A Life Given to the Gospel: Remembering Rev. Dr. John Wesley

The Evangelical Fellowship of India joins the Indian Evangelical Mission and the wider Church in India in mourning the passing of Rev. Dr. John Wesley, former General Secretary of the Indian Evangelical Mission.

We remember him with gratitude as a humble servant of Christ, a missionary leader, mentor and encourager who gave many years of his life to the proclamation of the Gospel and the strengthening of the Church.

His long association with the Indian Evangelical Mission reflected a deep conviction that the Indian Church must take responsibility for mission, raising and sending workers, strengthening local churches and engaging in cross-cultural mission. As General Secretary of IEM from 2007 to 2015, he carried forward a missionary vision that had shaped the organisation since its beginnings.

His service was also closely woven into the wider evangelical movement in India. During his years as General Secretary of IEM, he served on the Executive Committee of EFI and contributed to the life and leadership of the Fellowship. The relationship between IEM and EFI itself goes back to 1965, when IEM emerged from a missionary vision nurtured within EFI.

Yet Rev. Wesley’s ministry was never defined merely by the positions he held. Those who encountered him knew a man who sought to serve, encourage others and remain faithful to the calling God had entrusted to him. Even after completing his responsibilities at IEM, he continued to invest in Christian leaders and in the wider mission of the Church.

His passing also reminds us of an important conviction that marked his ministry: that mission requires more than words or good intentions. It calls for prayer, sacrifice, sending, going and a lifetime of obedience.

We thank God for Rev. Dr. John Wesley’s life, witness and faithful service to Christ and His Church. His labour has ended, but the fruit of that labour remains in the lives he influenced, the leaders he encouraged and the missionary movement he helped strengthen.

Our prayers are with his wife Mercy, their sons and the entire bereaved family, and with the Indian Evangelical Mission family, in this time of grief.

May the Lord comfort them and grant them His peace. May the memory of Rev. Wesley’s life inspire another generation to serve Christ with faithfulness, humility and devotion.

“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Matthew 25:21

Evangelical Fellowship of India
23 August 2026