This month, we’re sharing a special tribute to an incredibly special person in our REAP family - Prema Jayakumar. We lost Prema in May after long fought health battles. Our team put together a beautiful tribute for her that we’re sharing with you today.
Prema Jayakumar
June 09, 1954 – May 24, 2020
It has been 30 years since Jay founded the ministry of Bible-Believing Churches and Missions in India. While all of you may be aware of the ministry’s growth and impact, only a few know of an important person who remained backstage and co-labored to make all this happen.
On May 24, Prema, Jay’s most trusted companion in marriage and ministry and a beloved mother to her two children, departed into the presence of Jesus.
Born on June 09, 1954, Prema was the second of four children born to her parents Mr. Rajagambeeram and Mrs. Gnanamani. At age 11 she lost her parents within six months of each other. Once the family and security around her vanished life became an everyday struggle, until she married Jay in 1979 and had her own family.
The marriage also brought her close to the Lord. Over time she became an essential part of many families that she discipled through the years. In 1983, when Jay decided to pursue a full-time career in Christian ministry, Prema fully supported this decision and stood by him like a pillar of rock. She decided to do so, knowing fully well that she would be revisiting the “everyday struggle” she had previously been through in her youth. The only difference being that this time around, she would be doing it with her family by her side and also with her newfound faith in Jesus.
From 1983 to 1993, Prema labored hard to fund the financial needs of the family. She was an electrical engineer, but back in that day employment for her was merely a dream in a severely under-developed economy. She would walk a little over two miles every day to save on transportation costs while going to work. In addition, on weekends she would do the same to visit with families she was ministering to. She not only supported her family, but she also bore Jay’s tuition expenses for seminary.
In 1990, when the ministry was founded, Prema pledged all her jewelry and contributed all of the family’s savings to fund the capital needed to start. She was the first donor to the ministry. By 1994, the ministry was stable enough to support the basic needs of the family. About this time, Prema also developed an injured knee because of several hours of kneeling down in prayer as well as all the walking she had overdone. After resigning from her job, she began to invest more of her time in ministering to women that were demon-possessed, victims of domestic violence, victims of other forms of abuse, addicts, etc. This not only opened the doors to let Jesus into their homes, but it also gave their offspring the chance to grow in godliness.
Many of the people she ministered to were in utter poverty! Now their children have become homeowners! All this because while discipling people, Prema encouraged parents to educate their children despite all the odds stacked against them. She encouraged their children to do well in their academics. She also raised money from her network of contacts to support some with their tuition. Today some of them have become doctors, engineers, businessmen, and more. A few have even settled overseas in the developed world.
There were not many women graduates from seminaries in India during and before the 90’s. God provided for Prema’s seminary education through Jay. Her husband Jay is a great expositor of God’s word and understands the cultural realities better than any expert. Prema would write down pages and pages of his sermons and other Bible teachings. She would implore discussions with him, make arguments, and analyze in her own way to better understand God and his purpose. She would teach a lot of her learnings from Jay to the women she disciples. Many times, the women would easily understand her teaching more than what Jay was teaching. She broke difficult concepts down to a level even kids would understand. She is one of the chief architects of the children’s ministry at Calvary’s Grace Bible Church.
Prema was a prayer warrior! She spent several hours per day praying. She would rise early in the morning to enjoy the quiet time to sing, praise, and pray. She was very organized in her prayer time. She was passionate about prayer meetings, fasting and praying, supporting marriages in prayer, upholding others’ health needs, praying that her friends and relatives would be freed from the bondage of debt and other shackles. Her faith upon Jesus was unshakeable!
Even when she endured leukemia for more than a year or when she was bed-ridden during knee replacement surgery, her trust in God was unwavering. She believed God had a purpose in allowing these situations. She embraced these trials joyfully and endured its pain willingly.
Prema was an excellent mother! She did well to raise godly children, her son and daughter are very active in ministry today. Her son Samuel is currently leading the ministry of Bible-Believing Churches and Missions. He also serves as an elder and executive pastor. Her daughter Havilah is a speech-language pathologist and leads worship and the Teens ministry at Calvary’s Grace Bible Church. When Jay was away on ministry commitments, Prema held down the fort and made sure that Jay’s absence was minimally felt.
From being an excellent mother, God promoted her to be the favorite grandmother. She was blessed to see and be involved in the formative years of her four grandchildren: Jasi, Jay, Jude and Ronit.
Prema was also a faithful giver! She lived her entire life without saving one penny. There was no savings because whatever extra she had, she would give it away to someone in need. She said that in doing so she was saving up in heaven. In addition, she was a great hostess! God moved her and the family to 11 rented accommodations until she was blessed to have a home of her own. Almost every day there was someone or other that would come and visit – friends that live close by and friends from around the world. She would take a break from all her activities to attend to them. Almost every week, there would be people coming over to live in her home for a few days. She would serve and make them feel as comfortable as possible. In this way she has served people from all around the world.
As we bid a tearful farewell to Prema, we are reminded that she was not perfect! At the same time, through her life, we get to see how one is perfected in their lifetime as they seek to pursue the author and perfecter of our faith!
