Ps. P. A. Abraham & Annie Abraham

Pazhengeril Abraham was born in Niranam, a village in Kerala, India, where the Apostle Thomas, in the 1st century AD, has been believed to have established one of the oldest churches in Kerala – the St. Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church. Abraham was the youngest of five sons born to Pazhengeril Geevarghese and Sosamma. His family was part of the Marthomite church – a large protestant Christian denomination in Kerala. During his school years, several Pentecostal outreach activities and outdoor public convention meetings used to take place in Niranam. These meetings were led by famous Christian preachers, such as Mundakayam John Upadeshi, Thottukadavil Kunjappi Upadeshi, K. V. Cheriyan, Aleyamma Ommen and others, and by organizations such as Ceylon Pentecostal Mission, Indian Pentecostal Church (IPC), and the like. Abraham and his friends used to attend these meetings mainly to mock at the singing and they never cared for the gospel message that was preached at these convention meetings.

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However, one day, in 1962, while Abraham and his friends were mocking from outside a convention meeting, his heart was captivated by the words of a song that was sung by a preacher, named Aashari Upadeshi. The words of the song read something like this: "Now is not the time to obtain houses and fields; instead, you run through the jungles and cross over the mountains to win souls for Christ”. The words captivated Abraham’s heart, and he spent the rest of the time listening to the sermon attentively.  He lost his peace that day, and spent the night in tears, praying and confessing his sins to God. Next morning, he went to the convention and was the first one to stand up when the altar call was given, and he gave his heart to Jesus that day. On the fifth day of the convention, Abraham publicly confessed his faith in Jesus and got baptized in water. Thus, Abraham accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior in 1962. Until then, he was living a carefree and self-willed life, spending more time with friends and participating in various cultural activities, while giving less attention to his academic studies.

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Abraham began to serve the Lord Jesus in his high school years, as an evangelist, and he was able to lead many people to Christ. After his high school, Abraham went along with his cousin, K.P. Yohannan (founder of Gospel for Asia), to Trivandrum, to work for Operation Mobilization (OM). He and Yohannan travelled together as part of the OM team to many places in South India. After serving in OM for some years, Abraham received a clear understanding of God’s calling on his life. So he left OM and returned to his hometown, and started attending the Niranam branch of the Indian Pentecostal Church. He got involved in various ministries at the church and served the Lord with the church’s pastor. Later, he went on to complete theological training at Kumbanad Bible college. After his theological studies, in the year 1970, he went along with Pastor K. C. Matthews to preach the gospel in the state of Karnataka.

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In 1971, Abraham married sister Annie, the fifth child born to Samuel and Sosamma Samuel. Annie’s family were among the first who came to the faith when the Pentecostal movement started in Kerala. Sister Annie also had God’s calling for ministry and she did theological studies at Southern Asia Bible College, Bangalore.

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After their marriage, Pastor Abraham and Annie, started serving the Lord Jesus together as full-time missionaries in the state of Karnataka. For nearly 50 years, they preached and taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in almost all parts of Karnataka, and planted many churches, especially in places where no churches existed before. They raised up and ordained many people into the service of the Lord. They and their six children fervently served the Lord even though they had to suffer various hardships, hunger, persecutions, and sicknesses. Through their ministry, many souls came to Christ, and in Jesus name, many demon-possessed people were delivered and many who were sick were healed. Their six children were also actively involved in their ministry.  After serving the Lord in many parts of Karnataka, they came to Haleangadi, Mangalore, in 1983, and founded the Zion Gospel Assembly church. Their life of faith and sacrifices have blessed thousands of believers in and outside India during their 50 years of ministry. The Lord has also used Pastor Abraham to preach the gospel of Jesus in many parts of the world - in the Middle East, Nepal, Australia, Canada, and the United States.

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Today, all their six children are living outside India, serving the Lord either in part-time or in full-time ministry. Pastor Abraham and Annie Abraham are residing with their youngest daughter and family, in the state of Washington, United States. They continue to serve the Lord in prayer and by ministering the Word of God to many believers worldwide over the internet.