By Our Correspondent
DR. Y Thanga Bose, founder of Arise and Build Christian (ABC) Prayer Fellowship, entered heavenly rest today (Jan 19, 2015). He was 72.
Thanga Bose had impacted both lay people and ministers of God through his multifarious contribution in the secular world and the Kingdom of God in various capacities – as an evangelist, writer, magazine editor and HRM and Leadership trainer.
He complained of uneasiness and breathlessness in the morning and was rushed to a private hospital in Chennai. Although he was rushed to the intensive care unit, doctors could not revive him. He died of cardiac arrest. He returned home only on Jan 18 after ministering among Muslim converts in Vellore for three days. That was to be his last evangelical outreach program.
Born on April 25, 1942, Thanga Bose had a religious upbringing. His parents hailed from Kumarapuram Thoppur in Kanyakumari district. His father Yesudian Gnanakkan worked as an administrator at a tea estate in Pachcha Malai near Valparai. Evangelist Prakash Yesudian who passed away on July 22 last year was his younger brother.
Thanga Bose was a pioneer in ‘friendship evangelism’ – a non-threatening method of witnessing and sharing the Gospel. He had successfully initiated several friendship evangelism programs in Chennai city. Reaching people of the metropolis with the Gospel by a targeted approach of postal pin codes was one of the initiatives he launched in the ministry. This was a door to door city evangelism initiative where every year a pin code is selected and local churches irrespective of any denomination are then approached to mobilize volunteers. According to the ABC Prayer Fellowship website, one million gospel literature and tracts were distributed in 30 pin code areas of Chennai under this initiative. It was later extended to Trichy, Salem, Coimbatore and Madurai.
Before he got into the Lord’s service, Thanga Bose served in the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Department, Central Public Sector undertakings such as Food Corporation of India, Central Warehousing Corporation and Madras Fertilizers Limited (MFL) for over 35 years. After he retired as Joint General Manager (HR & Employee Administration) at MFL, he started the ABC Prayer Fellowship.
He was the editor of Riseup and Build, a Christian monthly magazine. He had written several books of acclaim. ‘Master, Manager, Management’ is one of them.
He is survived by wife Sheela Bose, daughter Hannah Carol Vijay and son James Ebenezer Raj, son-in-law Vijay Kumar, daughter-in-law Eunice Anita and two grandsons.
His funeral service will be held at 3 pm at the CSI Redeemer’s Church in Kilpauk, Chennai, on Jan 20. For more information ABC Prayer Fellowship can be reached at 044-2656 2405, 4283 3169. Email: abcprayer [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] in
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