Meet the Missionaries
Ranjit Singh was born in 1978 in Chiengkonpang village, which is in the town of Churachandpur in the Southern part of Manipur, Northeast India. He was raised in a Meitei family (one of the unreached people groups in NE India) who believed and follow two religions, animism (the belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence) and Hinduism. He became a Christian on December 11, 2001. He has earned a Bachelor of Theology from South India Baptist Bible College and Seminary, and a M.Div. from Faith Baptist Bible College and Seminary. Ranjit’s wife, Veineilam Chongloi, was born in Phaikon village, which is in Senapati in the Northern part of Manipur, Northeast India. She was raised in a Christian Kuki family (one of the unreached people groups of NE India). Ranjit and Veineilam met in July of 2006 at a Baptist church office where Veineilam was interviewing to complete her Bachelor of Religion. She didn’t see Ranjit, but after seeing her, Ranjit inquired about her and found out she was working in an orphanage. After getting to know one another, they let their pastor and other believers know about their intention to marry, and also approached her family about this matter. On March 28, 2009, they were married and now have 3 children: JoyJohn, Jabez Letmingun, and Payton Mangminal.
The Journey
Ranjit’s life began as a village boy who remembers hearing evil spirits dancing on the roof of his home. After completing his high school requirements in 1996, he chose to discontinue his studies and began to work to support himself. Of this time in his life Ranjit says, “I chose the wrong path.” He began consuming alcohol and later became addicted and unable to stop. He struggled with this for some time until one evening in November 2001, he got into a drunken quarrel with someone, which led to a physical altercation. That night he couldn’t sleep, thinking of his future. As Ranjit said, “I wanted life transformation.” That same year, on December 10, he was invited to a gospel camp in the mountains where he heard Brother L. Kamzamang Ngaihte (Mang for short), preaching about sin and Genesis 3. After the preaching, Mang invited whoever was willing to confess and accept Jesus Christ to raise their hand. Ranjit raised his hand, but still did not fully understand the gospel because of his animistic and Hindu background. Mang took the time to explain the gospel in more detail to Ranjit, helping him to truly know who Jesus Christ is. At that point, Ranjit was truly willing and ready to confess his sin and accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. That was Thursday night, December 11, 2001, just months after the drunken fight that caused him to question what he was doing with his life.
In 2003 Ranjit felt called to the ministry of God and committed his life to this end. He was burdened for the salvation of his people, the Meitei, and during his schooling in Bible College and seminary, prayed for 6 years about how to minister to them. After graduating in 2008, he went back home and began to consider how to best minister to the lost souls among the Meitei people. While the Meitei are classified as an unreached people group because of the low percentage of Christians and the minimal resources available to them, there are still believers and churches present. Ranjit felt the best way to minister to the unbelieving Meitei, was to build up those who were already believers through targeted discipleship efforts. As Ranjit saw it, the churches in Northeast India were like “a container of water. The water [level] never increases; it remains the same. And the water remains still too.” So then the church needed to be the focus of his attention. It was around this same time that he felt drawn to move beyond the Meitei and help the churches all around Manipur.
On June 23, 2009, the first discipleship ministry was held, and by God’s grace this ministry continues to this day. In 2014 Del Rey Church sent a team to meet Ranjit and work alongside him for 4 years to help his efforts by training church leaders from around Northeast India. The work has not been easy for Ranjit. For a long time he drove a taxi to support his family and fund his ministry, often seeing his family go without basic necessities like milk. But, as members of DRC can testify to, Ranjit is committed to the task set before him, and longs to glorify God through working to see the people of Northeast India come to Him in repentance.