Keeping The Main Thing As The Main Thing
- By Dr. Chris Gnanakan
- Published 02/3/2010
Dr. Chris Gnanakan
Revd. Dr. Chris Gnanakan, DMin, PhD. is the Director of Training for Outreach To Asia Nationals. OTAN serves in over nine countries in Asia where traditional missions is ‘restricted’, by equipping and empowering national, pastoral leaders to fulfil the great commission.
Chris, a native of Bangalore, worked as an electrician in MICO factory for 3 years before theological studies at the Word of Life Bible Institute and School of Youth Mission (New York). He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree from Tennessee Temple University and went on to do a Master’s in Divinity at Temple Baptist Seminary that he completed at the Asia Graduate School of Theology.
Chris was a youth pastor and ordained at Emmanuel Baptist Church. In 1990 he founded Banaswadi Bible Church where he was the pastor-teacher for over 10 years. He is known as a Youth, Bible & Mission conference speaker and for his radio broadcast with FEBA (Transforming Truth) and TWR (Thru the Bible). His passion is for evangelism, whole-life discipleship, mentoring, training leaders & empowering the Church in Mission.
Chris lectures on and produces curriculum for ‘Biblical Mandate for Evangelism’ at the Haggai Institute for Leadership Development (since 1999 at Maui & Singapore). As an evangelical, he has served as a consultant with the Commission on World Mission & Evangelism on-site London, Switzerland, Athens, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Chile and with Urban Missions in Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines and China.
During his stay and PhD research in the UK, Chris was a Teaching Assistance at the University of Leeds in the department of Theology & Religious Studies and also served as a minister at the South Parade Baptist Church, where he developed outreach & care cells. Chris teaches ‘Clinical Pastoral Education’ at the Bangalore Baptist Hospital. He is chairman for the Christian Forum for Child Development & Samaritan Purse’s regional Prescription for Hope program
Since 1995, Chris joined SAIACS as Professor and HoD of Pastoral Theology & Counseling and Dean of Chapel. Here, for 13 years, he trained leaders for ministry and mission in India’s globalising context and is passionate doing ”Evangelism through Local Churches”. He is now appointed to serve as the Director of Training for OTAN (Outreach To Asia Nationals) from June 2009.
Chris is happily married to Dorothy, an IT software educator, and they have two daughters Alethea and Charis. Chris enjoys memorising poems on the Bible and football.
Think about this… Jesus had 3 years of public ministry, the reason people stopped following Christ is because evangelism was essentially much of what He did, and it got more dangerous everyday…
When Jesus preached 5000 would attend as long as He fed them When he cut out the food, only 500 showed up When He said I’m preaching; you’ve got to pray only 120 turned up… When He said I’m sending you out two-by-two only 70 showed up… When Jesus wanted full-time laborers only 12 were there, and one of them was a reject When things got really tough for Him, only 3 stood by to watch When He was on the cross – only 1 person happened to be there!
Now, Think of this… Of the 5000 who ate, 500 was listened, 120 who prayed, 70 who were sent, 12 who served, 3 who dared, only 1 followed Jesus all the way to the cross, John the Apostle, later called… ‘John the Evangelist’!
Do you think Jesus was proud of John? He was told to take care of Jesus’ mother! He listened closely to write one of the most important Gospel. Jesus gave him the vision of the last things, Revelations & when all other disciples were dead, John at the age of 100 was still telling the world of Jesus’ love!
Soul-winning captures God’s heart and shows what it means to follow Jesus!
Chris Gnanakan
