Dr. E. Vijaya Bhaskar/India

Dr E. Vijaya Bhaskar/India

Dr E. Vijaya Bhaskar was ordained in 1990 at St John Jacob's Lutheran Church, Podalkur. He has been a pastor in several parishes and cities and has been the Bishop of the Lutheran Church of South Andhra since 2020.

The 62-year-old has worked in various capacities in the church administration as Vice President of South Andhra Lutheran Church, Chairman of the Education Committee, Executive Member and Ministry Secretary. He has held honorary positions in other Christian organisations as chairman of the Gurukul Theological Committee, board member of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India, the National Council of Churches of India and the Andhra Christian Theological College. In March 2023, he received an honorary doctorate from Andhra Christian Theological College.

At the Andhra Christian Theological College in Hyderabad, he obtained both a Bachelor of Divinity (1990) and a Bachelor of Theology (1986).

Dr E. Vijaya Bhaskar also writes, composes and sings gospel music and has produced several albums.

Why is the Mission Organisation important to you?

Mission organizations remain vital for several reasons:

God: ELM gave God to us. Today we are liberated and empowered by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We praise His Holy Name for Hermannsburg Mission Society for sending servants of our God to us and introducing the Love of Christ to the so-called marginalized and underprivileged people. The missionaries reminded us that we are valued in the sight of the Lord and are made in His Image and He died for our sins. ELM is important to remind us who called us to the Light and whom we serve.

Roots of Church: We know ELM founded of our Church and this reminds us of the struggles and life sacrifices of the faithful servants of God. Our church is built not only on the holy sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but also on the selfless sacrifices of all the missionaries that were sent by the Hermannsburg Mission.

Current inspiration: Our Church is still standing alive and thriving with all the challenges society poses for us. We draw inspiration from the stories of the missionaries; the toils of their life and help us to serve the Lord faithfully today. We heard the stories from our parents and grandparents who walked with the missionaries, and we now take the responsibility to share these stories with our children and their children.

Future Hope: Living with these inspiring stories, drawing courage from the fact that God is the founder of our church, knowing that He will continue to be our hope, and, most importantly, being reminded of the salvation Jesus gave to all of us, we will continue to serve Him through this Church. We believe we are the fruits of the missionaries' ministry and are called to be the answers to those fasting prayers, prayerful walks, and street preaching. We praise God for the testimony we carry today and it is the light on a hill that cannot be hidden.

What role does the Mission Organisation play for you as a partner in the mission?

Unfortunately, we have lost our relationship over the years. We failed to keep the relationship with ELM. As the church only sought projects from the mission organization, our relationship didn’t continue to grow. But it will be nice if the Church and Mission organization renew our relationship and support one another in the mission work.

Has there been a particular event in your church that was characterized by the Mission Organisation? If so, please describe this event.

Unfortunately, we have not done anything since 2015. A delegation from our Church visited the ELM office and was hosted. We have not followed up or continue to build relationships effectively since then.

What do you hope the mission organization will do for your church in the Future?

Renew our partnership/relationship
Accompany one another in serving the Lord and mission support
Frequent visits to one to share and see the growth
Share the resources, such as exchange of ministers and mission builders in training the future pastors and leaders

In which areas should the mission organization become involved?

PRAYER SUPPORT
Renew relationship
Resource mobilization: Contextual appreciation of SALC and ELM and finding areas where we can share our talents and gifts and resources.
Volunteer program to come and learn from one another and volunteer involvement for mission endeavors.
Global Outreach: Exchanging pastors and theological students

What else I would like to say to the mission organization:

Be intentional in building our relationship. We have not maintained strong relationships, and it is time to recognize this and forgive one another and move forward.

About South Andhra Lutheran Church (SALC):

The SALC is the second Telugu-speaking Lutheran Church, founded in 1947. However, the origins of the church date back to 1865, when Pastor August Mylius of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Hermannsburg (HELM) in Germany began his evangelistic work in the southern part of Andhra. The First World War forced the German missionaries to leave India in 1915. Five years later, American missionaries from the Ohio Lutheran Evangelical Mission (OLEM) took over the leadership of the abruptly ended work of the German missionaries. Today, the church covers the southern part of Andhra (the districts of Nellore, Cuddapah and Chittor) and some parts of Tamil Nadu, with "diaspora" congregations in Chennai. The American connection led to the synodal form of government. Today, the SALC has 33,863 members in 44 congregations. 95 % of the members are Dalits and belong to the economically weak class.
Educational work has always been of the utmost importance to this church. One of its schools in Tirupati, a Hindu pilgrimage centre and seat of the SALC headquarters, was visited by a former student during the celebrations for the seventy-fifth anniversary of the church in 1955. It was none other than the President of India himself, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975), a well-known scholar and philosopher. This was a real endorsement of the church's educational work. The SALC is a partner of the Telugu Indigenous Curriculum Project and co-operates with other Telugu-speaking churches and the AELC. "These educational efforts include the use of festivals, songs, theatre plays and traditional Indian forms of communication."
Our church is committed to peace and harmony in relationships with our global partners to promote the welfare of the marginalised and women.