One of the joys of teaching at Biola University and Talbot School of Theology is the privilege of investing in present and future church leaders who, in turn, go out and invest in the lives of others. It is the process of discipleship at its finest. As a faculty, we disciple students so that they disciple others so that they disciple others ... When this happens, the impact of our teaching reaches around the world. In many ways we will not know the full impact of our ministry until we all get to heaven.

Many of the readers of this blog do not have the opportunity to hear about the ministries of our graduates, but it is good for you to hear a story every now and then because you will be encouraged in your own walk of faith. Some of the readers of this blog are our graduates, and we are proud of you. If time would allow, we would love to tell each of your stories as you earnestly desire to remain faithful to the Lord’s calling on your lives. Time does not allow, so instead in this blog I will tell the story of two of our graduates, who are living for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me introduce Sudahakar & Santhi Mondithoka (www.mondithokas.com). After years of ministry experience before and after their Talbot days (they attended in the late 1990s), they founded the Hyderabad Institute of Theology and Apologetics (HITHA, www.hitha.org). Although many pastors take advantage of the training opportunities and degree programs they offer, HITHA exists to train lay people within the church, especially professionals in the business world, to do the work of the ministry. Ephesians 4:11-13, which provides the foundational teaching for their ministry, states,

“And he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

Their vision is that these business professionals become better equipped to serve in the church and in their workplace.

As with many growing ministries, Sudhakar and Santhi “wear many hats.” I recently served alongside of them for two weeks as a visiting professor to their program, and I have witnessed and learned of their serving in the following roles: administrator, fund-raiser, faculty member, mentor to students, church liaison, conference speaker, strategic planner, librarian, facilities manager, course scheduler, faculty recruiter, counselor, minister to area churches, finance manager … I also wonder what they are doing that I cannot see! They serve tirelessly. They deal with whatever interruptions arise. They juggle the competing demands on their time. They do not complain.

Why? Because they love Jesus. Because they are grateful for their own salvation. Because they have a calling. Because the Lord has given them a burden and a vision. Because they know that the Lord is coming back and the Great Commission is still the church’s agenda. Because they are citizens of heaven.

They could use your partnership. Would you consider partnering in any of the following ways?

  • Pray for the Mondithokas, even if just one time.
  • Support the Mondithokas financially, either one time or regularly.
  • Send the Mondithokas an email to encourage them.

God is at work around the world. I hope that this gives you a little glimpse of what he is doing in Hyderabad, India through the ministry of the Mondithokas. I hope that you are encouraged in your own faith and encouraged to pray for the ministries of others. We are partners in this together as we await the soon return of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let’s all be faithful.