The Revd. Dr. D.J. Ajith Kumar has dedicated approximately 40 years to social and spiritual service, preaching and teaching both in India and abroad. He currently serves as the General Secretary of the Church of North India (CNI). He is an ordained Presbyter of the CNI Phulbani Diocese. Originally from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, South India, he came to serve in North India in 1993 along with his family.

From childhood, Ajith Kumar harboured a deep interest in Christian ministry. At the age of 12, he delivered his first public sermon in his church on World Sunday School Day, based on Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The sermon was prepared by his father. His upbringing in a family devoted to regular prayer, active church involvement, and the inspiration provided by his parents encouraged him to dedicate his life to serving God. In his own words: “I do not know how it was illuminated in my mind, but from my childhood, I had only one desire: to serve the Lord.”

After completing his Master’s Degree (M.A) and Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in Sociology from Annamalai University, he pursued theological studies, obtaining a Bachelor of Christian Studies (B.C.S) from the Senate of Serampore College. He further pursued a Master in Theology (M.Th) from the University of Wales (U.K). His doctoral studies (Ph.D) in Sociology focused on ‘Education and Tribal Development’ at Annamalai University. He was the Dean of the Post Graduate Department of TAFTEE, Bangalore, and a faculty member in Sociology and Research Methodology for more than a decade. His expertise in Yoga (M.Sc and P.G.D.C in Yoga) has enabled him to present the Gospel in an indigenous and Indianized approach to thousands of fellow countrymen. He completed his Teacher Training Course in Yoga from the Yoga International Alliance, New Delhi, and a Diploma in Buddhism from the Mahabodhi Academy of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Bangalore.

Besides his spiritual activities, he has presented numerous research papers at various national and international seminars and conferences in the field of Sociology. He is a life member of the Indian Sociological Society (ISS), New Delhi, and the Indian Academy of Social Sciences (IASS), Allahabad. He is the author of 27 academic and devotional books, with his work “God: Real and Religion: The Concepts of God in Religions in Christological Perspectives” being widely recognized and circulated.

Before he joined the ordained ministry of the CNI, in 1979, at an early age, he founded a movement called the Love Army Crusade in his village. Over the next 12 years, through this movement, he organized many activities, including evangelistic meetings, panchayat evangelization, ministry training, magazine publication, second Saturday meetings, distribution of Christian literature, establishment of children’s homes, and evangelistic rallies. In 1990, after the movement was handed over to new leadership, he started the Grace Ministries of India, a social and spiritual movement operating across India and abroad. He initiated the Mobile Tent Ministry, a unique approach to Indian missions through which millions have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both rural and urban settings. Additionally, he established four Christian Ashrams – in Kerala (1993), Tamil Nadu (2009), Maharashtra (2002), and Madhya Pradesh (2011). The main objective of the Ashram ministry is ‘giving living water in Indian cups.’ Through another innovative program, the Adoption of Suffering Families, launched in 2007, he has adopted more than 2000 struggling families to help them achieve self-reliance. Furthermore, several of his Christian music compositions are widely sung across different churches.

After joining the ordained ministry in the Church of North India, he constructed 29 churches in the CNI Phulbani Diocese, which were originally affected by communal violence during 2008-2010 in Kandhamal District of Odisha. He also constructed a Cathedral in the CNI Phulbani Diocese (Martyrs Memorial CNI Cathedral, Gudripori, G. Udayagiri, Odisha). During the post-COVID period, he also served on deputation as the Presbyter-in-charge of the CSI Cathedral of the South Kerala Diocese for ten months. He served as the Stewardship Director in the CNI Diocese of Phulbani from 2014 to 2023, having been ordained in 2014 to the priestly ministry by the Most Rev. Bijaya Kumar Nayak, the present Moderator of the CNI. He also served as the Programme Director of the CNI Synod during 2023 at the CNI Programme Centre, Nagpur. On November 28th, 2023, he was appointed General Secretary of the CNI Synod.