Sam came from a high-caste Hindu family in northern Sri Lanka, with responsibilities to conduct religious rituals and oversee temple ceremonies. From a young age, Sam said, he was vehemently anti-Christian.
Whenever a new church building was being constructed, Sam took a team to go and destroy the newly laid foundations, breaking the stones with iron rods to make them unsalvageable and prevent the church from being raised.
Sam learned of a new church being built and again felt an inner prompting to stop the construction. But he fell desperately ill and was bedridden for 21 days. When Sam was finally up and about again, he heard from a friend that the church he was supposed to have destroyed was having its inaugural service that very day.
“God really confined me those 21 days so that the church building could be completed,” he recalled. “Otherwise, I would have gone to destroy it.”
In preparation for a big Hindu festival in the spring of 2003, Sam was cleaning, dressing and decorating the idols in the large local Hindu temple when he sensed a voice. “What you are doing is not really the truth,” the voice said. “If you don’t do this work, these idols will not be clean or clothed. So when you are in trouble, how are these gods going to help you, when they can’t even help themselves?” Sam was disturbed enough by this thought that he stopped his work and returned home.
Eight days later, on a warm, bright Saturday morning, Sam was on his way back to the temple to conduct the rituals there. Without warning, he felt a shove push him through an open door — right into the very church he had failed to destroy during his illness.
The moment Sam entered the church, peace flooded into him like nothing he had ever known. For three days Sam sat in the church and soaked in the teaching. On the third day, the preacher asked, “Is there anyone here who wants to surrender his life to Christ?” Sam felt another shove, this time to the front of the church. He knelt and gave his life to Christ.
Sam spent all his spare time at the church or following the pastor in his outreach work. Sam was baptized three months after entering the church and began to meet with seven men for prayer and evangelistic work.
Then the dramatic change in Sam brought harsh consequences. An anonymous informant falsely accused Sam of being part of an armed group that was conducting guerrilla attacks against the government, an accusation Sam believes was fueled by anti-Christian sentiment. He was arrested, tortured by his guards, put on trial and convicted.
“I was sentenced for life, but God spoke to me that somehow I was going to be released,” Sam said. “I was in prison, and that is where I served the Lord.”
Sam led many prisoners to the Lord. One morning in 2012, an officer called Sam’s name and informed him he was going free.
Sam began ministry in a new village after marrying a Christian woman named Angel. Over time, he planted four house churches in the area, and the congregations grew to about 135 members in an area that previously was without a Christian witness. But there was opposition: noise complaints, rocks thrown at the houses, threats and scoldings.
Then, on Good Friday 2021, the opposition intensified. After visiting the home of a Christian family, Sam came out to find that a tire on his motorcycle was flat. He called Angel and asked her to send someone with a pump. While he waited, three men approached and began to beat him. A friend arrived with the pump and tried to defend Sam, but Sam pleaded with him not to retaliate. The assailants then became more aggressive, using the metal air pump and a motorcycle helmet to pound Sam’s face and body. When other villagers came out, the attackers fled.
“I have a craving to share about God’s love,” Sam said. “If something happens to me while I am sharing the gospel, I know that I will be with Jesus, so I have that assurance.”
“I am going to places where there is a possibility that I will not come back,” Sam said, glancing at his wife. “I say to her, if something happens to me, she should continue the ministry and … be proud that I died the death of a martyr.”
Sam, who once took pride in destroying churches and smashing their foundations, now builds them up. He said there is now at least one Christian in each of the 15 villages in the area, and he and Angel pray for the day when there will be a house church in every village. In the meantime, they persevere with their eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, the unconquerable cornerstone.