Watford-born Manoj Raithatha is an epitome of St Paul: he considered wealth rubbish and pursued Christ.Manoj, 38, comedy writer turned property tycoon gave it all up to unite British-born South Asian Christians in the United Kingdom.
“At one time my main focus was on making money and being successful in business. Nowadays, my ambition is to bring together fellow South Asian believers as well as connect with people of other faiths,” he said.
He now encourages unity among estimated 75,000 South Asian Christians living in Britain. These South Asians hail from either one of the eight countries in the said region – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The near death experience of his toddler son Ishaan in 2008 led him to Christ. He then became a national coordinator of the newly-formed South Asian Forum (SAF) an integral part of the Evangelical Alliance.
SAF was formed earlier this year to unite and support diverse Asian Christians in Britain.
“The South Asian Forum of Evangelical Alliance has been formed out of our passion to unite around the Gospel and reach out in mission. Our disunity dishonours Christ and undermines our message of the Gospel. We are intended to give the world a taste of the unity of heaven, where people from every different background will be together,” Krish Kandiah, executive director of the Evangelical Alliance: Churches in Mission, commented.
The forum is a voice that responds quickly and with unity to issues. An example is the pressure on Christians in Pakistan and the on-going fragility of the country. Another is the persecution of some Indian Christians, or the intense suffering caused by the divisions in Sri Lanka.
“We want to draw people - especially South Asians - to the knowledge and love of Jesus, so they can live joyful and purpose driven lives in relationship with the Lord God. We all have a part in this. We want to build relationships with leaders across Asian and non-Asian churches, and to win the support of churches throughout the country, so we can work collectively to encourage and equip each other for mission. We are keen to support existing networks by helping with media links and wider connections,” Manoj said.
Manoj was a successful playwright. He wrote the Bafta-winning TV series 'My Life as a Popat' based on an Indian family living in Harrow. His first play was ‘BBA and Proud’ (it stands for British-born Asian). It won for him an Edinburgh Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Festival. He then was commissioned to tour UK theatres.
After, he became a property speculator. He brokered one of the UK’s single biggest residential deals by buying Clarence House in Leeds at a cool £34.5m.
Sources: www.eauk.org www.christiantoday.com
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