HER looks don’t betray her zeal for the Lord. The diminutive, dusky girl would pass off for a collegian. And, that is one of her big plusses in the ministry among the youth that she does. Esther Pricilla was born in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. Her father is a pastor and runs the MPA Church in Chennai. Her family came over to Chennai when she was in her 8th standard. Thereafter, schooling and college were done in the City. When she was in college, a non-Christian institution, she noticed that she was the only believer in her class. “Seeing all those girls who do not know the love of Christ there was this deep burden in me. I wondered who’d tell them the Gospel? Luckily for her, the college had a Christian fellowship. She lost no time in joining it. Later, she took over the fellowship. Shortly thereafter, there was a great revival in my college. Many girls accepted Christ and were baptized,” Esther told Elsy Robin. Thus was born the Upper Room Youth Mission. The mission that works in campuses has covered 65 colleges so far. Excerpts from the interview with The Christian Messenger:  

Why did you decided to work among the youth and mainly college students?

That was my calling. When they are college students, their minds are very receptive. If they take a decision, it is very difficult to make them turn away from it. Peer influence is paramount during this time. One can reach them easily during the three or five years that they do their courses in the college; it becomes very difficult to locate them and reach them later. Moreover, youth is the pillar of India.

When did your mission start? How many students have accepted Christ through your ministry?

Our ministry started in 2001. Till date, over 2,000 students have accepted Christ through our mission. Of which more than 600 of them have been baptized.  

Is it because your father is a pastor that you got into this ministry?

No, no. It was a call of the Lord, and when I saw what happened in my college fellowship - that more students have accepted Christ - that really motivated me. I was determined to do something and reach them at any cost.

How do you gain entry into colleges?

Everything is done through prayer. Prayer precedes all our activities. We’ll go to a college and will look out for at least one Christian girl. We would tell her that we would like to start a fellowship in their college. We’ll always quote verses from the Bible and tell them that there is a certain purpose that God has kept them there. I tell them if they cannot share Gospel to their friends, then nobody else can come into their college and share it to them.

How is the response?

Mostly, it is positive. Very rarely have we encountered negative response.

How do you train the girls as leaders?

We teach them evangelism .We conduct courses for new believers. We teach the believers and train them as leaders to teach the non-believers. We use the alpha course for non-believers during lunch hour.

How often are these fellowship meetings held?

The meetings are held once in a week and done mostly outside the campus.  

How do you generate resources?

We are supported by the students.

Do you have a systematic approach to evangelizing students?

During the first semester, we have a ‘Day Away’. We allow them to enjoy the first half of the day. In the latter half, we share the Gospel. Then we have film shows for students. Films like ‘Thief in the night’ are shown. Then we have the concept of library for the students. We circulate literature on testimonies, prayers, missionaries, and the Holy Spirit relevant to their needs. Besides these, we have Bible studies and special prayer meetings before examinations.

Where do the meticulous planning and strategies for the ministry come from?

I have always wondered how business houses achieve their targets. They work hard, strategize, plan and execute. Churches and missions also need to have targets – they should be looking at winning souls for Christ. And we need to plan and strategize to achieve the targets. God expects us to work hard in this area.

What’s your vision for Upper Room Youth Mission?

We want to spread out to five major cities in India. Towards this end, we have expanded our activities to men’s colleges as well. Our motto is simple. Every Christian should be a leader and lead others to Christ. Every one should be involved in ministry.

Upper Room Youth Mission is located at 134/A, Kuttiappan Street, Kilpauk, Chennai 10. Phone: 91-44-65467448 / 42640013 / 26430263. Email: estherpricilla@gmail.com  Website: collegeministries.org

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