A LIFE GIVEN TO THE LORD: A MISSION OF DISCIPLESHIP | KAIROS GLOBAL | OCTOBER 2026

Author: Dr Santhosh Joseph

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ntro: The Jesus Youth’s country-spanning full-timer training programme began with Dr Santhosh Joseph asking himself an unusual question. He narrates the rest of the story.

There are moments in life when a simple question can change the entire direction of one’s journey: ‘Lord, what do You want from me?’ For me, that question became the beginning of a lifelong journey of surrender, evangelisation, discipleship, and missionary service. What began as a young man’s desire to give something more to God eventually became a mission that touched the lives of hundreds of young people and continues to bear fruit decades later.

I was around twenty years old, completing my final year of graduation and deeply involved with Jesus Youth. I was filled with enthusiasm and a burning desire to proclaim Jesus and evangelise. At that stage of my life, I believed that serving God meant giving generously from what I had. When I began working as a computer sales and service executive, I was excited to put that principle of giving 10% into practice.

But gradually, another thought began to trouble me. I was working hard, sometimes for long hours, and I began to ask myself: Is this all I can give to the Lord? Ten percent of my salary could perhaps sponsor someone for a charismatic retreat. That was valuable, but something deeper was stirring within me. I began asking, ‘Lord, what do You really want from me?’

Then an unusual thought came to me. If I could give ten percent of my income, could I give ten percent of my life? At twenty-one years, could I give two full years of my life to the Lord? The idea seemed radical, but the more I prayed about it, the more compelling it became. During silent retreats, the thought became stronger. Eventually, I wrote Jesus a response, expressing my desire to give my life to Him.

Even before making that decision, I had begun practising the discipline of giving ten percent of my time to God – approximately two hours and forty minutes each day in prayer, Eucharist, and Bible study. That discipline prepared me to take the larger step of surrendering an entire period of my life to missionary service.

It was not an isolated decision. I spoke with my parents. My father was approaching retirement, and our family was large – five children with my father as the primary earner. Naturally, as the eldest child, my decision had practical consequences. While my parents were supportive, some family members questioned whether this was simply a way of escaping responsibility – perhaps an unwillingness to study, work, or think about the future.

Yet, with my father’s guidance, I sought counsel from trusted spiritual leaders like Fr Paul Lenthaparambil, Fr Abraham Pallivathukal and Prof Edward Edezhath. The response I received was encouraging. They recognised my desire as genuine and encouraged me to discern God's will.

I realised that God was asking for something more than being an itinerant preacher. I wanted to stay and help young people encounter Christ, become disciples, and eventually become missionaries themselves.

I completed my work commitment and left my job in Sept 1991. At first, I had no detailed plan. I travelled to retreats, conferences, and gatherings throughout Kerala. Wherever university students were present, I would challenge them with a simple but profound question: ‘How many of you are willing to give your entire life to Christ?’

Those who were interested were invited to send their names and contact information by postcard to Prof CC Alicekutty. From September 1991 onward, I travelled through major cities across Kerala, meeting young people and sharing this invitation. For several months, it felt like a small and uncertain initiative. Then people began writing back. Young men and women genuinely wanted to give a year of their lives to the Lord. That realisation changed everything.

The next question was: What would we do with them? I understood that evangelisation could not simply mean preaching. Initially, it needed conversion, transformation, and a personal encounter with Jesus. After the initial conversion, it needed opportunities for deeper formation, prayer, growth, and practical evangelisation.

I began exploring existing models of missionary and evangelisation training. I discovered the possibility of adapting a School of Evangelisation formation curriculum into a shorter and more practical program. Rather than requiring four or six months, the curriculum could be compressed into a one-month intensive formation programme, followed by several months of practical missionary experience.

With help from trained missionaries such as Norman Hayde, Antony Sagayaraj,  Sheeba Victor, Fr Gino Henriques and others involved in evangelisation training, the missionary formation curriculum was revised and adapted. What had started as a personal dream was beginning to take concrete shape.

But a mission requires more than an idea. It requires people, resources, and a place. Finding a location seemed almost impossible. Father Alex Viruthukulangara was instrumental in helping us find accommodation for the young women and a separate, old, neglected house for the young men that the Redemptorist seminarians cleaned and repaired. The practical challenges were enormous, but doors kept opening. Prof Sr Alice Prasanna came forward to accompany us for one year, which helped the young ladies. Baby Chacko, the Director of Emmaus, was available for the young men to listen to and guide.

Even the financial need was met through an unexpected act of faith. When the cost was estimated at approximately ₹40,000, Prof. Alicekutty suggested finding forty people willing to contribute ₹1,000 each. What appeared impossible suddenly became achievable.

The first year of full-timership began quietly in 1992. Twenty-seven young people had committed themselves to the year-long journey. Because there were no mobile phones then, we waited for participants to actually arrive to confirm participation. I remember the overwhelming feeling of seeing them come together. Twenty-seven people had said ‘yes’ to giving a year of their lives to Christ. The responsibility was enormous. I could only pray, ‘Lord, you take control.’

The formation included prayer, evangelisation, community life, and practical missionary outreach. After their formation, the young people were sent to different places to evangelise. This created another series of challenges: Where would they stay? Who would support them? Who would guide them? What would they do when they arrived in a traditional and sometimes conservative environment?

Three main companions, Mathews Immanuel, Binu Augustine, Tony Koola and others, got involved in the effort and worked tirelessly to support the missionaries. They travelled, organised placements, found accommodation, and solved problems across 20 locations with help from local elders.

After three months in mission locations, everyone returned to reflect and pray. The experience reminded us of the apostles returning to Jesus after being sent into mission. We gathered, prayed, cried, laughed, and shared stories of ridicule, uncertainty, difficulties, and unexpected grace.

That gathering became a profound lesson in discipleship. We began to understand that discipleship is not simply about receiving formation. It is about being sent, going into the field to harvest, encountering people where they are, accompanying them, and helping them discover Christ.

I also introduced a simple discipline: each missionary was encouraged to keep track of the people they were accompanying. They were asked to identify approximately twelve to twenty-four people each month whom they would intentionally meet, encourage, and disciple. We maintained records of their names, backgrounds, colleges, and meetings. Eventually, the list contained around two hundred people. This was more than recordkeeping. It reflected a fundamental understanding of evangelisation: people are not projects; they are relationships. The goal was not merely to count how many people heard a message but to accompany individuals in their journey toward Christ.

At the end of the first year, the fruits were unmistakable. The young missionaries had experienced transformation themselves, and they had witnessed God working through their efforts. Their stories inspired others. At least another hundred and fifty young people expressed a desire to give a year of their lives to the Lord.

The second year followed, though the original location and participants were no longer available. Once again, God led the way. Fr Sebastian Pottanani of SVD offered a retreat house that could accommodate up to fifty people and offered to underwrite the costs through his community. A missionary priest, Fr George Madukkakuzhy SVD, was also available to assist with the formation. The mission continued.

What had initially been an uncertain response to a personal calling had become a model of missionary discipleship. Formation led to mission, mission led to transformation, and transformation inspired others to become missionaries themselves. The movement continued into a third year and eventually beyond.

Today, more than three decades later, the story remains alive. What began in the early 1990s continues in different forms, carrying the same fundamental spirit of the early Christian community: encounter Christ, become His disciple, and go out to share Him with others.

The journey also transformed my understanding of vocation. After those early years, I returned to work and home responsibilities, married, and began raising a family. The question of surrender did not disappear. Instead, it became broader: ‘Where else do you want US to work? What else do you want us to do with OUR life?’

Marriage brought a new dimension to discernment. Mission could no longer be understood as an individual calling. My wife, Bijie, and I started our missionary life, and it became essential that we discerned together. By God’s grace, we discovered that we shared the same desire to serve. What had once been a solitary response to God gradually became a shared family mission.

That calling eventually took us to challenging places where, for nearly two decades, we have been involved in building missionary and discipleship formation. More recently, that journey has extended into another context, including work with the Spanish-speaking community, with a continuing desire to proclaim Christ and form missionary disciples.

Through all these years, the mission has required surrender and sacrifice. It has affected all of us, especially our children. They have witnessed the uncertainties, challenges, sacrifices, and demands that come with placing God’s call at the centre of family life. Yet the fundamental question has remained unchanged since I was twenty years old: ‘Lord, how can we better serve You? How can we offer You all that You have given us?’

Looking back, I realise that the original decision to give two years to the Lord was never really about two years. It was about permitting God to shape an entire life. Sacrificing time opened the door to a deeper understanding of vocation. The first group of twenty-seven young people became part of something much larger. Their missionary experience inspired others, and those others inspired still more.

The greatest lesson is that God often begins with a simple act of surrender. We may not know where it will lead. We may not have the resources, the plan, or even the confidence that it will succeed. But when a person sincerely asks, ‘Lord, what do You want from me?’ and is willing to respond, God can transform a personal desire into a mission that reaches far beyond the individual.

What began with a young man asking whether he could give ten percent of his life to God became a lifelong journey of discipleship, evangelisation, family, sacrifice, and service. And after more than thirty years, the prayer remains the same: Lord, take what You have given me, and use it for Your purposes.

Dr Joseph Santhosh holds a PhD in AI and lives with his wife Bijie, daughters Maria, Elizabeth, Angelica and sons Joseph Jr and Thomas in Los Angeles, USA.