Just two Sundays before he passed on to glory on the morning of September 17, Rev Selvasunther (had just celebrated his 42nd birthday on September 4) had told his church over the pulpit that if he should go home, he wanted his epitaph to read “He has fulfilled the purposes of God in his generation”. He was inspiring his sheep to follow suit. Indeed, Pastor Sunther, as he was lovingly known, lived a life that was so meaningful and impactful that he touched people from all walks of life, from the small town of Kluang in the heart of Johore to countries as far as Hawaii and the United States.
A man who never knew the meaning of rest or sleep, Pastor Sunther was the Kluang Pastors’ Fellowship Chairman, Advisor to Eden Community Service Centre in Kluang (which he was instrumental in starting), the Johore Region Representative in the AOG Southern Division Committee, the Founder and Director of Shalom Learning Centre in Kluang, the Pastor of Gereja Peace AOG Kluang with a migrant workers’ ministry to the Burmese and Indonesians, beloved husband of Rev. Lydia and loving father to three lovely children, Davian Raj (age 10), Ethan Raj (age 8) and Devina Raj (age 5).
His passion for souls was so great that he was a friend to the roti canai man, the photostat lady, the pharmacist (whom he gave ideas for attracting customers, i.e. offer discounts to customers celebrating their birthdays), the air-condition man, the carpenter, the wire man, even the putumayam man. He once said that if he were to take a sabbatical, he wanted to be a barber so that he could tell his customers about Jesus’ love while he cut their hair.
For years, he had known no sleep on Saturday nights when he would go on his overnight prayer drives for Kluang and prepare for the Sunday service. As he would drive around town, he held fast to the belief that the occupants of the houses he passed by were all his church members – only that they did not know it yet. In fact, it was on one of these nights in January 2006 that God gave him the idea of ‘simultaneous prayer’, based on Judges 7 when Gideon told the 300 men with him to blow their trumpets and break their pitchers simultaneously in their attack against the enemy. This idea was realised on December 1, 2007 when Pastor Sunther, through much prayer and much interaction with the local pastors, spearheaded the first “LITE-UP Kluang” project where more than a hundred homes from nearly all the churches in Kluang were simultaneously open for prayer from 8-9 pm.
Since then, his novel idea of simultaneous prayer has not only taken a national focus through the Malaysian National Prayer Network of NECF, but has also gone international. Some of those Pastor Sunther had spoken to in other nations could not believe how easy and workable this idea was for their own countries under political and religious constraints. All praise and glory to our Lord as his idea also birthed the ‘12 noon Simultaneous Prayer Chain’ which has gone nationwide in Malaysia through the Malaysian National Prayer Network.
Being an effective multi-tasker who could plan a whole meeting in his mind while talking to you, Pastor Sunther also took on additional roles, such as the key advisor to the first-ever Malaysian Youth Prayer Gathering (MYPG) held in Kluang, where about 500-600 youths nationwide gathered to pray on July 19, 2008. Shortly after, on August 31, he was instrumental in another historic event in Kluang when about 600 Christians from several churches in the city cancelled their own Sunday services to worship together as one united body at a hotel. This was made possible because Pastor Sunther strongly advocated unity, believing in “one church, many congregations”.
The last project he was working on before he was called home was to bring our children, the future of Malaysia, to an exciting, vibrant and powerful relationship with our Living God, even as it was revealed to him that the enemy intends to devour our future through the children.
Although he battled with asthma for years, he was never one to allow his physical body to control his mind or emotions. Hence, though he may have been in pain, he would still beam his ever-charming smile and continue to minister to his members, family and friends, lead prayer meetings, lead worship and preach! His love for his church members was evident, and even as their Pastor, he was always comfortable being himself with them when he took them in teams of 5-10 for short mission trips to East Malaysia and countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar. His next mission trip was supposed to be to a lepers’ colony in Vietnam. His purpose and aim for these mission trips was not only to bless the people, but also to create an environment for his members to live out and put into practice all the Christian values he had been teaching them as they lived in close proximity with each other under stressful conditions.
Still, despite his very full and busy schedule, Pastor Sunther always ensured that he spent quality time with his family and children. He was a creative man who believed in making the most of his time and living life to the fullest, as though each day was his last. One day on his way home, he noticed that a big drain near his home had a burst pipe and water was just gushing out. Immediately, he bundled his three delighted kids into his car, got them to the clean, cascading water and they all had the time of their lives! Clearly, he treasured his family, and always found time for people and relationships. It was no surprise that he could drive, talk to his passenger and SMS at the same time! Talk about multi-tasking!
Words are just not enough and no amount of paper sufficient to record all there is to be said about Pastor Sunther. He was a shepherd, a worshipper, a musician, a natural leader, an intellectual, a planner and a man who practised what he preached. A fitting conclusion here is to record what would have been Pastor Sunther’s sincere wish and desire for those of us who are still running the race on this side of the world – to know that who he is and all that he has done is with the purest intention to inspire us to love and adore the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds and souls. Praise be to God for allowing those of us who knew him to be indeed inspired to fulfil God’s purposes for us in our generation!
Christ’s Cause.
Walking down with my dad
Feeling gloomy and sad
Then he put an arm around me
And said “Son, hear this story
I once knew a man
A great man of God
Whose heart was always for the people,
Regardless who they were
He would go the extra mile
Just to put a smile
He’d try every possible way
Just to make somebody’s day
When you’re feeling sad and down
He’s there to lift you up
To guide you along the way
To make sure that you’re okay
He would tell me he had problems, too
Worry and sleepless nights
But he would say his trust is the Lord
And in Him, he’d be strong
That even through his lowest valley
Still he would come
Just to be there for someone
And say “Will pray for you, young one””
Then he said “Son, you know
He taught me something worth more than gold
It’s not how we are today
But to make somebody’s day
That at the end of the day
When all the lights are off
That we’ll be able to smile and say
“I managed to finish Christ’s cause””
‘CHRIST’S CAUSE’ is a song written by Bryan Boo, Youth Worker of Gereja Peace AOG Kluang, in memory of our beloved Pastor Sunther. He managed to finish Christ’s cause. |
