“…thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts…” Zechariah 1:16
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6
One of Bakht Singh’s favourite sayings was that our God is not only a prayer-hearing but also a prayer-answering God. Soon after the night of prayer on Pallavaram hill in Madras, the Lord led them to a larger place in answer to their prayers. Therfore they could say with the psalmist, “I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.” Psalm 118:5
While they had been praying and looking for a large facility, Bakht Singh remembered a vision he had had some time earlier when he was at Coonoor. In that vision he saw a house and grounds large enough for their needs. So they began to look around for such a facility. Then Captain Manohar found an old building about to be vacated, because it was badly in need of repair and the owner refused to do anything about it. Manohar knew the owner personally because they used to play cricket together. At first, the building and the compound seemed too large for their present need, but the Lord impressed upon them that He had prepared this place and that they were to take it.
They approached the owner, Mr. Isphahani, who was a Muslim. They told him that they wanted to rent the house and compound for the work of God. Bakht Singh showed him the 1 Chronicles 29:1, which the Lord had given him that very morning in his quite time. “The places is not for man, but for the LORD God.” Mr. Ishpahani was very impressed and said that he would not only rent it to them but have all the repairs made according to their specifications. He then took them in his car to inspect the property and told them that he would do any repair they wished and would even construct a water tank at his own expense to be used for baptisms. Moreover, they could occupy the property immediately, and it would be rent free until the repairs were completed. As they were leaving, he knelt with them in prayers and accepted an Urdu Bible as a gift.
They agreed to pay two months rent in advance as was customary in those days, even through they had no money. But soon after they agreed to take the house, the Lord miraculously set His seal of approval on it by sending them a gift of 300 Rupees. They moved in on July, 1941, only about three weeks after coming down from Coonoor, believing that the Lord had begun a ‘NEW THING’ (Isa 43:19) which was going to touch the whole of India and beyond. They named the building “Jehovah-Shammah”, which means “The LORD is there”. They named the building , not the people. (In the Old Testament, the practice of giving names to places for specific reasons was quite common. See the example, Genesis 22:14 and 28:19)
Among the many names given to God’s people in the Bible, one is “God building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9) Bakht Singh and his co-workers knew that they could not build “God’s building” on human plans. God’s work must be done in God’s way at any cost, only then will be four-fold purpose of the church mentioned in Ephensians be realized: only then will His fullness, unity, wisdom and glory be revealed through His Church. With this in mind, they committed their lives to the Lord as they began to serve Him through the facility at ‘Jehovah Shammah’.
Concerning the vision of the work, Bakht Singh stated this in his own words:
“That’s which would now develop should not be another exclusive body or sect of Christian people, another denomination. It was to be an expression of the heavenly and universal Church in its unity and calling. The first thing to be avoided, then, was a distinguish name. We knew people to name ourselves. Who are you? Where do you belong? What do you call yourselves? You must have a name! All this would come at us from every side.
We had seen that the Church of Jesus Christ is already one, ‘One new man’ “For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall pf partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.’ (Eph 2:14,15) It does not have to be united. All believers are already united in the ‘one body’. When regenerated by the Holy Spirit they are at the same time ‘baptized by one Spirit into one Body’ “For as the body is one, and the hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are all we baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond of free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:12,13) It is the expression of this unity that sectarianism and denominationalism has so much damaged and marred. Then we must be satisfied to be called Christian and not add other name[s] whether human, doctrinal or ethnological. Any name other than or additional to ‘Christian’ would distinguish us from other Christian and lead to our becoming another sect. Therefore we name the building only, and would be known as believers or Christians, the one who met for worship at ‘Jehovah-Shammah’, or at No.19, Ritherdon Road, Madras. The Church is one body, and all believers throughout the world and throughout the ages belong to us and we belong to them. This, the Scripture plainly teach us. It is our responsibility and privilege to express this, if we are not to be “disobedient” unto the heavenly vision.” (Act 26:19)
The Lord helped Bakht Singh to understand from the Word of God that the purpose of the church is to show forth His fullness. (Eph 1:23) Therefore he emphasized the importance of the Body Life whenever possible by believers living together and working together under the Headship of Christ in unity and oneness. When they moved into the facility at ‘Jehovah-Shammah’ there were about fifteen of them, both national and foreign. Among the nationals were believers from various backgrounds, colour, caste, class and language. Humanly speaking it is extremely difficult to bring about true oneness and unity in a multi-cultural community. Only through the Holy Spirit can that oneness and unity be achieved, for spiritual unity is the work of the Holy Spirit. (Eph 4:3) Bakht Singh also emphasized from the Word of God that every believer, regardless of his background, however insignificant or influential in society, is equally precious, equally important and equally necessary to the body of the believers.
Activities at Jehovah Shammah were prayerfully designed to mature believers in Christ and to show forth the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ by breaking down man-made barriers and building relationships through the love of Christ in the light of the Word of God. Strict discipline was maintained among those who lived at Jehovah-Shammah. Sam Chacko or Kerala, who was converted to Christ through the ministry of Bakht Singh in Madras in 1940, and joined Bakht Singh tried writer about an incident that explains how Bakht Singh for the ministry from the beginning of the work, told this writer about an incident that explains how Bakht Singh tried to maintain discipline among his trainees. One day someone invited Bakht Singh and the housemates of Jehovah-Shammah for a birthday party. Before going to the party, Bakht Singh asked Sam Chacko to stay back at Jehovah-Shammah, to keep watch while other went out. Sam Chacko, who had not had any food and was hungry, tried to sneak into the without the knowledge of Bakht Singh to have some food and to get right back to Jehovah –Shammah. But Bakht Singh, whose sharp eyes never missed anything, noticed Chacko coming to the party without permission, Bakht Singh asked him, why he was not at his post at Jehovah-Shammah and slapped him in front of all and ordered him back to Jehovah- Shammah for his duty as a watchman. Chacko returned, hungry and sad, After the party was over, Bakht Singh treated Chacko with food which he himself brought from the party. Bakht Singh was loving, caring and at the same time strict disciplinary. Chacko was a loyal and hardworking co-worker of Bakht Singh, who served the Lord should be trained and equipped through the House of God and were sent out for ministry from the House of God, as we seen in Acts 13:2,3: “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
Disciples are not born, they are made. They are made through training in the House of God. In order to facilitate the training and equip and mature believers, a typical day at Jehovah Shammah began with individual quiet time with the Word and with the Lord. Bakht Singh practised having quite time. He began his day at 4.am., by reading the Bible upon his knees and waiting upon the Lord for hours. He emphasized the importance of all believers having their morning quite time with their Word and with the Lord. Quite time was followed by daily activites from 5 am to 10 pm. At 5 am in the morningtehy met for family prayer, followed by breakfast. They gathered for Bible study from 7.30 till 9 am, followed by open air meetings for those who could attend. Others would spend time working in the kitchen or in the hall, or wherever work was needed to be done, They were taught the dignity of labour, and everyone was encouraged to take their share in sweeping and cleaning from toilets to the worship hall. Then in the afternoon, after lunch, a period of prayer was followed by Bible study. The evening meetings were from 6.30 to 9, followed by open – air preaching. Every other Saturday, the people fasted and prayed, and had all – night prayer. Mondays were set aside for general cleaning and personal work.
One of the unique aspects of the assemblies connected with Bakht Singh’s ministry was that every workship hall or facility and compounds displayed Scriptures both inside and outside. After they moved into Jehovah-Shammah, the large compound wall, both inside and out were painted with appropriate verses of Scripture in large letters in different colours. Similarly, the walls of buildings, meeting halls, and even the toilet facilities in everyplace were decorated with Scriptures for all to see and read. It was like an open Bible. When walking into the compound or the halls, one was struck by the Scriptures which declared the Presence and the Glory of God. It was a living testimony to both believers and non-believers; even the postman could easily identify these Assemblies by the Scripture verses displayed prominently.
People continued coming to Jehovah-Shammah in increasing numbers, even though no publicity was used to draw people. They had a constant stream to visitors coming at all hours of the day and night bringing their Bibles, eager for spiritual fellowship over the Word of God. They kept the doors of Jehovah-Shamah open at all times. There was a big banner outside the compound saying, “All are welcome”. They sat together prayerfully together; God’s eternal plan and purpose became more and clearer to them. They fully realized that they must obey the word of God implicitly, fully determined to repudiate everything that proved to be a hindrance, whether it be tradition, method, doctrine, custom or anything else that would not stand the test of the plain Word of God. When there was conflict between tradition and the Word of God, they obeyed the Word of God.
A few months after they moved into Jehovah Shammah, a group of pastors from various denominations came to see Bakht Singh and his co-workers. Bakht Singh welcomed them graciously. They told him that they came to ask whey he was baptizing since he was not ordained to do so, and moreover, why he had now started another church in Madras. After a word of prayer Bakht Singh said to them, “Let us consider the matter in the light of the Scripture.” Unfortunately, none of the pastors had brought a Bible with him! He said to them, “How can we discuss this important Biblical matter unless we look at the Bible together?” He told the embarrassed pastors that they should go home and study the New Testament passages about baptism and then they should come back with their Bibles for further discussion. “Let the Word of God be our guide,” he said. They promised to come back but they never did, nor did they ask for any further meetings with him.
Another unique aspect of Bakht Singh’s ministry at Jehovah-Shammah was the corporate / community living and on-the-job training to believers as mentioned earlier. Jehovah Shammah was not a church. It was a place they used for the gathering of the local church, and for the boarding and training of believers as they worshipped and glorified the Lord. Even as an itinerant preacher, Bakht Singh traveled around with his co-workers. They lived together, prayed together and learned from each other. As mentioned earlier, about fifteen of them mostly full-time workers, both nationals and foreigners, moved into Jehovah-Shammah. There they lived together as a heavenly family in unity. They cared for each other and esteemed the other as being better than themselves. They are bound by Christ’s ‘agape” love always caring for the needs of the others. For example, in the early days, there wre times when there was not enough food to eat. One night after the op[en-air meeting, some of the young men came home hungry and went into the kitchen looking for food, but there was only one bowl of rice. Seeing that, one said that others might bemore hungry one came in, and after seeing the bowl of rice said the same thing. Finally, no-one ate the fold and the rice remained in the bowl. This clearly shows how they cared for each other’s welfare. This was indeed Christ-like love. Nationals did not expect any hand-out from the missionaries; both nationals and missionaries share what they had. “And all that believed were together, and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:44)
Brother Lesley Carter and his wife (British Missionaries) joined Bakht Singh in 1943. After leaving the Mission, they trusted the Lord for their needs just like the nationals at Jehovah-Shammah. One Sunday, they put what little money they had in the offering box. A few hours later, following the love-feast, an Indian brother gave Brother Carter an envelope. After they arrived home, to their surprise, they discovered that the Lord had provided for the needs of the Carters through a national brother. This was one of the hallmarks of believers in the Assemblies. While in most denominations, national looked to the missionaries for their needs, here in the Assemblies they looked to the Lord and shared what they had with other nationals or missionaries. What an example to follow!
Christ’s love and life permeated their lives. Both non-Christians and nominal Christians who came out of curiosity or with critical minds were greatly touched and influenced, and other became believers by seeing the life-style of these early believers at Jehovah-Shammah. In this respect they truly fulfilled John 13:34,35: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
Special provision was made for the women and girls who were recently converted and had been compelled to leave their homes, and to train sisters who came out for fulltime service for the Lord. In 1942, they rented a house specially for woken, and named it Hephzibah for Isaiah 62:4. Miss Violet M. Green and Miss Grace Stalley of England helped these sisters, and instructed them in the way of the lord, to train them for the ministry, including house-to-house visiting in the neighbourhood. At time, they also joined the brothers for the open-air meetings. One feature of the work among the sisters was retreats for Bible study during the times of public holiday. The Lord also used these sisters from England to provide the necessary help both in ‘Jehovah-Shammah’ and in Hephzibah. Later on these brother and sisters would join together for a gospel outreach in different places, which gave them on-the-job training in witnessing for Christ.
The women who stayed in Hephzibah included young women from Hindu, Muslim and nominal Christian back-grounds who had come to know the Lord through the ministry at Jehovah-Shamman. Mrs. Jordan Khan (Esther and Mrs. Martin (Ruth), for example were Muslin run-away girls who came to know the Lord while living at Hephzibah and seeing Christ-like love among the others.
Practice and Order:
As soon as the believers began to meet regularly together, a number of practical matters arose such as maintenance of the work and provision for its progress among them. There was the rent to pay, Rs. 145.00 monthly, for Jehovah-Shammah. At that time they thought this was quite a large amount, but this was only one of the recurring items of expense each month. They trusted the Lord who gave them the promise in Haggai 2:8: “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine.” They were thus assured that the Lord Himself intended to be responsible for them financially and would see to it that all their needs were supplied.
They resolved that they would be content with whatever He gave, and would never give any indication of any need they might have. They would make no appeals and take to subscriptions. They believed that there would be no shortage if they were faithful: God would take responsibility for these kinds of things if this was indeed His work. He would supply all they needed to do His will, without any kind of ‘Strategy’ on their part. They concluded from the Word of God that believers who gathered for worship should have opportunity to give if they wished, but they stressed the point that if any were not yet born again they should not put anything in the offering box as it was meant to be an act of worship. The Lord honoured their faith and provided for them according to the promises given in His Word financial matters, from the very beginning till the present time.
The following is an example of how the Lord met their needs without their making any appeal for funds.
On one occasion, they were in need of money to pay bills. Meanwhile a sister who was working on a ship going from Madras to Singapore was caught in a big storm at sea. She vowed that if the Lord would bring her back safely to Madras from Singapore, she would sell all her jewelry and give the proceeds to the Lord’s work. On her way back from Singapore, the Lord reminded her give the money to Bakht Singh, but she did not know where he was at that time. After her safe arrival in Madras, she found out where Bakht Singh was staying and went to give him an envelope with the money in it. And before leaving, she asked for prayer. After she left, Bakht Singh discovered that the envelope contained a gift of Rs. 1500, a large amount at that time. This was not an isolated case in the life and ministry of Bakht Singh.
The Lord also showed Bakht Singh and his co-workers at Jehovah-Shammah that they were not to make any attempt to draw people to the meetings. They were to use no kind of advertising or publicity whatsoever. They would just make a few brief announcements during the service. Yet they found people coming to them continually, hungry for fellowship, not only from Madras itself, but from places all over India, as well as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other countries. The Lord had indicated clearly that His House was to be kept open for hospitality at all time, as they saw from Isaiah 56:7,8. “ Even them will I bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all the people. The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel Saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.”
It was a real joy for them to welcome all who came. For them, hospitality was not an option, but a command. They practised Biblical where saints and strangers were refreshed by the loving services rendered in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes they only had “rasam” (pepper-water) to go with rice, but people used to say that they enjoyed it more than the chicken curry they prepared at home! There may have been some who came to Jehovah Shammah just to taste the “rasam”!
Another question which arose at the beginning was an acceptable order of service which they should follow, This, they concluded, must be left the Spirit of God, in order that He might express the sovereignty of Christ in and over the Church, His body. If divine life was present and the Lord was in control, He would express Himself spontaneously. They must therefore not get into fixed forms for any meeting. There was no fixed order of service – only the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Bakht Singh and the saints took Sunday very seriously. They honoured the Lord with their time, talents and treasures through their worship and witness throughout the Lord’s day. Every Sunday morning, Bakht Singh and the other responsible brethren met together in prayer seeking the Lord’s plan for the day, because they felt that the practice of pre-arranged ministry was not for them to follow except on special occasions when they would have special speakers. From the beginning, the Lord led them to recognize their mutual responsibility towards Him and towards His people in that should all be exercised about the message. God might not want to speak through any one of them. They were against both a ‘one man’ and ‘any man’ ministry. In every assembly there was to be more than one person able to minister something from the Word of God. Therefore. Their practice was for those responsible to meet together for prayer before every meeting, and then to enquire of each other who had the word from the Lord. Sometimes it was one, sometimes there would be two or more. They recognized the previlage of giving place to one another so that no-one should expect to be the preacher on every occasion. They faithfully followed this simple principle for Sunday and weekly meetings, as well as during the Holy Convocations.
Open Table for all believers on the Lord’s day:
The church’s practice from the day of Pentacost (ACTS 2:42), was meeting together for the “breaking of bread.” There were a few occasions when Bakht Singh and fellow believers had met around the Lord’s table before they occupied Jehovah Shammah, but there had been nothing regular at that time. Again, they saw that communion service must be expressive of the church as one body. Although there would be the local churches, these would only be true to the universality church of Jesus Christ if sectarianism was avoided and universality was clearly expressed. They were convinced that they must welcome all true children of God to partake with them at His Table without reference to, or acknowledge of, any caste or colour, nationality or sectarian label they might have. If they were born of God, then they were in the same family and should be welcomed equally. It has therefore been their practice from the beginning to welcome all, while at the same time to carefully and faithfully warn all against eating the Bread and drinking the Cup unworthily.
At 9.am on the Lord’s day, believers met for worship in the main hall of the house, often overflowing to the verandas and side rooms as the Lord added to their number. One of the brethren would open the service with prayers followed by songs of praise and worship. Most of these songs were composed by Indians set to Indian melody. Psalms were made into beautiful songs of worship, set to Indian tunes and in local languages. One of the brethren would then give a brief exhortation from the Bible to prepare the hearts of the people to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Then, for an hour or so, time was given for spontaneous worship, during which time any brother or sister, constrained by the Spirit, was free to worship the Lord in his own language with no petitions but only expressing praise and adoration to the Lord. During this time, believers could also express their worship through songs, reading of appropriate Scripture verses, or words of praise and adoration. The Lord’s Table was always placed in the middle of the hall to show that every believers has equal access to the Lord, and to express the centrality of Christ in the midst of His people. Solemn warnings were given to discorage those who were not born-again from taking part to the Lord’s Table and believers were urged to guard their relationship with the Lord and with others.
R.R.Rajamani recalled an incident in his own life at the time of the Lord’s table: “I remember on one occasion I arrived early and sat down near the table with [ab]unusually strong desire to take part. Abrother named Devadas, who worked in the High Court, was speaking from Mattew 5:23 and 24: “if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave they gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Suddenly, I remembered that I had offended a certain brother be declining an invitation to a meal at his house. I asked God’s forgiveness. “Lord,” I promised, I will unfailingly put that right afterward.” But then Devadas said it again, “First be reconciled: then offer your gift!” I jumped up. It was a very hot day in May and the man’s house was two furlongs away, but I left my place in the meetings and simply ran there, hoping toe return in time. “Are you offended with me brother?” I asked him on arrival. He agreed that he was, so I asked him forgiveness, then we knelt and prayed together. I ran back and arrived, to my joy, just in time for the breaking of bread.”
On another occasion a brother was present in the worship meeting around the Lord’s table and he remembered that the five rupees he had at home were not honestly gained. So he hurried back to the house and burned the five rupee note and only then did he feel to join in the fellowship of the Table. Those were the days when men were contrite in spirit and trembled at God’s Word. During the prolonged period of worship and breaking of bread, provision was made for the large numbers of children present to be instructed by devoted teachers in Sunday School.
After all had partaken at the Table, there would be intercessory prayer in some detail for the church around the world, which they saw symbolized in the bread that remained before them. One of the brethren, who was constrained by the Lord, would then teach from God’s Word to build up the believers. The Lord’s message was given with power and authority, as the leaders would have met for prayers at the start of the day to discover the Lord’s mouth-piece for that day. They were always thus kept in conscious dependence upon the Holy Spirit of God. At the conclusion of the service on Sundays, the people’s offering was taken as an act of public worship. Before the believers would bring their offerings was open to every believers who loves the Lord. Unbelievers present were consistently warned not to give, for the Lord first requires the heart and not the substance.
On one occasion, a well-to-do Hindu was in the congregation. When it was announced that unbelievers were not encouraged to bring any offering, he was put to shame because he used to think that these Christians were only out to get money from others. When he realized otherwise, he was convicted and became a believer in Christ. This was not an isolated case. From the beginning of the work, the Lord was in control of the finances.
Bakht Singh did not believe in any form of membership per se. Membership into the Body of Christ was by the new birth, not a formality of joining a local body of believers as is practised in denominational churches.
Bakht Singh did not require anyone to give any subscription or any dues; he never made any public appeal for money. Instead, the believers were taught to give generously as an act of public worship, based on Scripture. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly: and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purpseth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” 2 Cor.9:6,7. Thus believers were invited to come forward singing and put their offering in the box provided in the hall.
Following the Sunday morning service, which regularly ran from 9 am to 2 or 3 pm or longer as the Spirit led, all would sit down together for lunch, called a love feast. It was a special joy to spend the Lord’s day together in the house of the Lord, in the fellowship of His people. Many new converts from various backgrounds, Brahmins, high-cast, low-caste and out castes would sit down together to eat a communal meal preparted by His people I nJehovah- Shammah’s kitchen. Thus they overcame their former caste or social distinctions which had once separated them. The love feast helped greatly to breakdown the wall of caste or social separation which was a major problem even among Christians, especially at that time.
The serving of rice and sambar (a curry of lentils and vegetables) by a willing band of fellow-workers was carried out to the accompaniment of songs in which all joined. The food was served on leaves stitched together like a plate. After everyone was served, ‘grace’ (prayer) was offered before eating. After lunch, the young and active brothers and sisters, as well as many not so young, would go out in procession for open-air witness. Some of those they contacted, would be brought back for the gospel meeting in the evening. On some Sundays, the day would begin with baptisms before the sun became too hot for the open-air baptistry.
The time quickly arrived when there was not enough space for all who came in the main building of Jehovah Shammah. They were compelled then to erect a pandal(tent) of light construction to accommodate the gathering saints.
Music too, had its part to play as the believers sang to the accompaniment of a harmonium and tables,, tambourines and other instruments usually used in India. The halls echoed with the songs of the redeemed. Moses Dawn, who had served as Tamil interpreter for the campaign in 1983 and 1940 and had subsequently gone with Bakht Singh to Punjab, was much used, putting the messages into song. Soon they had some of the songs in Tamil set to Punjabi tunes that had long been sung in the North. With them came new and original Tamil and Telugu songs based on the Word of God.
At the first Holy Convocation which was held from 14th December, 1941 to 2nd January 1942, believers from various parts of the county and around the world came. The Joy of fellowship together in so many languages was wonderful. Many found new life, and the gospel began to spread ever more widely as the people returned to their near and distant homes.
Caring for the needy in the time of disaster:
During Easter of 1942, World War II was about to come to Madras. A Japanese invasion of India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) was then immanent. In April, the ports of Calcutta, Colombo and Trincomale came under air attack from carrier – based bombers. People panicked. Air – raid warnings were practised and complete blackouts were imposed. Almost all the city churches closed at that time. Missionaries, and even some pastors, left the city.
The believers at Jehovah- Shammah, however saw no reason to close. They it was their task to be available to serve others in time of fear and war. Jehovah Shammah remained open with meetings and practical services every night. Because of blackouts the roads were dark. Public transporatation (trams) was closed down and buses unlighted. Brothers and sisters who walked to the meetings were advised to dress in white and come singing.. None met with any mishap. Some believers were transferred to different places, but this scattering led to increase, for wherever they went they carried the gospel.
A.J.Flack, before he was called for army duty, made copies of the messages preached at Jehovah-Shammah and circulated them among evacuees to encourage the more isolated ones. In the midst of panic and fear, they tried to encourage people by sharing the gospel of peace and quoting the appropriate Scriptures.
As the treat of war ceased in October 1943, disaster struck Madras through the north east monsoon which brought torrential rains. Low-lying city streets began to be flooded. There were power cuts and communications were badly disrupted. The region of Thana street was flooded as two or three feet of water ran into the houses. Dorairaj and his family lived on that flooded street. As the rain water was rising, the tank bund (big water tank) at Perumbakam had broken like a sea and the waters engulfed Kilpauk and other low-lying areas. The flood reached the upper floors of many buildings. Bakht Singh and the other saints at Jehovah-Shammah joined in the rescue efforts. In the meantime Dorairaj had to climb on the upper terrace of his house to escape the rising floodwaters. Bakht Singh took a megaphone, and shouted, “We are all praying for you.” Then he went back to organize care for the homeless who were flocking to Jehovah-Shammah and to join with others in prayer for the flood victims.
Brothers Sam Chako and others who had experience on the water, got hold of a boat and rescued several people from the terraces of various houses. Around them in Purusawalkam and Kilpauk many thousands were homeless, and families crowded into Jehovah-Shammah for refuge, as the place was on a higher ground. All who came were fed and cared for. A few even went away with the new-found joy of the Lord filling their hearts. Believers made many friends that October.
After the flood waters receded, they went back to the house of Dorairaj and Thana Street where homes were flooded, and furniture and other effects had floated out of ground-floor rooms, lost for good. Dead bodies were floating around down-stairs in Dorairaj’s house. Many of the older buildings had collapsed.
Downstairs in Dorairaj’s house there had been a sum of many which had given up as lost in the flood. When he got there, he was happy to find the cupboard containing the money still in the room. Through the kindness of the Lord, He salvaged it all.
This experience of helping those in need during the north east monsoon greatly increased their confidence, as the believers had become involved in real human need. Many lives had been in danger and the saints, led by Bakht Singh, had thrown themselves wholeheartedly into the task of rescuing them. In the process, new personal contacts had been made. Those who were helped began to forget their problem of church affiliations. They had the message of life to share with men and women wherever doors were opened. To illustrate this, let me cite one example.
During this time, two Muslim sisters by the name of Miriam and Khadija were discouraged with life and had decided to run away from home. Their cousin offered to help them to become movie actresses. They were excited by the prospect, thinking that it would give them the true happiness they were looking for. So they disguised themselves as Hindus and changed their names from Miriam and Khadija to Vasantha and Lalitha.
On the morning that they were supposed to leave their home , the rain descended and the city was flooded. After the waters receded they were to go meet Grace Tangaman, a nominal Christian and school teacher who was a friend of their cousin, the one who had promised to help them to realize their dream. During the flood, however Grace’s home was under water. Bakht Singh, along with his co-workers, rescued her and her family, presented the gospel to her and Grace was saved. When the Muslimsisters went to her school, she welcomed them graciously but discouraged them from becoming actresses. Instead, as a new believers in Christ, she took them to Hephzibah, the sisters’ home connected with Jehovah-Shammah.
Naturally, the young women were very frustrated and infuriated. They felt that they had been betrayed because, being Muslims, a Christian center would be the last place they would like to go. They both felt deceived by Grace, but God’s hand was on their lives. They did not know it at that time, but in the midst of their apparent tragedy, the Lord was about to turn it all into a glorious triumph. In spite of their feelings they met some loving and dedicated sisters at Hephzibah. They were really touched by the genuine love and concern of those sisters who were singing and praising God while cooking and doing household chores. These young Muslim women had never seen such Christians before. Still, they said they would rather die for their Muslim faith, than accept Christianity.
While they were at the center, the Hephzibah sisters fasted and prayed for them. Occasionally, Bakht Singh would come in the afternoons and share with them the way of salvation. One Sunday morning they went to the worship service. When they returned, they were invited for a prayer session. The Muslim sisters at first refused to go, but later changed their minds and went to the prayer meeting. At the prayer meeting, as they listened to the prayers of the sisters, the Muslim sisters felt the presence of God. They realized that they were in the presence of God. Khadija started to tremble from head to foot. Then she prayed a prayer saying in her heart, “Lord, who is this living God, reveal it to me and I will put my trust in you, even if I have to lose my life,: She prayed and received the Lord and was baptized. Later on, Miriam was married to S. Martin, co-workers of Bakht Singh.
Setting apart of elders in 1944:
From the very beginning of the new work in Jehovah Shammah, Bakht Singh’s burden was to have a local church which would contain the Lord’s glory. He and others were very conscious that in orded to show forth the Lord’s glory, they must do all things according to the revealed Word of God. As the ministry began to grow the church began to develop and they started to pray for the Lord’s order to be brought about in the local church. As they searched and studied the Scriptures, it became apparent to them that those more regularly and locally engaged in the ministry of building up the believers in the local church should be the elders in all the churches became vital to their implementing the New Testament concept of a local church. It was elders who were appointed for each church. The word in the New Testament was always plural when referring to the elders of a local church. If the work is in the hands of one man it does not fulfill the New Testament pattern of the local church.
Therefore they began to pray for “elders in [each]local church.
From the Scriptures they gathered that the churches of the New Testament got their elders in one of two ways.
1. The apostles appointed them.
2. (Acts 14:23) The apostles delegated others to appoint them.
It was according to Acts 14:23 that the Church in Jehovah- Shammah obtained her elders.
According to the Scriptures the elders are the ones who should take the spiritual lead in the life of the local church. For months therefore, prayers went up to God that He would, in due time, show His choice of elders. Bakht Singh then called R.P.Dorairaj, George Rajarathnam and R.R.Rajamani, who had laboured with him for five years, to wait on the Lord together concerning their appointment. A week of prayers was set aside for united prayer by the church about the matter. After this, Bakht Singh announced these three names to the church, asking that all should pray concerning each one, that the Lord would confirm whether or not they were the men of His choices. At the end of the week, whoever had the least objection concerning any of these brothers or his family which scripturally might disqualify them from eldership, was urged to state it then. If not, it was confirmed that the Lord had indeed set them apart for this task. That week of strong united prayer –which included a day of fasting – drew them all very close to the Lord and to one another. At the end of this process, the church was found to be one mind as to God’s choice of these men, Accordingly, at a special evening meeting with all present, these three brothers upon whom the Lord had shown such mercy, were set apart to be elders of the church, with the laying on of hands by Bakht Singh and Wilfred S. Durham of Bombay, in the year 1944.
It was their custom as elders to come to Jehovah-Shammah straight from their offices daily to pray together over all church matters, and with any who needed spiritual counsel or help. Nothing was done until they were unanimous in their decision. Often they would wait upon the Lord for many hours as they sought His will on some matters of special consequence.
Brother whose ministry often took them away from Jehovah-Shammah, whether near of far, would look to the elders church for fellowship in their decisions, just as they looked to the church as a whole to uphold all their labours in prayers.
Rajamani recalls how, on one occasion, Bakht Singh was invited to Colombo and had bought his tickets to leave the next day. As the elders prayed with him that evening, however, one of them could find no liberty in the Spirit in relation to his going . Accordingly, Bakht Singh cancelled the ticket and delayed his travel until all were together, united in heart. When he eventually arrived in Sri Lanka, events praved beyond a shadow of doubt the rightness of God’s timing. This meeting together at the feet of the Lord for every small matter brought to them its won reward. Week by week they witnessed the truly mighty things He did in response to their cries. It often praved costly, but they learned to make personal sacrifices in order that God might have His way among them.
Holy Convocation:
One of the other special features of Bakht Singh’s ministry has been the annual Holy Convocations. One has to be there in order to capture the spirit of them. As mentioned earlier in this work, the Holy Convocation is based on the account in Leviticus chapter 23 concerning the seven feasts of Jehovah. The first Holy Convocation was held on the ground of Jehovah-Shammah for nineteen days from the 14th of December,194, to the 2nd of January, 1940. It was attended by more than a thousand people who came mainly from Tamilnadu(Madras) and Andhra Pradesh: Some also came from Gujarat, Lahore and Martinpur, which are now part of Pakistan. While most of them were Indians nationals, there were also several missionaries, representing England primarily.
To hold the meetings a large inexpensive pandal was erected and large, white banners with Scriptures hung all over it. Several hundred people statyed on the grounds and accommodation was provided for them in booths and palm-leaf thatched sheds. Breakfast, lunch and supper were provided each day for everyone, cooked by volunteers in the Jehovah Shammah kitchen. Many of them also volunteered to provide the necessary help top meet the various needs of such a large gathering. One of the main purpose of this Holy Convocation was to provide fellowship for the scattered believers, some who were very lonely, not having any local churches or believers to fellowship with regularly.
Bakht Singh emphasized the fact that believers are members of one spiritual family and thus were encouraged to meet daily for morning and evening family prayers, sandwiched in with ministry meetings in the mornings, afternoon and evenings. There were also meetings for children, young people and sisters. After much prayers, the Lord would guide them regarding the theme for each Holy Convocation, and songs were specially composed around the theme as well as appropriate messages given. Having spent nineteen days meetings regularly for family prayer and the ministry of the Word, people were inspired and encouraged to return to their respective palces, radiating the Lord Jesus Christ. Their transformed life was always a testimony to their neighbours, family and friends. And so the Holy Convocation became a hall mark of the ministry.
The joy of fellowship together in so many languages was wonderful. Many found new life then, and the gospel began to spread more widely as the people returned to their respective palces with joy shining on their faces and new songs on their lips. During every Holy Convocation, there were baptisms as well as special procession going through the city. The believers who were greatly enriched during the Holy Convocation always looked forward to the next one as they prayed, prepared and planned for the coming year.
The following report on Madras Holy Convocation was made by Daniel Smith, a Canadian missionary who worked with Bakht Singh in Asia and was a speaker at the 1956 Holy Convocation at Jehovah-Shammah, Madras.
“ The Holy Convocation began with an unusual sense of power. The crowds were greater than ever and expectation was intense. The Saturday opening meetings set the pattern. There was liberty in ministry and one felt the movement of the Spirit of God. If I had been sent half-way round the world for the convocation alone, Sunday night justified all the trouble and expense of it. After the morning service, which Bakht Singh wisely cut to the length of five hours because of the heat, between three and four thousands gathered on Sunday night and the grip of the Spirit on that crowd was amazing to see. Nor did I ever feel such unction upon my own ministry. The message was released in remarkable fullness and power and almost two hundreds made first [time] decision for the Lord. The sense of the Lord’s Presence and the manifestation of the power of the Holy Ghost assured of [a] very big response throughout the week. We felt it wise, therefore, to devote the afternoon to counseling. New converts were divided into small groups and a well-seasoned counselor took charge of each group. Everyone was free to ask questions and in this way doubts were dissolved and explanations were made clear. We found this way much more profitable than trying to do it hurriedly after every meeting. For sometime, too, Bakht Singh has undertaken to write to each convert personally. With his own tremendous programme of incessant daily meetings and vast correspondence at all times and constant care of Assemblies which have swelled to nearly three hundred in India and Pakistan, you can imagine what this means. In recent campaigns there have been hundreds who have been converted and this Madras Convocation will bring in many more hundreds. The Convocation is an amazing fellowship of love – for while largely to do with one country, yet there are people of many races, languages and customs here form within the one country, it is the kind of thing which one dreams of as an ideal but which one seldom hopes to see in actual demonstration. But here it is and htre is amazing joy in the camp.
The convocation closed in a tremendous climax. There were about 5000 present for the morning Worship and breaking of Bread. We began it at six in the morning and the service closed at 2 pm. It was full of life and power throughout – a glorious eight-hour session. Bakht Singh closed the final meeting with a magnificent and dynamic message form Judges 6 and the latter part of verse 12. Five thousand were held by the Spirit while god spoke in thunder and piercing lightning to their souls. There has been tremendous response during the eight days. Probably seven hundred have made first (time) decisions and four hundred or more of these are in personal touch with us. But as believers return to their homes throughout the whole of India with a deep and satisfying work in themselves, you can imagine how the work will multiply as these go from town to town and village to village and tell what god has done.”
A series of ‘Gospel outreaches’ were begun in 1943 – an-other feature of Bakht Singh’s ministry:
In 1943, they began a door-to-door evangelism. Each evening the men would come from their offices directly to Jehovah Shammah. After a time of prayer, they set out two-by-two to different parts of Madras selling gospel booklets and Christian books door to door. Their aim was to get the Scriptures into every home in the city. They walked many miles each day witnessing for the Lord throughout the city. Often, when there was a full moon, they would stay out selling the gospels until midnight. They had a passion for God and compassion for souls, just as in the book of Acts where the church whole-heartedly reached out to those who did not know Him. “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking of bread form house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church, daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:46, 47) Early in 1944, the saints at Jehovah Shammah began a series of “Gospel raids”. After much prayer and waiting on the Lord as directed by the Spirit, a large group of brothers and sisters would travel together for a visit of several days to places at a distance from Madras. Their aim was to spread the gospel and at the same time to strengthen and encourage the local believers in their own witness. This also gave an-the-job- training to those who came out of full-time ministry. Sometimes, the party would number a hundred of more. First they went to Chingleput. About this gospel raid Sister Grace Stalley said:
“I was in the first “Gospel raid” when we went to Chengleput. Brother Bakht Singh was with us. We were 100 in the party – fifty brothers and fifty sisters. We went by train and arrived in the early hours of the morning. We arrived in the station and walked to the school where we were to stay. We could not go to bed, however, but were told that we should go on a procession. We went out on this procession and it made such an impression upon us and upon the people of the town. From place to place we stopped and Brother Bakht Singh preached. While he was preaching, some of us sisters went house to house distributing tracts and selling gospel booklets. Everywhere, we had a wonderful reception. Without any breakfast we continued witnessing till lunch time. Though we did not have any breakfast, yet everybody was full of the joy of the Lord. The tragedy now is this – in the Assemblies we’ve the third and fourth generation and you never have the same enthusiasm and the same vision”.
The younger brothers were becoming discouraged through always going to the same places, preaching for years an end: they wanted to move further afield. Someone came from Chingleput, which is the mission centre of the Church of Scotland and asked if they would come and preach there. Although it was the monsoon season, forty-five of them went together singing songs and preaching in the open air, with the local Christians gladly joining them.
Later on about sixty of them went next for four days to Kanchivaram, the golden city of a thousand shrines and a famous centre of Hindu pilgrimage, located fifty miles to the southwest of Madras. Many gospels and booklets were sold and they were very encouraged by the response. From time to time, they went further afield, staying longer each time in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai. In subsequent years, they sent raids to Cuddapah, Bellary, Nandyal, Kurnool and Rajamundri, listic outreach began the wider spread of the work. In the neighbouring town of Watrap, G. Devasagayam was employed as a sub-registrar. Sisters also visited nearby villages and held women’s meetings in the homes. During one of their visits, they went to Sivakasi where Sadhu Sunder Singh has prayed for Rajamani. The first group of them arrived, led by Bakht Singh, and went preaching in the open air. About 120 brothers and sisters went out singing and preaching in procession. But the local people were hostile to them. A Punjabi brother wioth them was accompanying the singing on a Chimta, which is a dangerous-looking musical instrument at any time. Becoming irritated at the behaviour of local people, he unwisely threatened them with it. At this, some of the people attacked them with stones. A stone hit Dorairaj on the head and blood poured down his shirt. The Gospel team knew they had done wrong, so they turned and walked back very quietly. At their lodging place they knelt sorrowfully and asked the Lord’s forgiveness. The Punjabi brother was the first to confess his mistake. Later of they arranged a meeting there for the sisters. From Sivakasi they passed on to Sattur and Virudhunagar and then on to Madras. They went round the town singing songs. Later that evening, in the pouring rain, they went in procession to the church where Bakht Singh was to preach. He preached with power and authority and the Lord drew many to Himself. “And the Word of God grew and multiplied.” (Acts 12:24)
The work of the Lord thus began to spread in Andhra and other parts of India and the world