have been associated with him. He communicated his passion with persuasion and motivated us to be lifelong witnesses of Christ. He was a pioneer in the area of data driven evangelism, armed with maps, pins, taxonomy of cities based on simple math, he made the impossible look possible and made many of us committed to life long evangelism. In mid-1980s, Pastor was the architect that saturated the city of Mumbai with the gospel through a program of distributing literature door-to-door. He enlisted me in this project and Pastor Joseph put his resources, prayed, inspired and motivated us to give all we had for this enterprise. No wonder, New Life Fellowship has experienced exponential growth ever since.

Though he was passionate about evangelizing people, but he was also sensitive to people who responded to the call. He had a special relationship with the first generation followers of Jesus Christ. He never prescribed any identity-markers for us to subscribe in order to be members of this new community - rather he would quip ‘arre baba come just as you are’. We were embraced and welcomed in the new community. He did not uproot us from our cultural underpinnings nor did he ever tell us to do away with some of our practices. Indeed, this was a liberating experience. Pastor Joseph was way ahead of his time - he could give modern missiologists a run for their money. No wonder, many of us and our households willingly became members of this new community.

Pastor Joseph modelled lifestyle and ministry for us. He took twelve of us under his wings and spent many hours every week, empowering and equipping us by sharing his story, highlighting his journey of faith. He was candid, revealing intimate details, sharing his struggles, achievements and failures. This was done organically, nobody felt or claimed he was training us. I have learned so many precious lessons through these interactions, some of which have held me in good stead even now. He championed us, he wanted us to be in the forefront of ministry and leadership. He pushed many of us in the deep-end, we somehow learned to swim. His sagacity in identifying leaders from ordinary people is legendary. I never ever imagined I could be a speaker, I’m a teacher of God’s word purely because Pastor Joseph saw the potential, he pushed, motivated, prayed and believed in me. He has been my Mordecai, who nurtured me into ministry. No wonder, so many leaders that came from that period are impacting people for Christ both globally and nationally.

In 33 years of ministry, I have never seen anyone as generous as Pastor Joseph. He was magnanimous with people, forgiving those who betrayed and criticised him. He listened calmly to people who were angry with him, he always reacted with a smile. When such people came seeking for help like needing a certificate for marriage or any such need, he never weaponized his position. He granted certificates and prayed with them. He truly believed and lived the dictum ‘vengeance belongs to the Lord’.

He was generous with his time. He was accessible to people, some of us visited him without prior appointment. We could just walk-in, he would give us undivided attention and listened to us intently. Their hospitality is known far and wide. Even before we could sit down, Sister Florence would be prepared with tea or coffee and three types of biscuits. Often pastor would remark ‘arre baba unko bhaitne tho dho’. Their’s was an open home, we could open their fridge and take what we wanted, many of us considered their home as our home-away-from-home. However, Pastor’s large heartedness is evident in the area of finances. He gave to people liberally and without counting, he never kept an account of what he gave to people. He often gave to people who were never able to repay. He brought me my first plane ticket when he asked me to go to Nagpur for a wedding. Generosity is Susai Joseph’s middle name. He exemplified one of his favourite verse in the Bible ‘pressed down, shaken together and running over’. No wonder, he produced many generous and magnanimous leaders through his movement.

Pastor Joseph is the one who brought Usha in my life. He was a good friend of Thomas Samuel, my father-in-law. The troika led by Pastor Joseph, Thomas Samuel and Alfy Franks brought us together. He played a pivotal role in securing life partners for many of his people. He would remark ‘ I believe in matching, hatching and dispatching’.

He played the part of Mordecai in my life, he was there at each step of my new birth. I owe my ministry, mission and marriage to Pastor S. Joseph, I’m forever indebted to him. In him, the Church in India has blost a SENIOR STATESMAN and I my Mordecai. Pastor, we look forward to seeing you in ‘THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH’.

Murli Menon

Pastor joseph is a precious man of god and our spiritual father.

We love you and miss you forever.

The man who made 'New Life' not just a church in india but a revolution.

He was a man who believes in adding value in people's life.

His stewardship was an inspiration and we are confident that the legacy of his good works will extend far into the future.

We are blessed and have been enhanced by his wisdom he shared with us everytime. His vision , love and compassion for people was incredible.

We cherish every moment we spent with him and he will always be in our heart forever.

Amol, Greeshma and Joash kadam

PAS JOSEPH ♥️♥️♥️

A DEAR PASTOR WHO ENCOURAGED ME WHEN I WAS IN NEED OF IT

HE SAID JOEL KEEP YOURSELF ON THE ALTAR AND SERVE THE LORD!! *What a word till today I remember it it has been my help to serve God in dry times*

PAS JOSEPH

got Angela & Me married in 1988 at Goa, he has been a fatherly figure to us NEVER EXPECTED ANYTHING HE SERVED PEOPLE

HE GAVE HIMSELF FOR HIS MASTER ♥️

REALLY MISS HIM NOW THAT HE HAS GONE

HE VISITED MYSORE SOME 27 years ago

he asked me about Jyothy (now Phliph's wife)for his son Phliph

she was a Member of the church

He really knew she would be a good life partner for Phliph

precious man will really miss him♥️🥲🥲🥲

with Love and prayer for the family

Joel

Angela

Jonathan & Joanne

Mysore

I worked with new life fellowship in 1972 in the outreach area distributing gospel packets and tracks every Saturday. Pastor Joseph and family always loved me so much I remember the days I would spend my nights in their homes, their home was always open for prayer counselling and for hospitality. The last I spoke to pastor Joseph over the phone when I was visiting Esther Nazareth...

Pastor Joseph has been a great example of a person who walks with God.

His legacy is understood by the words of the people whose life he had impacted.

I found him to be very humble and down to earth whenever I got the opportunity to meet him.

My pastor, Pastor Rajan always used to say that Pastor Joseph is a living Bible and indeed I found him to be so.

Though he will be missed by many, Pastor Joseph's life story will continue to lift many from guttermost to the uttermost.

All glory to God our Father who raised such a humble man of God to be an example of what God can do whenever a person becomes available to Him.

- Venesh Vijayan K

New Life Church - Malayalam, Chandivali

Pastor Joseph came to share the Word of God in my marriage reception in Elphinstone, Mumbai. I am the daughter of Pastor John and Priscilla Gladstone. My parents and myself are really blessed by Pastor Joseph life. Thank you Dear Uncle and Aunty. We will always miss you. You are in our hearts and minds. Praying peace, comfort and strength for Sister Naomi, Sister Esther, Aunty and Brother Philip.

Love and blessings and hugs 💞🤗, Yori and Pastor Jai Babu Mallipudi.

Pastor Joseph when he came to Delhi in 2013 or 2014, I remember he was there and we were having a lot of meeting at Pastor Victor and Esther's house, the kind of wisdom he was passing on to us is we can never forget. It was all about Jesus and the lost souls. The day he was leaving for Mumbai I had visited Pastor Victor's house in the morning as I had a Sunday school meeting with Pastor Esther. Pastor Joseph saw me and said Avinash Come to the car as they were leaving. Pastor Victor was sitting in the front and Pastor Joseph sat in the back seat, I sat in the passenger seat and for 20-25 minutes he talked to me about Jesus his plans for me, about how to have passion for God, and have compassion for people. I was in awe as this amazing man God is not worried about missing his flight and with passion imparting all he has to me who had just joined the ministry. I will never forget what he did for me and today I do the same for people I meet and God has trusted to me. I am thankful to God and Pastor Joseph for this.

For a traveler in a desert a glimpse of a faraway tree becomes an inspiration to get there. My acquaintance with Pastor Joseph has been similar. He has challenged me to reach beyond my reach. One day when heaven rewards all His faithful ones definitely Pr Joseph will be in the forefront as he was in the mission field while on earth. Peace and blessings on his family. May the legacy move on.....

I met him first time in 1994, I went to the NLF office, Pastor Joseph was in a Pastors conference, he was very busy but when he saw me, he came to me, very humbly he introduced himself to me and made me feel comfortable.

I can never forget his smiling face and his way of talking to a newcomer.

His humbleness is an unforgettable memory. His testimony and all his teachings are very much encouraging and helpful to our lives as well as in ministry. I also thank GuruG, on Zoom, we could see and hear Pastor Joseph. It is a great blessing to know him