In My Father’s Footsteps
By Daniel Timotheos Yohannan
Willingness to be used of God
When I was a little boy, my family and I would often visit my father’s village in South India. He was the youngest of six brothers, and they remembered very well how he was at my age. When my uncles saw me running all over the village and climbing any tree I could find, they would tell my mom, “He looks and acts exactly like his father did when he was small.”
I’ve always had a lot of energy, and my brain tends to fire on all cylinders at once. Knowing my dad was the same way gave me hope for the future. I remember him telling me about the time he joined a mission’s group at age 16. He was shy and nervous and felt he had very little talent to serve God with. I thought the same way when I was a teenager. I didn’t feel like I had a lot to offer, and I wondered how the Lord could really use me for ministry.
Looking back over the years, I now realize one of the most important lessons I have learned through watching my father’s journey in ministry is this: When God chooses someone for a task, He will also equip them to do it. The only requirement is to be obedient. My father was proof to me that this is true. God saw my father and his willingness to be used. Even though he didn’t know if he could offer much, my father was obedient to God’s call on his life. And now we can see all the Lord was able to do through his constant life of surrender.
Commitment to the Work
One of the clearest memories I have of my father is of how hard he worked, even when no one was watching. For instance, he was on the radio for more than 30 years with a daily broadcast in South Asia. Most people who have a regular broadcast have entire teams behind
Because of his hard work and dedication, we eventually had these radio broadcasts translated into 110 languages and aired in multiple countries. My father’s voice became a familiar sound throughout South India. There were times we would stop at a tea shop in a very remote area while traveling from village to village, and the shop owner, after hearing his voice, would ask, “Are you K.P. Yohannan from the radio?”
Fast forward almost 40 years later, during his funeral in India: More than 70,000 people came for his public viewing. Most of them grew up listening to his radio broadcasts and were greatly impacted by him.
Time for Others
It was my father’s love for God and passion for missions, coupled with relentless hard work, that I had the privilege to witness up close. I think he always saw time as fast counting down to zero, and every moment he had was an opportunity to do something that would bear eternal fruit.
His laser-beam focus on making the most of his time didn’t just apply to global missions, either. He would constantly seek to use his interactions with people as an opportunity to be Christ to them, no matter who it was. Even though he grew to become one of the most influential Christian leaders of our time, he was willing to drop everything for someone who needed his help. He took the time to pray for people, counsel them and encourage them. He was never “too important” to talk to a mother in the slums or a beggar outside the train station. He never became “so dignified” that he couldn’t hold a small street child covered in dirt while he tried to make him laugh.
Lessons in Leaderships
My father’s style of leadership in ministry was completely opposite of what is typical in the business world. He wasn’t worried that we operate in the most efficient way possible; he was more concerned that we follow the principles Christ laid out before us: humility, forgiveness and love for others. He was incredibly gracious with people serving with us, even those who didn’t measure up, and would often say, “You take care of the people, and the people will take care of the work. The most important investment we make is in the people God has entrusted us with.”
I think this lesson, in particular, has become foundational in my own life. Like my father, I never want to be too busy for the people under my leadership. I want to always be willing to drop what I’m doing to listen, understand and help those around me succeed in serving the Lord. This is the character I desire to emulate from my father.
Continuing His Legacy
I’ve been asked, “What was life like growing up with K.P. Yohannan, a worldwide mission’s leader, as my father?” But that is difficult to answer. The ministry began when I was just a small child, so I have never known anything else. However, what I can say is this: I’m privileged to have known my father up close and to be his son. Because of his commitment and willingness to take his whole family to the mission field with him, I am now serving the Lord today. Without him and his life-long example, I would not be who I am, and I would not be doing what I am doing.
For me, I have never felt the need to step out from my father’s shadow and carve out my own path. Even now that I’m leading the work he began, I’m not thinking I have to put my own stamp on it and do something unique to define myself. Instead, I am deeply confident God has called me to press on with the same vision and passion He gave my father—to know Christ and make Him known to a world that desperately waits to hear of His love for them!
And this is what I plan to do for however long God has me on this earth.