About Me

About

The Revd. Dr. D. J. Ajith Kumar has dedicated approximately 40 years to social and spiritual service, engaging in preaching, teaching, missionary work, and community development both in India and abroad. He currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Michael Village Pvt. Ltd., an initiative envisioned as an integrated centre for healing, learning, and caring. Michael Village proposes to develop seven principal components: a Multi-Speciality Hospital, Nursing College, Senior Living facility, De-Addiction Clinic, Mobile Clinic, Community Research Centre, and Chapel and Outreach Ministries, with the aim of addressing diverse social, healthcare, educational, spiritual, and community needs.

He served as the General Secretary of the Church of North India (CNI) Synod from 2023 to 2026 and is an ordained Presbyter of the CNI Diocese of Phulbani. Originally from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, South India, he came to North India with his family in 1993 to serve in Christian ministry.

From childhood, he developed a deep interest in Christian ministry. At the age of 12, he delivered his first public sermon in his church on World Sunday School Day, based on Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The sermon had been prepared by his father. His upbringing in a family devoted to regular prayer, active church participation, and Christian service, together with the inspiration of his parents, encouraged him to dedicate his life to the service of God. In his own words, “I do not know how it was illuminated in my mind, but from my childhood, I had only one desire: to serve the Lord.”

Academic and Professional Formation

After completing his M.A. and M.Phil. in Sociology from Annamalai University, he pursued theological studies and obtained a Bachelor of Christian Studies (B.C.S.) from the Senate of Serampore College. He subsequently completed his Master of Theology (M.Th.) at the University of Wales, U.K. His doctoral research in Sociology at Annamalai University focused on “Education and Tribal Development.”

He served as the Dean of the Postgraduate Department of TAFTEE, Bangalore, and taught Sociology and Research Methodology for more than a decade. His academic interests also include Yoga, in which he holds an M.Sc. and P.G.D.C. His knowledge of Yoga has enabled him to explore an indigenous and Indian contextual approach to Christian communication and Gospel ministry. He completed his Teacher Training Course in Yoga through the Yoga International Alliance, New Delhi, and obtained a Diploma in Buddhism from the Mahabodhi Academy of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Bangalore.

Alongside his ministry, he has presented numerous research papers at national and international seminars and conferences in the field of Sociology. He is a life member of the Indian Sociological Society (ISS), New Delhi, and the Indian Academy of Social Sciences (IASS), Allahabad. He is the author of 42 academic and devotional books. Among his significant works is God: Real and Religion: The Concepts of God in Religions in Christological Perspectives, which has received wide circulation.

Early Ministry and Grace Ministries of India

Several years before entering the ordained ministry of the CNI, he founded the Love Army Crusade in his native village in 1979. Over the following 12 years, the movement conducted a variety of activities, including evangelistic meetings, panchayat evangelisation, ministry training, magazine publication, Second Saturday meetings, distribution of Christian literature, establishment of children’s homes, and evangelistic rallies.

In 1990, after handing over the movement to new leadership, he founded Grace Ministries of India (GMI), a social and spiritual movement engaged in ministry in India and abroad. He subsequently initiated the Mobile Tent Ministry, an innovative approach to Indian mission through which large numbers of people in rural and urban communities have been reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He also established four Christian Ashrams in Kerala (1993), Maharashtra (2002), Tamil Nadu (2009), and Madhya Pradesh (2011). The central vision of the Ashram ministry is expressed in the phrase, “Giving living water in Indian cups.” In 2007, he launched another initiative, Adoption of Suffering Families, through which more than 2,000 families have been supported in their efforts towards greater self-reliance. He has also composed several Christian songs that are sung in churches in different parts of India.

Ministry in the Church of North India

After entering the ordained ministry of the CNI, he served in the CNI Diocese of Phulbani. Following the communal violence that affected Kandhamal District of Odisha between 2008 and 2010, he was involved in the construction of 29 churches in the Diocese. He also contributed to the construction of the Martyrs Memorial CNI Cathedral at Gudripori, G. Udayagiri, Odisha.

He was ordained to the priestly ministry of the CNI in 2014 by the Most Revd. Bijaya Kumar Nayak, former Moderator of the CNI. From 2014 to 2023, he served as the Stewardship Director of the CNI Diocese of Phulbani. In 2023, he served as the Programme Director of the CNI at the CNI Programme Centre, Nagpur. On 28 November 2023, he was appointed General Secretary of the CNI.

During the post-COVID period, he also served for ten months on deputation as Presbyter-in-Charge of the CSI Cathedral of the South Kerala Diocese.

Contributions During His Tenure as General Secretary

During his tenure as General Secretary, he undertook several administrative and spiritual initiatives. He facilitated the filling of 13 Episcopal vacancies through appropriate democratic electoral procedures and played a significant role in the successful conduct of the 18th Ordinary Meeting of the CNI, despite various challenges. He also contributed to the consecration of three women as Bishops.

He initiated a pension arrangement for retired Bishops, and introduced a programme of three days of fasting and prayer twice a year across the CNI Dioceses. He established a Synod-level Missionary Training Department, through which regular training programmes were conducted, including two batches each month. He also initiated weekly online classes on the CNI Constitution, making constitutional education accessible to members across the Church.

He worked towards restoring and strengthening relationships with international and ecumenical partners, including USPG, CWM, EMS, WCRC, and the Anglican Communion.

He facilitated the organisation of the EMS South Asia Forum in India for the first time and took initiatives towards hosting the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) in India. These efforts contributed to the decision of the Anglican Communion to hold ACC-20 in India in 2029.

He also initiated and coordinated Shepherd’s Pulpit, a collection of sermon outlines based on the CNI Lectionary, published with the assistance of ISPCK, New Delhi. In addition, he organised and facilitated national-level seminars on subjects including the Nicene Creed, Sadhu Sundar Singh, and leadership of CNI educational institutions. He initiated steps towards obtaining Power of Attorney arrangements concerning properties owned overseas and connected with the CNI, with the objective of strengthening their legal and administrative management.

Throughout his tenure, he sought to promote transparency, accountability, justice, and integrity in the administration of the Church and to safeguard its institutions and ministry from corruption and injustice.

Family

In 1991, he married Mrs. Mini Ajith, a homemaker. They have two sons, Abhishek and Vivek. Abhishek, an MBBS graduate, currently works as a doctor in Bangalore. Vivek completed his Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from the College of Engineering, Trivandrum, and is employed by a private-sector construction company in Trivandrum.