John Desai

Rev. John R. Desai was born on November 15, 1943 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India and lived in Princeton, NJ for 48 years. John passed away on January 5, 2025 and entered his eternal home. John and Aruna were both from the city of Ahmedabad. John was one of seven children. His father, Rev. R.B. Desai was the pastor of the church Aruna's family attended. John committed his life to Jesus as a teenager and then recommitted his life while in college. While John was completing his Master of Science program in Fresh Water Biology, he felt called into full-time Christian service. John and Aruna were married on May 31, 1969 and just completed 55 glorious years together. Aruna says, "It was definitely the gift of the Holy Spirit and his guidance." After graduating from Union Biblical Seminary, they taught for one year at Hindustan Bible Institute in Chennai (formerly Madras). Then God had another assignment for them in ministry. In the summer of 1972, they received a telegram from Ao Naga Baptist Association inviting them to help start their first seminary in celebration of the centennial of the Gospel in Nagaland. They both sensed clearly that God was calling them to Nagaland and John said, "We could not disobey the heavenly call." The name of the school would be Clark Theological College which started with 9 students. John would be the first principal and he and Aruna were the first teachers. It was a big job for a young couple and one that required sacrifice. In 2015, during a trip to India, they had the joy of visiting Clark Theological College and seeing the fruits of those early years. The college had 300 students from 40 different language groups and is one of the top ranked seminaries in India. John had received a Bachelor of Science (BSC), Master in Science (MSC), LLB, Bachelor of Divinity all in India. John attended Princeton Theological Seminary and he received his Master of Theology degree. When John was about to graduate, Aruna was just beginning her MA in Christian Education, in 1976 ISI leadership invited them to start a Princeton chapter. As an Ivy League school, Princeton was especially strategic, and ISI did not have many strong ministries on Ivy League campuses. Over the years they have ministered to students studying at Princeton University, Princeton Theological Seminary and Westminster Choir College from 150 nations. They faithfully served for 46 years to the international community with the help of many area churches and their members. Last two years they were appointed Global Specialists to continue to impact for eternity their alumni scattered around the globe. John is survived by his wife Aruna, his daughters Eva Jester (Corey) and Mona Desai (Ramon Parsons), grandchildren Juliana, Nathaniel, Abigail and Tabitha and their entire extended family. Memorial Service will be held at Montgomery Evangelical Free Church in Belle Mead, NJ on Saturday, January 11th, 2025 at 10:30 am. Live streaming is available at www.mefc.org. There are icons to Facebook and YouTube where the live stream will be or you can watch the recorded service.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Montgomery Evangelical Free Church - Fund - Missions (https://pushpay.com/g/mefcmontgomery?src=hpp)