Hearing the Father’s call
Amal with his wife Liberty
Amal lost his father at the age of one. His mother raised him and his older brother alone in Coimbatore, Southwest India.
As a teenager, Amal began to mix with the wrong crowd. “I remember coming home one night on my motorcycle and being stopped by the police for driving illegally. They knocked me onto the street and beat me before taking me to the police station. I was terrified - the bravado of my arrogant self was gone in an instant.”
“The police let me go with a warning, but the experience shook me so deeply that I was left feeling vulnerable and alone. This was a turning point in my life as I saw the limitations of my own strength. Out of nowhere, I vowed to go to church the following day.”
The worship leader looked straight at me and quoted 2 Samuel 7:14—“I will be your Father, and you will be my son”.
The following day was Father's Day. When Amal turned up at church, the pastor asked those who had no father to come forward. Apprehensively, Amal went to the front.
“The worship leader looked straight at me and quoted 2 Samuel 7:14 “I will be your Father, and you will be my son”. It was there that I knew the call of God and received Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. My life was radically changed—I was now a believer!”
Amal came to the UK in 2007 for his Master's degree, where he became involved in a church in Huddersfield. It was there that he met his wife Liberty, with whom he now has two young boys.
“I am acutely conscious that I will give an account when the LORD appears and, as a pastor, I will have to provide a double account.”
For some time Amal has felt the call of God on his life to serve as a minister. His next step? Pursuing theological training.
“I understand there have been faithful pastors who had no formal training. However, I believe that for a man to be faithful and loyal to the weighty calling of the Chief Shepherd, he must be properly trained and equipped. This is why I am seeking a seminary education at Westminster. Just like a doctor wouldn’t do surgery without proper training, I wouldn’t want to get into the holy task without appropriate training preparation.”
“I am acutely conscious that I will give an account when the LORD appears and, as a pastor, I will have to provide a double account. For me to take this sacred office, feed the sheep, love the lambs, and fend off the wolves, I need all the training I can get, as lives depend on it.”
Financial Appeal
This coming semester, Amal will be taking 4 courses that equate to around 260 classroom hours. Would you be willing to help him with the £2,300 of tuition fees for his studies?
