Four of us from Damansara Reformed Baptist Church, visited Sri Lanka from 13 to 22 July 2022, viz. myself, Goody, Weng Keong, and Martyn Wong. Weng Keong and Martyn were visiting for the first time. Our last visit to the country was in August 2018. The Covid pandemic had prevented a planned visit in 2020. This visit was to coincide with the wedding celebration of Jemima, daughter of Pastor Jeyakanth and Vani, to Joe, a young man from USA. Their wedding was held in London in early July. Joe’s parents and younger sister were in Sri Lanka for the wedding celebration.
Trincomalee
We arrived at about mid-night, and were taken on a four-hours’ drive, on the new highway, from the airport to Trincomalee. In the 1990’s, the journey took about seven hours. With the improved roads after the tsunami of 24 December 2004, and the end of the civil war in May 2009, the journey took about five hours. We were pleasantly surprised that the journey took only four hours this time.
We were put to work the following day, after some hours’ of sleep. A series of meetings were held in the Telegu-speaking church at Thambalagam, about half-hour out of town. This was the first church founded by Pastor Jeyakanth in 1990. All three men in our team spoke, as well as Brother Joe Sr., father of the groom. Over 300 people were present during the meetings. This was particularly heartening to us as we were aware of the recent problems faced by the church in which the disgruntled assistant pastor took away a group of people to form his own church, while an old nemesis of Pr. Jeyakanth had spread the word overseas that church attendance had been reduced to only a handful of people. It was clear that only a handful of people had left the church.
This was followed by a combined church camp at the premises of the 6th Mile Post church, which was founded as a fruit of the tsunami relief efforts in 2005. Over 400 people were present. The camp began with early morning talks, followed by wedding celebration, in which were singing, speeches, and food. More talks followed in which the speakers took turns to preach, together with programmes for the children. By the end of the one-day camp, everyone had been fed well physically and spiritually.
A wedding reception was held in an hotel for guests made up of relatives, friends, and government officials known to Pr. Jeyakanth, during which a gospel message was preached. After the event, there was opportunity for the new Malaysian and American delegates to do some sight-seeing.
Velluchennai
We made a day trip to the south where each man spoke at a church, and food-stuff was distributed to needy families. One of the churches visited was that of Pastor Kugarasa, whose buffaloes were poisoned to death by hostile Hindus in 2018. The loss of six buffaloes had not discouraged the man who continues to inspire the people. It was heartening to hear him reminding the people receiving food aid, saying, “We are living in a difficult time. Make sure that you use the food-stuff carefully.” Sri Lanka is facing severe economic and political crises. Riots were taking place in the capital during our visit, which resulted in the deposition of the president of the country. In every town, vehicles were queuing up for diesel, which was rationed. A person had to wait as long as four days to get 40 litres of diesel.
Hatton
The trip to the central highlands included an enjoyable stopover at the Botanical Garden at Kandy. It was the most well-maintained and beautiful garden we have ever seen. After winding our way up the cool mountains, we arrived at the main church at Meddakumbra. The three-story building had been built in stages over the years that we visited the country. The church spawned a number of congregations among the Tamils in the tea plantations. These are descendants of the bonded labourers brought in from south India by the British to work on the tea plantations in the 1800’s. They speak a different dialect from the Tamils of the lowlands, and had been largely overlooked by the government until God used Pastor Jeyakanth to bring the gospel to them some years ago.
The three-days’ church leaders’ conference was attended by about 60 people. More would have attended if not for the crippling effect of the fuel shortage. The theme of Biblical Missions was covered, together with other doctrinal and devotional talks. Another wedding celebration was held for Joe and Jemima — a testimony to the love of the people for one another. Six persons were baptised as well.
After the conference, we parted ways — the Americans and the Malaysians were taken to the airport near Colombo, to take our respective flights home.
Assessment of the situation
Trials within and without
Pastor Jeyakanth has been the target of slander from his countrymen for many years. This has taken a turn for the worse in recent days, involving people who were until recently his close associates. His is a case of, “Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now (1 Cor. 4:12-13).”
During the civil war in Sri Lanka, Jeyakanth had had to flee the country when his life was in danger. He was sponsored by the Metropolitan Tabernacle to settle in London, where he maintains an office up to the present, while doing some translation of books into Tamil for the church. Jeyakanth had subsequently joined membership with a smaller church outside London, thinking that it was right to be under the oversight of a local church in his time in UK. This was despite the fact that he has been, and still is, the senior pastor of the Grace Fellowship Church in Sri Lanka. While based in London, Jeyakanth arranged for churches to be involved in gospel work in Sri Lanka. Church groups from UK, Germany, and Switzerland visited Sri Lanka during the frequent trips that Jeyakanth made to his home country. Understandably, the church to which he was attached in London was heavily involved in the work in Sri Lanka.
Sadly, Pastor Jeyakanth fell out with an elder of that church, resulting in him being unjustly disciplined. We have had exchanges with the eldership of the church which has not been able to show that Jeyakanth had committed sin of any kind that deserved church discipline. We do not believe that differences of personality and differences of opinion on gospel work are of the same category as the breaking of the two tables of the Law (cf. 1 Cor. 5:11). The said church has refused to withdraw the discipline on Jeyakanth and make restitution. Instead, it has circulated the fact of Jeyakanth’s discipline to other churches, seeking their support in the name of the communion of churches, and claiming that the local church is the highest authority in matters of church discipline. This has, in effect, harmed Jeyakanth’s reputation and ministry. A number of churches have been influenced by that church, failing to see that it has wrongfully disciplined Jeyakanth, and turned itself into a monstrous machinery of oppression. They have failed to heed the teaching of Article 15, Chapter 26, of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, that a church can be wrong in the exercise of church discipline.
Pastor Jeyakanth and the LEFC (Lanka Evangelical Fellowship of Churches) which he heads have been harassed no end, with letters written in to request for explanation and an accounting of funds, and groups of people going to Sri Lanka to investigate on them. There are attempts made by the foreign opponents to lure away younger church leaders with offer of financial support. While we were in Sri Lanka, Jeyakanth received a letter from a church in Switzerland, announcing its agreement with the church in London and its decision to withdraw support from Jeyakanth. We have counselled Jeyakanth to press on with the Lord’s work, for it is the Lord who judges, who will “bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts” (1 Cor. 4:5).”
Continuing reformation
The Lord has used Pastor Jeyakanth in Sri Lanka — blessing the work with constant streams of baptism and the planting of over 50 congregations, all united under the umbrella of the LEFC. Obviously, there are many areas where continuing reformation is needed. The input of overseas speakers over the years seem to have accomplished slow progress. Key books need to be translated for the benefit of the church leaders.
In summary, we must be thankful for the progress of the gospel up to this point, and pray for the churches to be protected from errors and from the attacks of the evil one. Visitors from overseas will be challenged by the vibrancy of faith of the people in the midst of relative want — in material things and opportunities. To God be all the glory! (P/S: A slideshow on the visit to Sri Lanka is found in the following link, using the password SriLanka2022: https://vimeo.com/735727347.)