Birth Date: 1866
Home calling : 1915
Native Place: Nellore, India
Place of Vision: India; Natal,
South Africa
During the early 1900s, many Indians left for Natal, a British colony in South Africa to work as agricultural laborers. Among them were around 150 Telugu people who were working at Sir James Hulett’s tea plantations. Hulett was a good Christian and looked after the physical and spiritual needs of the laborers. He felt the need for a Telugu person to communicate the Gospel to these Telugu laborers properly and wrote to the American Baptist Mission in India. When several backed off considering Africa to be a dangerous place, one person jumped with joy at the opportunity. It was John Rangaiah.
John Rangaiah’s father was a Brahmin who performed priestly duties in a temple. Later when he accepted Christ he was banished from his village. He had four children who all grew up to serve God and one of them was John Rangaiah. Rangaiah accepted Christ at a very early age and served as a Sunday School teacher, evangelist, and also headmaster of Nellore Boy’s school.
He did not lose any time when he heard the need for missionaries in Natal. Along with his wife and two infant children he reached Durban in 1903. From there he went to Kearsney where he found the Telugu laborers. He immediately started ministering to the Telugu population. Apart from the Telugu people, he preached Gospel to the local people. He was never tired of walking long distances and at times used to sleep on the roadside. In the next six years, he established eight churches in the Natal Province. He also established a school for Telugu children and the local population.
Amid terrible apartheid in South Africa and a life-threatening Zulu tribal uprisal, Rangaiah continued to serve God with courageous faith and humility. As a result of his simple obedience to God’s call to South Africa, today the Baptist Church in Natal province has a large following and many branches.
Rangaiah went to be with the Lord, after a brief illness in 1915.
