Life and Ministry
The Rev. Dr. Samuel Devadason was born on April 7, 1938 in Tuticorin in a Christian family. He went to be with the Lord owing to a massive heart attack on January 4, 2004 in India Graduate School of Missiology campus, 50 Red Hills Road, Ikkadu Kandigai, Tiruvallur 602 021. His father was a converted Christian. His mother was the aunt of the first Indian Bishop of the CSI Diocese of Tirunelveli, the Rt. Rev. A.G. Jebaraj.
He was married to Rachel Samathanam in 1970. Mrs.Rachel Devadason stood with him as a godly wife in ministry all through her life serving in many parts of India. She served as a faculty member in YCLT from 1987 to 1997 when her dementia became acute. Unfortunately Alzheimer’s affected her for almost four years and during the final six months she was bedridden. She passed away on June 3, 2002.
Dr. Devadason, his daughter Ruth, and son-in-law the Rev. Jena ministered to her in ways beyond comparison. Sam leaves behind his daughter and son –in-law who is a faculty member in YCLT. Ruth serves there as a school teacher.
January 4, 2004.
At 1:45 p.m. he himself packed my lunch and came to me and prayed for travel mercies and sent me off to Yavatmal. Then he had lunch with Mr. Titus Livingston, the Registrar. He went to the tap for washing his hands. He came back to the dining room and collapsed on the floor without any warning.
The Registrar rushed him to the nearby hospital and the doctor pronounced that he had passed away. The funeral service took place on January 5 and the prayer meeting was held the next day. His body was laid to rest in the CSI cemetery at Ikkadu.
Academic Life
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Madras. Then he worked for the public works department in government of Tamil Nadu for one year. He could not develop a liking for the job owing to the corruption in high offices. He left the same and went for teacher training and earned his B.Ed. degree. The worked as a high school teacher for one year in Kovilpatti and later worked in Caldwell Higher Secondary School in Tuticorin. Sensing the call for fulltime Christian ministry, he went for ministerial training in Union Biblical Seminary, Yeotmal in 1970 and graduated with a B.D. degree in 1973. He did his Doctor of Missiology, 1976-1978 in Fuller theological Seminary, School of World Mission, Pasadena California.
People who influenced his life:
First one was Mr. P. Samuel, a powerful preacher who served as an Evangelist at large in South India Biblical Seminary, challenged many young people for missionary work. Mr. P. Samuel had a dynamic influence on Sam and this made him leave his secondary high school teaching and commit his life for missionary service.
Secondly, Dr. Donald Mc Gavran his mentor in Fuller seminary influenced him very much. McGavaran was a missiologist who had earlier served as a missionary in India. Devadason felt that a systematic and scientific study of missionary work – the discipline called missiology – is the hour for effective church planting in India. He committed his life for this great task.
Thirdly, while at Fuller he came in contact with the Rev. Dr. Walter Hannum founder director of Episcopal Church Missionary Community. He had earlier served as a missionary in Alaska. He gave him specific ideas of how to train missionaries and missiologists. The simplicity of Walter and his wife Louise had touched Samuel Devadason very much.
Contributions of his life:
- Dr. S. Devadason was present along with a group of about thirty people in February, 1959 at Kovilpatti when Mr. P.Samuel founded Friends Prayer Band. Devadason was a college student at that time.
- During his high school teaching career, he took active part in the ministry of many evangelical agencies, like Youth for Christ, Union of Evangelical Students of India, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Scripture Union and Vacation Bible School etc. He ministered to high school students and was very active in the ministry of the church. He was committed to develop and transform others. Helping them to reach their maximum potential was his goal. He developed many students while helping them in their spiritual walk with the Lord.
- During the year spent in Kovilpatti, he ministered to many (according to the Rev. Prabaharan 12o) One is Pastor Prabaharan in Tuticorin another is Pastor Jeyaseelan ministering in a church in Delhi. The third one was a Hindu student to whom he shared the gospel and got him baptized in Bethel Agricultural Fellowship, Danishpet giving the Christian name John Kirubaharan. Dr. Devadason founded Evangelical Literature Centre in Tuticorin and appointed Mr. John Kirubaharan as the Manager. Then he helped him to complete a diploma in typing and got him appointed in FMPB.
- Similarly during his days in Caldwell High School, he identified the potential of several students who are in ministry now, Pastor Thomas and Pastor Vincent in the AG churches. Another is working in Vishwavani. One student is an IAS officer serving as district collector in Kerala.
- Many young men and women could not go for ministerial training since they do not have the needed finance. Dr.S.Devadason founded Helping Theological Students scheme (HTS Scheme) in 1973. Several candidates were sponsored through this.
- Later in 1982 this became Indian Evangelical Education Trust. Dr. Devadason trained may staff members in FMPB through IEET. He also helped many missionary children with scholarship fund. And outstanding pastor sponsored by IEET is the Rev. Frederic Sathia Samuel of the Diocese of Tirunelveli.
- In 1984 he was the prime mover in founding the Yavatmal College for Leadership Training. This is a college, which trains missionaries at the middle level.
- Around this time he and some others founded Navajeeva Seva Mandal (NSM), which is an Organisation running Home for the children of converts. He served as the first general secretary of NSM.
- In 1994 he founded the Indian Institute for Intercultural Studies along with some others. Again he was the prime mover. This is the university with which YCLT, the graduate school and several other institutions are affiliated to.
- In October 1999 he and several Church / Mission leaders founded the Gospel Partners Movement. This is a grassroots level church planting missionary society.
- In December 1999 he founded India Graduate School of Missiology. This is a college which trains senior missionaries, faculty members, mission leaders, and pastors in charge of missionary work with graduate studies in missiology.
His Ministry
After graduation with a B.D. degree in 1973 he joined FMPB and was in charge of the missionary training center at Tuticorin. Training missionaries became his heartbeat.
After his graduation from Fuller with the Doctor of Missiology, her returned back to India and continued his ministry with FMPB and moved to Bethel Bible Institute, Danishpet and served there in the capacity of the Dean. All these years his vision for the mission field and for training the missionaries grew deeper. He was faithful in training the missionaries and infused zeal in them for the unreached people groups. A passion for the unreached had overtaken him.
In 1981 he left Bethel Bible Institute and moved to north India to assist the Field Director Dr. Ebe Sunder Raj. In 1984 he was ordained as a presbyter by the Rt. Rev. Bagh, Bishop of the Diocese of Patna, Church of North India. As an ordained person he ministered very effectively.
From 1981 to 1999 for eighteen long years he worked hard in north India for the Lord through FMPB. He has traveled the length and breadth of India several times in buses and in trains by ordinary sleeper class. He has spent sleepless nights.
He had established new mission fields, guiding and training missionaries in various strategic ways for the task of fulfilling the mandate of the Great Commission.
He had served in the administration as Field Director and later as Associate General Secretary for field ministries till 1999. He had written several articles and had contributed papers in seminars, consultations, and symposiums as a resource person.
From 1987 to 2001 he stayed in YCLT campus. But he was in the mission field always. Through his visits to the mission fields, his academic background, ability to think and analyze situations he became indispensable. He gave technical advice to the missionaries in terms of planting churches and strategic direction to FMPB in terms of field ministry. He was also training missionaries. Thus he became a missiologist. He became well known in many circles.
At YCLT he was teaching missiology subjects and helped the administration to launch the extension programme. He stood for hours while teaching. Everyone enjoyed his teaching. He preached dynamic messages with apt illustrations from the field, his own ministry, and from church and mission history. Many were blessed when he preached in different contexts. He served in the administrative council. He was guiding the director in the area of faculty development including field placement during November/ December for two weeks. He was always encouraging the faculty to go to the mission fields and helped them in their preaching and teaching skills.
He had great ideas concerning campus development. His skill in the construction of the buildings became an asset. He guided the administration in the development of the campus. Finalizing the master plan or designing a building before it could go to the engineer’s drawing board or where a park could be planned was all in his mind. He helped the director in all such areas too. Apart from this he spent a lot of time in Prayer. He was a founding member of YCLT and therefore he was in the board representing Indian Evangelical Education Trust. There also he was giving suggestions for the growth of YCLT including financial management.
In 1992 IMA had organized a national consultation on training for evangelism. Papers were presented on missionary training. There was a move for founding a university. Following this we met as a continuation committee under the leadership of Dr. Ebe Sunder Raj, General Secretary of IMA. Devadason was gibing salient suggestions about the curricula in these meetings. Then in 1994 while he was serving as the Field Director of FMPB based at Nagpur next door to his office he hired a building for the day and arranged for a meeting. This was during September 1994 and thus Indian Institute for Intercultural Studies was born.
He was one of the key persons in formulating the curriculum for the various courses in Indian Institute for Intercultural studies. He served in the board and in the academic Council. His heart was for training the missionaries and missiologists and he felt that Indian Institute for Intercultural Studies was the strategic agency to carry forward this vision.
Health crisis in the family.
Mrs. Rachel Devadasan was faculty member in YCLT. She was hale and healthy. Slowly she began to lose her memory. In 1988 Dr. Devadason and the whole family took her to CMC Hospital in Vellore. After a series of tests doctors said that she is affected by dementia. Slowly deterioration set in and it ended up in Alzheimer’s. It was very difficult to take care of her. She even forgot as to how to eat or care for herself. During the last six months before her death, she was bedridden and was under nasal feeding. Finally she went to be with the Lord in June 2002. Dr. Devadason took such a good care of his wife, which became a model for many people on campus and in Yavatmal. This indeed was a strain on him and in one sense a crisis in his life.
His Health crisis.
His own health was not good. He had his heart attack in 1988. He developed pain and went through a bypass surgery in 1992 at Christian Medical College, Vellore. Unfortunately this failed and he developed pain again within a short time. Even with that he was sincerely going to the mission fields. In 1996 the pain became unbearable and he went through a second bypass surgery in Lesington, Kentucky. There was an emergency but God gave him a new lease of life and he returned back with new vigor and continued the ministry in full steam.
Even with this he took care of his wife’s health very sincerely and faithfully. Similarly his field visits were never let down.
Crisis in his ministry
Opposition to the gospel in the mission fields was increasing. The national scene of tolerance for the gospel preaching and freedom of choice for the individual was slowly disappearing. Religious fundamentalism was on the rise. Pipalwada field in Gujarat saw the worst of it in 1997 December. Graham Stains was martyred in Orissa in January 1999. Dr. Devadason saw that the solution lies in indigenization of the churches that has been planted. This had become his heartbeat.
Time for Indigenization
Almost twenty-five years had passed since the churches were fist established in many of the mission fields. Native missionaries need to be ordained and responsibilities at all levels to be delegated. This would help the converts to have an identity. They would be able to withstand persecution and would feel the responsibility of sharing the Gospel to others. The converts were ready for this transition in a phased out manner. Cross- cultural missionaries would move on to new areas for further church planting with new target and time frame. This would also decentralize powers and responsibilities to the suvartiks from the national office and the field office. This prophetic call was not acceptable to other missionary leaders.
His ministry since 1999
On October 3, 1999 several church and mission leaders joined together and founded the Gospel Partners Movement in Madurai. Dr. S. Devadason also was one among them. His heart beat for the converts and formation of indigenous church were prime reasons for identifying himself with this new movement. He served first as the Executive Secretary and later as the General Secretary of GPM.
The Gospel Partners Movement.
The Gospel Partners Movement is a missionary society and has many mission fields in Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. There are about 100 missionaries including native missionaries. In three places they have Homes for the children of the converts. In three mission fields, good church buildings have been built and in six fields thatched roof church buildings have been built. But in many fields, there are no church buildings at all. Converts number about fifteen thousand in all these fields. Even during his last month on the earth, Devadason was working for the indigenization of the churches. On December 15th , 2003 he had gone to Gujarat along with the committee members and has met the Bishop of the Diocese of Gujarat.
Founding of India Graduate School of Missiology.
Yeotmal College for Leadership Training had organized “Into the third millennium, expanding the horizons: A consultation in missionary training,” during December 1999. Several church and mission leaders had participated in the same. Papers were presented on the three levels of missionary training. In a brainstorming session with top level leaders the need for missiological training at the graduate level was discussed and India Graduate School of Missiology was founded. Indian Evangelical Education Trust took up the administration. Again Dr. S. Devadason was the prime mover and he became the Founder Director of the graduate school.
The courses in the graduate school are Post Graduate Diploma in Missiology, Master of Missiology, M.Th. in Missiology and Ph.D. in Missiology. These are meant for senior missionaries, faculty members, and mission leaders in charge of missionary work.
The campus of India Graduate School of Missiology is located in a six acre property along with a farmhouse in Ikkadu Kandigai five kilometers from Tiruvallur a suburb of Madras. Devadason has renovated the farmhouse and has constructed two buildings each with 1500 sq. feet. There are a chapel 70’ by 30’ which is being built by contributions and support by Indian missions, individual friends, and family members. Some work is yet to be completed.
He had conducted the courses for the program, Master of Missionlogy twice in 2003 in the graduate school campus and earlier in YCLT campus. Nine mission leaders graduated with the degree of Master of Missiology. The first graduation service was conducted on October 27, 2003. Two of them belong to Blessing Youth Mission, four are from UCLT (three faculty members and one school teacher), another was a faculty member from Orissa Follow Up, one works for Seva Bharat, and another is a leader of an indigenous mission, Gospel India Ministries. Eleven other students are doing Master of Missiology course at present.
His life – an example
Dr. S.Devadason was a humble man, a great leader, a missiologist with a difference, a good teacher, and a powerful preacher well respected by many of his colleagues and students. Many of the Bishops in CSI and CNI know him personally. Similarly many pastors, prayer group leaders and mission leaders were close to him. His vision was very big and his commitment was too strong. He always talked about unreached people groups. He leaves behind a vacuum in the graduate school (India Graduate School of Missiology) where he served as the director and Gospel Partners Movement where he served as the general secretary.
His incarnation life style
His incarnation life style was a model for everyone. He traveled in second class train and buses. He never expected people to wait for him with a car nor wanted big welcome events from the field. He neither owned a piece of property nor had back balance. He lived by what he preached.
He always had a positive attitude when it came to people, administration, and mission fields. He never gave up on them. He always repeated that God would intervene and when he intervenes man cannot say any excuses for his sins of omission and commission.
May his life and contribution, stair up many people of God to follow his footsteps that India may be won for Christ.