Timothy and Julie Palamootil -
I came from India, the birthplace of
many religions and a land of extreme
diversity and variations so much so that
someone aptly called India the biggest
zoo in the world. It is a country of
over one billion people, lost and
destined for eternal damnation, yet one
that I love and burdened to reach them
for Christ. Born in Manipur, a
northeastern state of India, and brought
up in a godly Christian family, at
fourteen I accepted the Lord as my
personal Savior (John 3:16, Eph. 1:7;
2:8-10) which is in vast contrast to the
beliefs permeating my country.
During my second year at college in
Bangalore, I slid back into my old way
of life and wasn’t walking close with my
Lord. My roommates were part of a city
gang and my association with them drew
me away from close fellowship with
Christ, and I failed to be a living
testimony for Christ among my Hindu
friends. On one occasion, I got caught
in the midst of a gang fight with other
rival gang members and though I wasn’t
part of the gang, the fact that I was
seen with the other gang members was a
reason enough for them to attack me.
That evening I was beaten severely by
the rival gang and I ended up in the
hospital with minor head injuries. The
next day, I was discharged from the
hospital and I broke down and cried out
to God for His forgiveness and mercy,
knowing that it was only through God’s
mercy and grace that I was spared.
Since then my relationship with the Lord
has grown much deeper. In 1995 the Lord
led my family to move down to Bangalore
too. After much prayer and seeking God’s
will, the Lord helped our parents to
start Maranatha Baptist Bible College in
1998 to train young men and women for
the Lord’s ministry, especially in the
area of pastoral ministry, evangelism
and witnessing among Hindus and
Muslims. The Lord also spoke and put a
desire in me to serve Him full time. So
after much prayer the Lord opened the
door to come to United States to study
M. Div at Northwest Baptist Seminary
where my father is an alumnus.
Though at first, it was hard for me with
the culture shock and rigors of studies,
my experience at NBS was life-changing;
my professors were instrumental in
deepening my faith and walk with the
Lord. My professors’ lives exemplified a
godly lifestyle for me to emulate, both
in and out of classroom. I would
wholeheartedly say, NBS is one of the
best schools in the world and it has
imparted to me adequate training and
mentoring to meet the challenges of
ministry and apply the word accurately
and skillfully. By God’s grace, I
graduated from Northwest Baptist
Seminary in 2002 with an M. Div and
through the Lord’s leading and
encouragement of my professors, I came
down to The Master’s college to study
music and became part of the Master’s
Chorale and toured the East Coast and
performed at Carnegie Hall in New York.
During my time at The Master’s, I also
met my beautiful and godly wife, Julie.
We have been married for almost a year
and a half now, she is a wonderful
companion who has a heart for the Lord
and supports and serves alongside me in
ministry. We co-teach the 4th grade
Sunday school and also help lead the
worship in our adult Sunday school
group. This summer we had the
opportunity to visit family and serve at
the Bible college in India. We are
looking forward to going back to India
and ministering alongside fellow
soldiers of the cross, possibly
full-time. India has so many needs but
they need Jesus above all. We are
burdened to reach the lost even in a
small way in this great country of over
1 billion people of which more than 97%
are lost and destined for eternal
punishment in the lake of fire. As of
today (2005), Maranatha Baptist Bible
College has over 110 students, which
includes students from India, Burma,
Nepal and even China. MBBS has also
helped start nine different churches and
several Bible study groups through
active participation from faculty,
staffs and students. We are in the
process of building new facilities for
the school and are praying and waiting
on the Lord to continue to provide the
needs. We would covet your prayers as we
seek the Lord’s direction and serve Him.
May God bless and give you the peace and
strength to remain strong and firmly
rooted on The ROCK, these last days.
Yours in Christ, Timothy and Julie
Palamootil
Maranatha Baptist Bible College
