USA (MNN) — Mission India is mourning the loss of their founder, Dr. John DeVries, who passed away last week surrounded by his family. As they grieve, they are also celebrating the profound impact DeVries had on Gospel ministry in India.
Mission India’s president Todd VanEk was good friends with DeVries and was deeply moved at a young age by his model of faith.
VanEk says, “I remember as a kid being in church and completely bored with the whole thing – until one day a guest minister showed up in our church by name of John DeVries. I was 13-years-old and I couldn’t get over the fact that I actually understood everything he said. The incredible passion that he had just impacted me so deeply.
(Photo courtesy of Mission India)
“In fact, at 56, I still remember that message. John talked about the power of Scripture and how God has called us to put that in the hands of people who don’t know Him.
“Through the incredible gifts that God gave him in communication, he was able to cast a vision into people’s lives to have them move into action…in advancing the kingdom of God.”
India has the largest number of unreached people groups in the world. In fact, one-third of the world’s remaining unreached people groups are in India. And DeVries was intent on sharing Jesus with them.
VanEk says, “It not only was the passion in John’s heart, but it literally broke his heart. He couldn’t talk about it without getting choked up and overwhelmed in terms of the need, but more importantly, in terms of how the power of the Holy Spirit was transforming lives.”
Please pray for the DeVries’s family as they mourn his death and celebrate his life well-lived for Christ. And pray according to the passion of DeVries’s heart – that the unreached people of India would know Jesus’s love for them.
You can also honor his memory by supporting Mission India’s ministry here.
“We’re grateful for John’s heart. We’re grateful for his ministry principles. We’re grateful for his passion, the simplicity of the programs he’s set up, and the incredible accountability and follow-through that he’s created,” VanEk says. “It’s a joy to know him and an honor to serve as the president of the organization that he built.”
Header photo of John and Adelaide DeVries courtesy of Mission India.
