The youngest of six, Justin was born into a pastoral family. His father, born Hindu, accepted Jesus as his Saviour after seeing the Lord move greatly in his family. Justin committed his life to the Lord at 14 years old, but because of the hardships he saw in the ministry, he decided to follow a different path. The Lord had a different plan.
After completing his studies, Justin got a job in a software company where he worked for some time. One day, after interviewing for a new position in a well-known software company, a friend took him to ELS for another interview. Justin received offers from both places and, with great anticipation, showed his father, hoping his father would encourage him to join the software company. To Justin’s surprise, his father insisted he join ELS. With great hesitation and confusion, without a clear call, Justin joined ELS in 1990.
The Lord then gave him a burden to do ministry through the print page. Justin joined the accounting team and by the grace of God was able to learn and grasp all the principles of accounting. As the department moved from physical to digital accounting, Justin was able to develop software for the accounts. It was then that he fully realised the calling of God and started serving the Lord wholeheartedly.
In 2004, God allowed him to become the Chief Accountant for the mission, and in the next year, Justin became a member of the leadership team. In 2014, the ELS staff elected Justin as the National Director commencing in January 2015. In February 2015, Justin unexpectedly lost his wife due to a sudden illness. During that time of discouragement, the Lord spoke truth and encouragement into Justin’s life.
Today, Justin has the privilege of leading the growing ELS India team with a staff of around 80. Justin would like to thank the earlier leaders of ELS, Mr. V.M. Abraham, Mrs. Selly Benjamin, Mr. Benjamin Gnanamanickam and Mr. Christopher Robert for their sacrificial and dedicated service.
We cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for our team in ELS India. Please, keep Justin and the team in your prayers.
Neil Wardrope
Neil is the CLC UK Missions Director.