Alumnus of the Year: Chris Gnanakan.

In last summer’s edition of the Victory Journal, we told you about Dr. Chris Gnanakan’s journey. He went from being a technician in Bangalore, India, to a church-planter on fire for God, thanks in part to the vision of Jack Wyrtzen and Wendell Calder and a scholarship to the Bible Institute in New York.

Chris is busy blazing new paths for contemporary global missions as the recently named executive director of Outreach to Asia Nationals (OTAN), an international organization dedicated to bringing the Gospel to restricted countries by training nationals in evangelism.

This past spring, Chris was given another distinction: 2013 Word of Life Bible Institute Alumnus of the Year.

“First and foremost, I feel humbled as a street kid from India receiving this honor from an international organization on the cutting edge of church and life,” he says of the recognition.

When studying at the Bible Institute, Chris says he gained a deep biblical knowledge as well as intensive training in evangelism, which he used to take the hope of the Gospel back to India. Through OTAN, he says he’s able to return the blessing given to him so many years ago by expanding the reach of the message of Christ in limited-access nations, including North Korea, Butan, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

The thousands of churches Chris has helped plant through both his own efforts and his training of others will carry his influence into the future. He wants his legacy to be his teaching — Chris encourages the nationals he disciples to have a sense of urgency about their faith because he believes work ethic is the heartbeat of evangelism. But, while there is what he calls “prosperity in posterity,” he says he is also forever indebted to Jack Wyrtzen and Wendell Calder and his former mentor, Gene Tozer, for kindling his fire for the Lord and preparing to shine that light in the darkest corners of the world.

“The heritage I’ve received through Word of Life was so foundational and formative in shaping me and giving me the impetus for global missions,” Chris says. “I feel equipped.”

A Message to Fellow Alumni from Chris Gnanakan

Dr. Chris Gnanakan says he lives by three questions that he learned at Word of Life. He has passed this advice on to hundreds of thousands of other disciples in 91 countries through curriculum he has developed. He encourages fellow alumni to apply these questions to their own lives and to reflect on them each day.

1.  Is God’s Word well used in my life?

“Is my strategy biblical? Is my vision Jesus’ vision for the church? Word of Life gave me the acquisition of truth and the application of truth in real life. Through the habit of daily Quiet Time I have learned how to use the knowledge of God’s Word in my life each day.”

2. Is God’s work well done?

“At the Bible Institute, I learned that work is divine. Nobody died of hard work! There is value in being a workaholic for God. You’ve got to give it all you’ve got! Integrity should characterize your work. It makes people respect you. Aesthetics and truth go together — people are attracted to it.”

3. Is my Lord well pleased?

“Like Paul the apostle, my ambition is to please the Lord, the One who called me. Word of Life taught me to live for the pleasure of God. When I go to bed at night, can I see him raise his thumbs? I think of Galatians 1:9-10 — like a conductor with an orchestra, sometimes you must turn your back on the world.”

The Second Generation: Debbie (Baker) Hobbs

I attended the Word of Life Bible Institute in 1985 on a recommendation from my father to know the Word of God in depth. As many graduates say, it was the best year of my life. I gained friendships, was trained for ministry, studied the Bible, acquired godly mentors, and learned where God was leading my life. I was also blessed to meet my husband at Word of Life, which I was not expecting. I can see from life experience how the Lord used that year to help me have a bolder witness in reaching out to others.

Our three children all agreed to attend the Bible Institute before beginning their careers. This was a blessing to our hearts, as we well knew the impact it would have in their lives.

In 2006, my husband was diagnosed with cancer, and we endured the anguish of this disease for four and a half years. He went home to be with his Savior on June 12, 2011. Our “Word of Life” foundation kept us always trusting, remaining strong, and staying steady in this path of suffering God chose for us. Mike’s testimony was a bold witness to everyone he met, but most of all, God’s Word comforted our hearts throughout the journey. Our children were strengthened to see the faith of their father and how his love for his Lord never wavered.

To God be the glory for His working in our lives, and we are grateful to Word of Life for its ministry to many. It is far-reaching, and we will know in eternal celebrations the impact we have had on others.

Click here to read about Debbie's children, John and Julie Ann, Class of 2013.

For more second generation stories, click here.

Refresh: Remembering the truth behind what we know about joy.

By Steve Nicholes

When I transferred from the Bible Institute to college, I was put in a dorm where students who decided to enroll at the last minute were housed. It was a bad scene and, to be honest, I hated my situation.

I had just come from the Bible Institute, where I was a big fish in a small pond. At the new school, hardly anybody knew me. I remember one of my Bible Institute friends coming up to me one day and saying, “Steve, I used to think you were really important....”

Every time I went into my dorm, I got depressed. That was a first for me. I was a pretty positive guy. I started asking God “Why?” The more I thought about it, the more depressed I became. It was like I was in this hole, and I was going down, and I didn’t know how to get out.

Finally, one day, in the middle of my depression, I remembered a song from when I was a little kid.

Jesus and others and you — what a wonderful way to spell ‘joy.’
Jesus and others and you in the heart of each girl and each boy.
J is for Jesus, for He has first place,
O is for others we meet face to face.
Y is for you in whatever you do,
So put yourself last and spell joy.

I knew many Scripture verses talk about this idea. “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). “Let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3). And the greatest commands in Scripture are to (1) love God with all your heart and (2) love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39).

I believed these things were true, but I didn’t know how they would bring joy. I was desperate in my black hole, though. I prayed, “God, help me,” and He gave me the idea to get together with some other Bible Institute alumni who were at the school. One of them lived off-campus, so I asked if we could buy the stuff to make chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies and make them at his home.

After that, we took the cookies to a nursing home and began to go room to room. I took my cookies into the first room. The lady sitting there was so surprised to have a visitor. She began telling me her story. She told me that her kids never came to visit her. Over and over, she kept saying, “Thank you for taking time to come and be with me.” The next room was a similar story — and the next and the next.

By the time I stepped back onto campus, my whole mindset had changed. I had finally stopped looking at myself and had begun looking at those around me who were hurting.

The path out of my hole really was Jesus first, others second, and myself last.

If we really love Jesus and put Him first, then we can enjoy time with Him even if we are on a desert road without anyone else. Then, putting others second makes us stop focusing on ourselves. I can say that I have never again been depressed like that in my life. The new focus changed my life and my perspective.

I don’t know where this article finds you, but as I watch world news from Jeju Island in South Korea, there are so many things that can drag us down. I hope that this simple but timeless principle will help you as it did me. Lift your eyes up to the Lord first, and then look around to others who are worse off than you and lend a helping hand. I firmly believe it won’t be long before you will gain victory over whatever is trying to drag you down.

“Jesus and others and you — what a wonderful way to spell ‘joy.’”

Steve Nicholes, Class of 1981, is the director of Word of Life Northeast Asia. He now leads the campus in Jeju, South Korea, with his wife Rhonda, Class of 1985, by his side.

On their way back home: Chris Gnanakan, Class of 1985.

Many Christians pray for the people around the world who haven't been reached for Christ. Others have gone, leaving the places they know as home, to tell others of true hope. But often, despite years of training or persistent traveling, some areas remain closed to the Gospel.

That is, unless the Christians already there know how to spread the truth — from the inside out.

Chris Gnanakan grew up in Bangalore, India. His great grandfather was the first in his ancestry to become a Christian, and Chris was saved at 15 when a message about God's love changed him.

Chris became very aware of his sinfulness, but that realization was also met with the truth of God's mercy. Compared with India’s prevalent Hindu idea of karma, which atones for sin with punishment, a Savior Who would actually forgive a sinner filled Chris with hope.

But Chris hadn't considered Christianity's reach beyond the life he knew. He was building a career as a skilled technician in Bangalore, the "Silicon Valley of the East" — until, one day, he was moved to make his faith the focus of his life.

Chris was being discipled by Gene Tozer from New Brunswick Bible Institute in the late 1970s when he met Wendell Calder, who taught at Word of Life's Bible Institute and had founded a ministry called Local Church Evangelism. Wendell, who was visiting India, had been working with Jack Wyrtzen and Word of Life on reaching more countries for Christ. At that time, missionaries from the West weren’t allowed in India — but there was nothing to keep a native Indian from sharing his faith.

Chris Gnanakan: Making a pact for a global impact.

For decades, Bible Institute students have read Operation World by Jason Mandryk together. The book is an evangelical tour guide, profiling the state of Christianity in all of the world’s countries.

Chris Gnanakan read and prayed over the book with classmate Nathan Graves during his Bible Institute year. They met at the old Snack Shack on the New York campus and made a pact to go wherever God would lead.

Chris’ path led to India, while Nathan headed to Albania, which at the time was deemed the most difficult nation for Christians. After 25 years in missions, they met in Macedonia in 2010 at the first Balkan World Mission Conference, led by Eagles of Peace, Nathan’s missions organization. The theme of the gathering was “From everywhere to everywhere,” based on Paul’s mission in the New Testament.

Chris and Nathan looked at the crowd and saw people from all over the Balkan Peninsula who are committed to reaching the many nations there that can't be entered by American missionaries.

While preaching Christ remains a struggle in India, Albania’s religious climate has changed since Nathan arrived. Christians now make up more than 30 percent of the country’s population.

Chris Gnanakan: What's the 114?

When it was time for Chris Gnanakan and his wife, Dorothy, to name their two daughters, they turned to John 1:14, which says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

They named their older daughter, Alethea, after the Greek word for “truth.” Her sister, Charis, gets her name from the Greek “grace.”

“Truth can get harsh, and grace can be too flimsy — turning to disgrace,” Chris says. “The balance of the two is what Word of Life taught me. The strong and soft parts work together in missions and in ministry.”

Alethea is studying pre-medicine at Liberty University, and Charis is a sophomore at Bangor Christian School. Dorothy is a software programmer and technical instructor at the University of Maine.

Chris Gnanakan: Hitting the Books.

While planting churches, pastoring, and teaching across Asia, Chris Gnanakan has also been continuing his theological study.

He received his masters of divinity in pastoral theology from Asia Graduate School of Theology in 1993, his masters of theology and doctorate of ministry from South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies in 1995 and 1998, and his doctorate from Leeds University in the United Kingdom in 2006. Since 1999, Chris has been lecturing and producing curriculum for Biblical Mandate for Evangelism at the Haggai Institute for Leadership Development. He’s also a consultant with the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism and a contributing member of the International Council for Higher Education.

In addition to his work with Outreach to Asia Nationals, Chris teaches, speaks, and produces radio broadcasts with FEBA (Transforming Truth) and TWR (Thru the Bible). He’s currently the missions pastor at Bangor Baptist Church in Bangor, Maine, where he and his family live.