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G.D. James
Born to parents in the multi-cultural environs of India,
Gmunamuthu (translated “pearl of wisdom”) James began his life in the uncertain
years following World War I. On a smaller and more personal scale, things were quite
unstable for the new member of the James family, as well. With the death of
his mother at age 3 and an alcoholic abuser for a father, young Mr. James found himself
moving quite often—at first living with grandparents and then living in foster homes.
Most likely in search of an identity, G.D., as he became affectionately known,
undertook a study of sorts outside his school curriculum. While raised as a Hindu, he was
converted to Christ, still just a boy around the year of 1937. Inspiration for this
newfound faith came while surveying the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, possibly seeing
some similarity between the suffering of the Savior and his own unjust experiences.
After leaving school, G.D. decided to take
control of his future for a change. Without visible means of support and even
half-starved at times, he traveled to villages of Southern India preaching and winning a
surprising number of converts. Although he lived independent of his family, he
evidently had them on his heart. He went to Malaysia, where his father and
stepmother had moved to have opportunity to win them to the Lord. Despite their
hatred for Christianity, the zealous young preacher ministered every night for six months
to them and other family members there. His hard work paid good dividends, too, as
no less than 30 expressed a heartfelt dedication to the Gospel, not the least of which
were his father and stepmother. A church was later founded there.
This was just a shadow of things to come for the
man of God. As the Second World War began intensifying, many of the foreign
missionaries vacated Asia, leaving a huge shortfall of evangelical ministers in the
region. Rev. James married in 1943, and relocated to Singapore. He and
wife, Rose were stranded under the tyrannical rule of the Japanese for over three
years in the Malay Peninsula. Their lives were even threatened by the occupiers on
more than one occasion. After the war, Dr. and Mrs. James visited other nations
preaching the Gospel. Included among the evangelized were Great Britain, Australia,
Europe and Asia. His message wasn’t limited by distance, either. The
budding evangelist began broadcasting on radio and television networks around the globe to
millions along with authoring a score of books that were printed in as many as 15
languages and a circulation of 10 million. Though he could have tailored it for
sophisticated readers, his literature was written with the common person in mind.
One of his best-known works is The Man You Must Confront.
He and Rose had six children (three sons and
three daughters) whom he considered easily accessible disciples. Appropriately, they all
eventually came to be in Christian service. This was consistent with his character,
desiring to motivate everyone to live and do what they could for the Lord. This conviction
became only more ingrained following two heart attacks and a stint with malaria. And
in 1960, he claimed to have seen a vision wherein God asked him, ‘Who will preach to
the millions of souls in Asia no one else is reaching?’ He was compelled to
begin training others to assist him in the ministry and multiply the influence of the
Spirit of God around the world, particularly Asia. He founded the Asia Evangelistic
Fellowship (AEF) to equip men and women to evangelize that region. His passion for the
ministry outweighed any concerns he had for self-promotion. Dr. James served
as chairman for the program committee for the Asia-South Pacific Conference on Evangelism
in 1968 in association with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, who many have
compared him to, calling him “The Billy Graham of Asia”. The purpose of the
conference was essentially to identify hurdles to the spread of the Gospel in the region
and create ways to overcome them. 1100 people attended from 24 countries.
He was interested in impacting others in
creative ways. His organization supported the likes of Every Home for Christ, Nurses’
Christian Fellowship, Scripture Union, Fellowship of Evangelical Students, The Bible
Society, World Evangelical Fellowship, and Youth for Christ. Passion for Heaven’s
work continued when, in 1977, G.D. established the Tamil Bible Institute in India.
Many of his students went on to start churches in different locales.
Dr. James continued to spread the Word of the Lord until his death in Sydney,
Australia July 24th, 2003. His wife, with whom he had just celebrated 60
years of marriage, and their children, survive him. The ministry continues under the
leadership of the couple’s youngest son, Jonathan, with representatives in 9
countries, and some 200 missionaries. As many as he reached in his life, it’s
ironic how few people knew him by his first name or what it meant. Yet, G.D. James
did in fact, become a “pearl of wisdom” for the Kingdom of God.
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