Eight Years at Richmond Town


Rev. Arun Andrews — assistant pastor 1989, associate pastor 1990–1997 — reflects on a ministry that shaped him as much as it shaped the congregation

By Rev. Arun Andrews • Associate Pastor, RTMC 1990–1997 • Currently Servant Pastor, Trinity on Bridge, New Cumberland, PA

WINSLOW – Image No. [Add image number] of Rev. Arun Andrews.

It was July of 1989. I was a fresh graduate out of the Union Biblical Seminary, twenty-three and a half years old, appointed by Bishop M. Elliot Peter as assistant to Rev. R. G. Soanes. That Saturday evening I walked into the youth meeting at Stephen’s Hall. The young people welcomed me kindly, assuming I was another young person joining the group. I did not make any effort to change their opinion.

You should have seen their faces the next morning when Pastor Soanes introduced me as his new assistant. He also promptly told everybody that I was already ‘booked’ — engaged to a young woman called Miriam. Pastor Soanes left no stone unturned.

In those early years, Miriam and I were blessed to have a Hero Majestic Moped on loan from Daniel Soanes. When we rode over the Cox Town Bridge, Miriam would get off and push while I pedalled to fight gravity.

My starting salary was ₹1,200 a month. When I received my first cheque, I wrote home on an inland letter to tell my parents how grateful I was to have ‘a four-figure salary.’ Looking back, all I can say is that God has been more than faithful.

Between 1990 and 1997, Miriam and I spent enormous amounts of time visiting homes, sitting with members in hospitals, sharing monthly home communions, listening in counselling moments, and praying with people going through pain and difficulty.

The first sermon I preached at RTMC was on prayer — the prayers of Samuel, David, Elijah, and Isaiah. At the conclusion, a church member told me the preaching was reminiscent of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. You can imagine the trepidation that came over me.

The pulpit at RTMC became a sacred space, and I set apart my study and prayer times with sincere diligence. I never forgot the words of a preacher from another era:

“Preach to the brokenhearted, and your pews will never be empty.”
— Rev. Arun Andrews, on what the RTMC pulpit taught him

One of the hardest weeks in my memory was the week we had five funerals.

And one of the most heartbreaking stories I carry from those years is of Ragini, the sixteen-year-old daughter of Jayamma, one of our staff. She was hurt in a fire accident and taken to a government hospital. I rushed to see her, and when I saw the limitations of the care available, asked to move her to St. John’s Hospital, but a senior nursing official at the hospital prevailed on me to leave her, assuring me she would be well cared for.

On Good Friday, I received a call that Ragini was critical. I went immediately, accompanied by three doctors from CMC Vellore who had come to Bangalore for the service. After hours of protocol and seeking permissions, we were allowed to move her very late that night, but she was in critical condition by then.

She passed away before morning.

I remember Jayamma sitting on the hospital floor, weeping inconsolably. And then she lifted her eyes, looked at me, folded her hands, and said:

“Ayya, I will never forget how you tried your best to save my girl.”

The Wednesday midweek group is among my most cherished memories. Mr. L. Sundaram would lead the prayer time, calling for requests and writing them on a blackboard.

When I introduced small-group prayer for the first time, Brigadier Joyce Staggs got up and said she was not comfortable and walked out. I followed her and asked her to come back. Slowly the group adapted.

And then one Wednesday, when I told them we couldn’t break into groups because I had too much teaching material, Brigadier Staggs said:

“No, pastor, we can’t go without our small group prayers!”

That is the kind of transformation that makes pastoral ministry worthwhile.

I remember the first day we introduced a praise and worship team. The drums were new, and some members were not pleased. The matter came up at the board meeting. Some expressed reservations about the ‘loud new music.’

Pastor Soanes asked everyone to pay attention to the treasurer’s report. The treasurer reported that on the Sunday we introduced praise and worship, the offerings had gone up significantly.

With that, praise and worship became a regular part of our church life.

Miriam and I were married on 5th May 1990 at Richmond Town Methodist Church. Our son Nihal was dedicated here. I was ordained an elder here.

And it was here that I learnt the deepest lesson of my pastoral formation:

“Church is not about programmes. It is about God building his community of sinners saved by grace.”
— Rev. Arun Andrews

Several years after I had left RTMC and was serving at Koramangala Methodist Church, I was overtaken on the road by a young man on a motorcycle.

He went ahead, flagged me to stop, parked his bike, took off his helmet, and walked up to me.

“Sir, I don’t know if you remember me. I was a little boy at the Baldwin Boys’ School hostel when your wife and you used to come and tell us Bible stories. I am not a Christian, but I loved your stories from the Bible.”

That encounter said more about the ministry of those eight years than anything I could write.

I also want to say something about Pastor Soanes. Over seven years working together, we experienced unity, love, and respect in a special way. I owe him and Aunty Irene more than I can say.

One day it came to my notice that some people were not speaking highly of Pastor Soanes’ preaching — and in the same breath were comparing it favourably to mine.

I went to him the next morning and told him what I had heard. I said:

“Pastor, I am so sorry. I want you to know that every time you preach, you preach from the Bible, and I listen keenly and I am always blessed.”

He looked at me and said:

“Arun, when I requested Bishop Elia Peter to appoint you as my assistant, I knew then that you would preach better than me. Keep preaching as well as you do, for the Lord. It makes me very happy.”

I have never forgotten that lesson.

I am also grateful to Mr. Sundar Singh, who used to set the table for Holy Communion month after month. He once told me:

“Pastor, sometimes people are in love with Churchianity and not the Christ of Christianity.”

I have carried those words for a long time.

The Andrews family’s ministry promise is 1 Thessalonians 5:24: ‘Faithful is He that has called you, and He will do it.’

God has not failed His promises.

Keep shining like a city on a hill. Bangalore is better because you serve Jesus.

Rev. Arun Andrews
Assistant Pastor, RTMC 1989 • Associate Pastor, RTMC 1990–1997