Why I am an Advent Christian
Feature by Rev. Johnson Raju
I was born and brought up in a Lutheran Christian family in southern region of India. At the age of 17, I accepted Christ as my personal Savior at an interdenominational Evangelical Students Conference. Accepting the call, I dedicated my life to become a cross-cultural missionary to Northern India. However, God in his own wisdom a had different plan for me.
The new doctrines fueled my quest
My journey with the Advent Christian denomination started during my Bible college days through my collegemate Rev. Samuel Thirumeni, a pastor from Blessed Hope (AC) Conference. I was introduced to missionary Mrs. Beryl Joy (Hollis) Ching. Two factors of the American Advent Mission, namely church-planting and the teaching of Advent Christianity, drew me closer to AAM.
The new doctrines fueled my quest on eschatology. The missionary trios, Ms. Marion Damon, Ms. Barbara White and Mrs. Beryl Joy (Hollis) Ching nurtured me in The Declaration of Principles of the Advent Christian Church. Eventually, I joined the Advent Christian Church during my final year of Bible college in 1986.
Church planting in Senthil Nagar
Later in 1987, I joined the Blessed Hope Conference Ministry team as a church planter in Senthil Nagar, and was involved in four different church plants in Chennai city until 1994. Beside church planting, missionaries trained me in denominational children’s ministry, and gave me the privilege of serving in the Advent Christian Hymnal Editorial committee. The missionaries and my senior pastors were very accommodative that I never felt myself as a newcomer to Advent Christian faith.
Migrating the the USA and still planting
The next segment of our lives and ministry started in May 1994 with migrating to the USA with our two sons. Our daughter was born in the United States. The Lord was faithful to the call and the purpose he had for our life. My thirst for Indian souls was still growing, so I contacted ACGC after our migration to see if there was a church planting opportunity. Rev. Harold Patterson readily introduced me to Appalachian Advent Christian Region for a potential church plant.
The Appalachian Region paved the way for us to successfully plant the present Asian Indian Christian Church in the greater Washington D.C. area 25 years ago. Due to the unique nature of the ministry, I had the privilege of working closely with leaders from ACGC, the Appalachian Region and Virginia conference.
Proud to be an Advent Christian
We were able to overcome the challenges of being a reverse missionary by the abled guidance of the gifted and kind leaders of that time, Rev. Glennon Balser and Rev. Dave Ross from ACGC, the regional president Rev. Jim Lee, and Rev. George Polhill and others. Former regional superintendent Rev. Marshall Tidwell along with his wife Mrs. Judy Tidwell stood by us for many years in our ministry. According to Ecclesiastes 3:11, he has made everything beautiful in its time.
As a closing thought, I would like to state that I am grateful to the Lord for the 36 years of journey with denominational leaders and laity from Chennai to Washington D.C., and I am proud to be a follower of Christ as an Advent Christian.
Johnson has been serving as the pastor at Asian Indian (Advent) Christian Church in Silver Spring, MD since 1996. He and his wife Selva have 2 songs, Sam (30, married), Jason (27) and a daughter Jennifer (19). They migrated from India in 1994. Johnson was ordained by Blessed Hope Conference in India in 1988. It has been his desire to serve the Lord beyond his local church as the Lord provides him opportunities. Johnson now serves as member-at-large on the Executive Council.
“Why I am an Advent Christian,” The Advent Christian Witness, Fall 2021.