Bakht Singh

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Bakht Singh (born June 6, 1903 in Joiya, Punjab , British India , † September 17, 2000 in Hyderabad , India ) was a Christian Indian preacher and evangelist .

resume

Bakht Singh was born on June 6, 1903 in Joiya in the Punjab (then British India, later Pakistan ) as the second of nine children of a wealthy building contractor. He was raised a Sikh and spent much time in the Sikh temples. Since child marriage was common at the time, he was married to a girl three years older than him at the age of 12. Although he attended a Christian mission school, he did not want to know anything about the Christian faith, yes he hated Christians , since Christianity was generally regarded as the religion of the hated British colonial power . This hatred of the British increased among the entire population when the Amritsar massacre broke out on April 13, 1919 in Amritsar , the holy city of the Sikhs . Bakht Singh expressed his hatred by tearing up the Bible presented to him at the end of an exam.

In order to help his father, he began to study mechanical engineering in London , which he then completed with a degree in agricultural engineering . In London, he adapted to the English lifestyle and eventually even shaved his beard, giving up his religious tradition. To prove that he was not a narrow-minded Indian, he also attended a Christian service on the boat trip to Canada. From that point on, he had a desire to learn more about Jesus Christ . He began reading the Bible and became convinced that he was a sinner and that Jesus Christ died for his sins. He was baptized in February 1932 . Soon he saw himself called by God to serve him as a preacher and evangelist in India. He began this service in 1933 in Karachi among the street sweepers, the lowest caste . His wife left him when she realized he had changed his religion.

When he was holding evangelistic meetings in Martinpur in June 1937, there was a revival there . Bakht Singh, who until then had been an unknown traveling preacher, became widely known among Protestant Christians through this event. This gave him the opportunity to preach to thousands of people in different locations. In Madras , after his sermons in 1938, a prayer movement arose across the various denominations . When he preached again in Madras in 1940, he was felt by the other Christian leaders to be too radical, especially as he criticized the way they lived. As a result, he was no longer allowed to preach in the churches. This in turn alienated many church members, who had been blessed through the ministry of Bakht Singh, from their leaders. Many believers asked Bakht Singh to continue serving in Madras.

Despite the expected violent opposition, he decided to start a work outside the established churches in Madras with the aim of realizing the model of the early church . He rented a meeting place from July 12, 1941, which he named “Jehovah Shamma” (Eng. “The Lord is present”). Here he also began with the annual so-called "Holy Convocations" (dt. "Holy Meetings"), to which Christians from different parts of India came together. In many cases, they then founded new churches in their hometowns.

In 1950 he founded the "Elim" base for himself and his employees in Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh . In 1959 they moved from "Elim" to another house, which they called "Hebron". In the same year they bought the Jehovah Shamma house. From 1963 began the publication of the "Hebron Messenger" (German Hebron messenger) and of Bible correspondence courses.

Bakht Singh's grave

All the while he was conducting evangelistic activities in various places in India, creating hundreds of new churches. He also made lecture tours through Asia, America and Europe. In Germany he visited a. a. the Bodelschwinghschen Anstalten , the Brake Bible School and the Theological Seminary of the Free Evangelical Congregations in Ewersbach .

In August 1986 he began to deteriorate physically, so that he was in need of care. Bakht Singh died on September 17, 2000 at 6:00 am in "Hebron". From the day of his death to September 22, the day of his funeral, over 600,000 people came to Hebron to pay their final respects. The number of people who came to his funeral is estimated at a quarter of a million.

Working method

His way of working is u. a. characterized by the following points:

  • Prayer: He often spent nights or even whole days in prayer, together with other Christians before making major decisions.
  • Bible: He saw the Bible as the word of God. He read the Bible over and over and knew a great many verses by heart. He expected every Christian to have their own Bible. This went so far that he even asked illiterate people to buy a Bible.
  • Worship: Much time was devoted to worshiping God in church services. Since everyone should take part, this time could take several hours.
  • Independence: He himself acted independently of other churches and mission societies. In particular, he paid attention to financial independence from abroad. However, where this independence was maintained, he also worked with foreign missionaries.
  • Community: He practiced the doctrine of the unity of all Christians through common love feasts. This broke the barriers between races and castes . This was not a matter of course in the Christian churches of India.
  • Possession: Throughout his ministry, he had no other personal possessions than clothes, Bible, and bed. He didn't even have a bank account.

Works (selection)

Bakht Singh never wrote a book. The books published under his name are the transcripts of his sermons, which have been revised for book publication.

  • The joy of the Lord. Publishing house K. Frei, Winterthur 1964
  • David Recoverd All (German David brought everything back. Evang. Schriften-Verlag Schwengeler, Winterthur 1970)
  • The Return of Gods Glory (dt. The secret experienced revival. Schwengeler-Verlag, Berneck 1979, ISBN 3-85666-013-5 .)

literature

  • TE Koshy: Bakht Singh, A Chosen Tool of God in India. Translated from English and revised by Werner Tietze. Christian literature distribution , Bielefeld 2005, ISBN 3-89397-660-4 ( Brother Bakht Singh of India )
  • T. Sataya Rao: Bahkt Singh, Matchless Memories. SRL Christian Millennium Publications, Hyderabad 2001

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 32f.
  2. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 33
  3. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 36f.
  4. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 42
  5. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 45f.
  6. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 105
  7. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 119
  8. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 136
  9. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 154
  10. ↑ after Leviticus 23
  11. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 170
  12. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 189
  13. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 185
  14. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 186
  15. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 246
  16. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 208
  17. ↑ a b Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 19
  18. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 27
  19. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 23
  20. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 226
  21. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 218f
  22. ↑ Satya Rao: Bakht Singh, Matchless Memories. 2001, p. 77
  23. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 256
  24. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 259
  25. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 301
  26. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 28
  27. ↑ Koshy: Bakht Singh. 2005, p. 281
personal data
SURNAME Singh, Bakht
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian Christian preacher and evangelist
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Joiya, Punjab, British India
DATE OF DEATH September 17, 2000
Place of death Hyderabad, India