“My grandfather K C John, better known as Pathichira Yohannachen among Malayalee Pentecostals, introduced Pentecostalism with its authentic power to his hometown, the name of which has since become synonymous with his own,” says Rev George Stephenson, as he recalls his early days. Pathichira as a geographical location offered little reason for outsiders to explore the place in Yohannachen’s colonial Kerala. A reading of the biography of the North Indian Christian saint Sadhu Sundar Singh drew Yohannachen to the pursuit of Jesus Christ who endowed him with a ministry of phenomenal impact in many regions of South India. Now, even half a century after his passing, eyewitnesses of his life and work love to recount the manner in which God used this venerable servant.

Pathichira’s oldest son K J George and grandson Stephenson (Stephen) also chose Christian pastoral ministry as their vocation, certainly challenged by the life Yonnachen modeled. Accordingly, as soon as Stephen completed his college degree in Kerala, he earned a ministry degree too, and was offered a pastorate as well as a leadership role in the statewide Pentecostal youth organization. In 1978 he married Aleyamma Samuel, a US immigrant from his home state and joined her in Chicago the same year. In the US he quickly entered church ministry under his mentor K I Thomas, the founder of Chicago’s ICAG, soon to succeed him as Senior Pastor, a position he has held for nearly four decades. Rev Stephenson enhanced his credentials further with an MDiv degree from Trinity International University and Chaplaincy studies from the University of Chicago during his first few years here. He is held in high regard nationally among Indian Christians thanks to his corporate and media ministries and leadership in major conferences.

Stephen lost his wife Aleyamma Samuel in 2000 to pancreatic cancer. Their two grown children, Susan and Santhosh, both married, live in Chicago. In 2005, the Lord brought Joyce Aleyamma Mathew into Pastor Stephen’s life. Together, they make an excellent ministry couple, inspiring their flock to active Christian living.