The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) joins the WEA Mission Commission (MC) in mourning the passing of Dr K Rajendran and paying tribute to a leader who served in various mission organizations with his visionary and Christ-like leadership.
Dr K Rajendran served for more than 15 years in leadership with the Mission Commission, mostly as Chair of the Global Leadership Council.
Dr K was also in leadership with Operation Mobilisation for 27 years; and Executive Director of India Missions Association for 12 Years.
In 2017, he founded GIVA Global Movement, a network of Entrepreneurs, Writers, Thinkers & Media professionals, with a goal to encourage Innovative Ventures in India & create Impact in society.
“He was known to be a kind visionary with prophetic insight — an ‘alongsider’, a mobiliser of vision and encourager of innovation. He saw potential, trusted people with God’s vision for their lives and made space for others to grow through doing. In these things and much more, he modelled Christ-like leadership for generations of leaders that follow,” said Jay Matenga, Executive Director of WEA MC, adding, “May those of us who now carry the baton of the gospel leadership, always preparing to pass it on to the next generation, follow the example of our brother and friend, for the sake of God’s glory in all the earth.”
William D. Taylor, the President of TaylorGlobalConsult, who served with the WEA Mission Commission for 30 years, said of Dr K, “When word came of my friend and colleagues serious illness last month, (and within short days, he was translated to the Lord’s presence), I recalled our relationship, forged over the years of my service with the WEA Mission Commission. He represented the India Mission Association, which then, and till this day, is one of the world’s largest national mission movements. His contribution to the MC was personal and multifaceted. Not only was he a convert from Hinduism (hence the “K” of his name, the abbreviation of a variant of Krishna), but he was forged with that zeal so characteristic of his generation of OM missionaries, fire, commitment, passion for those without Jesus. But K also brought a rich sense of humor to our global community of reflective practitioners. His laughter was natural, infectious, contagious. He could also be deadly serious depending on the issues discussed. In 2003 he became the chairman of the MC’s Global Leadership Council (our board), and found that his first task was to supervise a leadership transition from me to Bertil Ekström. I remember him saying, “Bill, thanks for tossing this hot potato into my lap!” And he led an exemplary process that took three years for its culmination. He and Pramila served on MC staff for some years. In his latter season he continued to pioneer visions and ventures such as the GIVA network. He mentored others. He led and lived with integrity. “Thank you, Triune God in heaven, for the life and legacy of K Rajendran.”
Former MC Executive Director Bertil Ekström shared, “We remember K. with deep gratitude to God for his life and ministry. We worked together for almost 20 years in the leadership of the Mission Commission of WEA and had many wonderful times of sharing, discussions and prayer. His optimism and deep thinking helped us to see the possibilities and to constantly rethink what we were doing in missions worldwide. Together with Pramila, the couple completed our MC team with important experience and knowledge on how to mobilise people and churches and how to deal with difficult issues in relationships of all levels. K. was a leader that built bridges between people and organisations that resulted in the advance of the Gospel and effective cooperation. We thank God for K. and pray for Pramila and the family.”
Dr K Mrs is survived by his wife Dr Pramila Rajendran, and two children Preeti and Pradeep.
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