More of Jesus, Less of Us

Welcome to Leadership Talk. Today we have Ms Shraddha who’s an evangelist by calling and is the founder of Jesus Alone Ministries sharing her testimony and how the Lord has brought her where she is right now. Do listen to this amazing story.

Transcript:

Ps. Priji: Greetings in Jesus’ name. Welcome to leadership talk podcast. It is our great joy to come to you month after month, bringing you God’s heart concerning our leadership abilities. We have to be leaders that look like Jesus, that talk like Jesus, that lead like Jesus, He is and always been the ultimate example of leadership. Today, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Ms. Shraddha, who’s an evangelist by calling and is the founder of Jesus Alone Ministries (JAM).We would love to learn and understand, how the Lord has brought her where she is, and what has been the process. We’d also love to understand from her leadership, and learn how God uses her and how we can yield ourselves to God.

Shraddha: Thank you for the invitation. It is a privilege and an honour to be here. It is a pleasure to be able to talk about leadership from the perspective of how to function in ways Jesus would, and, to be consumed by the person of Jesus. Because, at the end of the day it all comes back to enjoying who He is, and being consumed by the person of Jesus.

Ps. Priji: We would love to know about your journey with the Lord, where did it begin, how did you encounter Jesus, and how did that change your life and also, we’d love to hear a little bit about the process of growth in your personal journey with the Lord.

Shraddha: I was born in a Hindu Brahmin family and I got to know Jesus through my Dad. As a 5 year old, when I started reading the Bible, I sensed a good feeling in my heart. One day as I was listening and singing to a Telugu song in my room, someone called my name ‘Shraddha’ and I got scared because I had locked the room myself and I knew no one else was there. I saw a man dressed in white robe and blue shall just like the Jesus toy, my dad had gifted me. He said ’Shraddha come near me’ and as I went near, He hugged me and kissed me and said ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ Little did I know, later in my life, that would be the exact verse, which would bring hope and comfort during a traumatic phase. I realized, Jesus was equipping me for what was about to happen with His rhema Word.

Though I started my ministry at the age of 12 in 2012, it is only in 2017, after experiencing a series of harsh realities in life, I started having my own revelations from the Word of God and that is the same time, doors started opening up to reach out to more people through the TV ministry. If you see the promise God gave me when I was a child, not only was it an assurance, but also, it had a greatness destined beyond my wildest imagination.

Ps. Priji: I love how the revelation that Jesus gave you personally, became the rock and foundation on which your ministry would be established. I would like to understand how did you grow in your teaching ability? What kind of advise would you give to somebody new in ministry irrespective of age? What would be your advise to them on, how to prepare, how to change, how to grow and to become who God wants them to be.

Shraddha: Initially as I started preaching, I used to be amazed by the revelations and eloquence of other ministers, I was exalting the man rather than the source of those divine revelations. In 2017, with the occurrence of a traumatic phase, I started surrendering everything to Jesus and in that moment of surrender, I stopped trying hard to create sermons from my wisdom, although it came from a heart of love for Jesus. When I made my ministry absolutely about Jesus and presented myself as a mere vessel, to be used for His glory, Holy Spirit started taking control. I no longer depended on my efforts or abilities, but solely on Holy Spirit and I became a spectator as Holy Spirit used me as a vessel to reach thousands.

 Ps. Priji: You started ministering when you were young and I want to understand whether you faced any fears during your growth phase and how did you exercise your faith in the presence of those fears. One of the things that I’ve experienced when I am mentoring young leaders is that, a lot of people give up because they’re afraid of failure. So, they end up making decisions based on fear, instead of faith. I would like to know from your perspective, how did you face those fears that stood in your way.

Shraddha: Sometimes as humans we give into fears and yes, there were times when the enemy made me to doubt my calling, because, I wasn’t satisfied with the pace at which Jesus Alone Ministries was growing. I wasn’t sure anymore, if, Jesus wanted me to do this, just because I didn’t see the outcome, I was expecting. There was a lot of mind attacks from the enemy during that season until one day I got reminded of a verse where it says ‘He gives you the willingness’, God gives us the will to desire for the things He wills, He puts those desires in our heart and the enemy tries to hijack those desires by infiltrating our minds with doubts and confusion. In an effort to overcome these mind attacks, I started tuning in to the Word of God more often and the Word, started speaking into my situations. Also, I believe confessing faith during your difficult times can most definitely lift up your spirit and it was my weapon to counter the enemies plans.

Ps. Priji: Yes, there is so much power in what we confess. We can either choose to confess, according to our present situation or, choose to confess God’s word regardless of the situation. Because, the Bible doesn’t say let the weak say they are weak, but instead, it says ‘let the weak say I’m strong.’ Here, the Word of God is teaching us to confess a spiritual truth over a physical reality. On another note, I’d like to understand your perspective on how to grow in terms of raising other leaders like you. How do you raise, train and equip them?

Shraddha: I believe it requires passion, desire and a compassionate heart to lead others on your same path. I can only point them to Jesus and help them to be Christ-centered in all their dealings. Because, you cannot be a constant part on their journey and they need to learn to have total dependency on Jesus. In 1 John 2:27, it says ‘Holy Spirit teaches you all things’, in all your steps Holy Spirit will guide you. So, all you have to do is ask, and, seek.

Ps. Priji: Amen! thank you so much Shraddha. If our listeners need to connect with you what’s the best way they can connect with you on social media or email or what is the best way they can connect with you.

Shraddha: I am on Instagram and the account name is Jesus Alone Ministries. You can write to me on this account and I’ll be sure to leave a response. Thank you.