The Testimony and Biography of Apostle Br.Mathew Kuruvilla (Tangu Br)
Br. Mathew Kuruvilla (Tangu Br) was born to Mr. K .C .Kuruvilla and Mrs. Grace Kuruvilla. Mr.K .C .Kuruvilla was the Press Superintendent of Patna University. They had three children and Br. Mathew (Tangu Br) was the youngest and was known by his pet name-Tangu. On their way to Kerala for vacation , Mr.K.C.Kuruvilla passed away in the train at Chennai. Mrs.Grace Kuruvilla returned to Kottayam with her three little children. She had no steady income and struggled hard to make both ends meet for their education and daily needs.
Br .Tangu (Br.Mathew) who was then 13 years old started his studies at Vidhyathiraja School in Kottayam. He took up a door-to-door sales job to meet his educational expenses. He completed B.Com from C.M.S. College and by then had already emerged as an established dealer in medical equipment. His business improved and money started to flow in. He married early at the age of 23 as he feared that he would get into the wrong track of life due to his affluent life style. His wife is Ani from Chengannur Padinjare Nakolakkal family.
In 1992, he developed a severe drug allergy named Stevens Johnson Syndrome. His doctor said that he would lose his eyesight completely and that his body was decaying. During that time, he had developed sores all over his body. He was treated by Dr Ramesh Nair at Carithas hospital where doctors gave a verdict of no hope but God miraculously healed him and made him whole.
This incident brought him closer to God. He started attending the worship services at the IPC. After some time the pastor there asked him to take baptism and Br. Tangu (Dr. Mathew Kuruvilla) was not willing to as he did not know why he should be baptized. Therefore he stopped attending the worship there as he felt uncomfortable.
He started to testify that Jesus healed him of Stevens Johnson Syndrome. At that time one of his friends asked him for the proof that it was Jesus who had healed him because they said,” all religions have Gods and many miracles happen in all religions’’. So they insisted that Tangu Br(Br. Mathew) was alive not because of God but because of his good times. Their question was – If God, which God? Br .Tangu (Br .Mathew) was very confused and he started experimenting many religions, sorcery, witchcraft and so on in his quest for the true God. Finally, he reached the conclusion that there is no God ! His experiments gave him an impression of horror about Gods. He started thinking like an atheist. To him all the Gods were the same, trying to make people afraid and exhort money.
In 1995, on hearing that the Tatas were going to market the Sumo Jeep, he wanted to buy the first Sumo in Kottayam .In those days ,there wasn’t a wide choice of vehicles in Kottayam. So he went to Pune, gave a huge amount as margin money, and drove the vehicle down to Kottayam. But on his way, he met with an accident on the Pune national highway. The Sumo crashed into a truck and Br .Tangu was admitted in Karad Medical College. On the third day when he became conscious, he realized that he was paralyzed from his neck down and that many of his bones were broken. Only after four days could he move his hands and legs that too, with help, to move about. He was taken back to Kottayam, and was bedridden. No one ever thought that he would come back to normalcy.
The Vision
At that time, an independent church organized a meeting at Muttambalam school grounds at Kottayam for Pastor Amos A Singh and Br Mathew (Br.Tangu) attended the meetings with the help of his family.
Pastor Amos A Singh gave a very powerful message and explained about 3 visions that he had:-
- A fish was hooked on a fishing line twice but the fish ate the bait and escaped the hook twice The third time, the fish was caught by the hook in the ribs. [Br. Tangu’s appendix had burst and his body was septic. In 1992 when he had the Stevens Johnson syndrome he had lost his eyesight and his whole body was decaying. In six months, he was miraculously healed and this triggered him to search for God.This part of the vision resembles the Stevens Johnson Syndrome and the part where the fish is caught by the ribs points to the road accident that he had where his ribs were broken]
- At a sea shore an old woman and a young child were having a severe argument. The old woman arguing with the young child is- all the traditional churches . The young child is- the new revival movement starting from the city (Heavenly Feast).
- While Pastor Amos Singh was ministering, a drop of oil fell on his fore head and it flowed down in abundance to become a great revival movement all over the world. The revival will start from Kottayam and the fire will spread all over the world.
The message influenced Br. Tangu (Br .Mathew) who gave his life to Jesus Christ. He was helped by his family and later Pastor Amos prayed for him and asked him to walk without any help in the name of Jesus. He was touched by the power of God. Br.Tangu (Br.Mathew) said, “I could not believe I was standing without anyone’s help. I felt a deep peace come over me. I have gone to many religions and have seen many miracles but it is only Jesus who can give peace that surpasses all understanding and the Joy of the Holy Spirit.. It is not the relationship with a book or the religion, but the person Jesus Christ. His blood removes every guilt from our conscience”. It took him one and a half years to walk freely. He was baptized under Pastor P.J. Daniel in December 13, 1995.
But the problems were yet to begin. Because of the accident, he was bedridden and his business had collapsed and he had many liabilities. The debts increased day by day. Those were the days of great tribulation for him. However, it was in these times that he had a close walk with God.
One day as he was pouring out his heart to the lord, he was taken into a different plane of thoughts. He saw a vision, where there was a great fire burning, and there was a man inside the fire crying out for help and desperately trying to get out. This vision gave him the drive to evangelize to people around him and to lead them to Christ at any cost. He ran around like a mad man and talked about Jesus to all his friends, in spite of all the problems in his personal life. Because of Br. Tangu’s (Br.Mathew Kuruvilla) persuasion and his testimony, some of his friends came together to pray. He says as he recalls the vision,’’ I saw two helpless people. One man on fire and another was Jesus Christ who had all the power to deliver that man but he needed someone to execute. I said,” Lord I am ready”. So whenever he feels tired or sad he sees this vision and goes forward again.
Humble Beginnings
It started as a prayer meeting with 5 to 6 people at his office at Kanjikuzhy. Many more started to come, so they conducted it in Pension Bhavan Auditorium. He hired it for Rs300 a day. In those days there was no offering taken. So sometimes he used to borrow money to pay the rent. Mr. P.R. Baby from Ernakulam came to conduct meetings because at that time Tangu Br (Br.Mathew Kuruvilla) did not know how to speak in public.
The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word
One day Mr P.R.Baby could not come for the meeting. The following week also he could not come and Tangu Br (Br. Mathew) did not want to disappoint those people who had come for the meeting. So he spoke a few words which he could recollect from someone else’s speech. But after the meeting many people came forward, showed their appreciation and said that they felt it was like a personal message to each of them. Therefore, he spoke at the next meeting too. He prayed for many people and many were healed.
Once a convention was organized in the colony of Kachuvelikunnu. Many of those at the meeting were poor people who were looking for true deliverance in their lives. Even the police were not successful to control the crime in that colony. One lady’s eyes were healed. Soon after, many people started attending the meetings. After the meeting, the whole colony got saved. By now, the number of people grew in numbers and the Pension Bhavan auditorium could not hold them.
Brought Together By The HolySpirit
One day, Br .Tangu (Br.Mathew Kuruvilla) was invited to a house to pray for a sick lady who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. There he met Br Thomaskutty. Br .Tangu (Br.Mathew Kuruvilla) prayed for the lady and she was instantaneously healed. From that day onwards, Br .Tangu (Br.Mathew Kuruvilla) and Br .Thomaskutty started ministering together at prayer meetings. This prayer meeting became a trans-denominational movement, irrespective of caste, creed, and religion, where people joined hands to praise the name of Jesus.
As the crowd increased, it was called Br. Tangu’s fellowship. This hurt Br. Tangu (Br.Mathew Kuruvilla) as he says,” it is Jesus, not Tangu” . It was at this time that he prayed to the Lord to give the gathering a name. As they were ministering in Chennai in 1997, a lady came and said that she had a word from God. Br .Tangu (Br. Mathew Kuruvilla) and Br .Thomaskutty and the team prayed with the lady who prophesied, ‘‘Son, don’t call your meetings crusades or festivals, but call it ‘Heavenly Feast’, for I your God will serve a heavenly feast through you to the nations of the world.’ This name was again attested by another prophecy. Thus, the movement came to be named as” The Heavenly Feast”
In 1998 December 27, Br.Tangu (Br.Mathew Kuruvilla) was fasting and praying at home for 10 days. At night, the Spirit of the Lord woke him up and asked him to walk. He walked towards Kottayam town and was led to one of the tallest buildings in Kottayam. The Holy Spirit showed him Kottayam and the surrounding area. He rebuked the evil powers over Kottayam and started praying for the lost souls of Kottayam.. From then he could see many people of the town who were once lost and shattered with no hope, getting saved and enjoying the love of God.
And The Lord Added To Their Number Daily
From Pension Bhavan, Heavenly Feast moved to Suvarna Auditorium, then to Karthika and from there to K.P.S.Menon Auditorium. Thousands started to be saved and thus there was no auditorium that could hold the crowd. Thus by faith they bought a factory shed at Nattakom. But this 14000 sq feet plot also got filled very soon. Thus, God arranged a large area of land at the heart of the city of Kottayam where they worshipped and hundreds got saved every week.
An encounter with God at Rev.Reinhard Bonnke’s meeting
Heavenly Feast had not yet started when Rev.Reinhard Bonnke had his fire conference and crusade at Cochin ,Kerala, India in 1998. It was Dr. Mathew Kuruvilla’s great desire to see Rev.Reinhard Bonnke at least from a far distance. Then he fasted and prayed and asked the Lord to fulfill his desire. Since Br.Mathew(Tangu Br) was not known at all, he was not invited and was disliked by many pastors for his boldness and outspokenness to preach Jesus Christ. He met one of his pastor friends who said he would help Br.Mathew to sneak into the VVIP meeting, but warned him that if he was found out, the other pastors would then throw him out. Br. Mathew was to take a risk. He sneaked in and sat in the crowd praying that he should not be caught so that he could have a close glimpse of Rev. Reinhard Bonnke. As Rev. Reinhard Bonnke came into the place, Br. Mathew got excited as he could see him. God had seen Br. Mathew’s desire to meet Rev.Reinhard Bonnke. As the meeting was going on, the organizers came and asked the pastor friend of Br. Mathew whether he knew any one who could speak english, who could serve the dinner to Rev. Reinhard Bonnke and his team as the person who was supposed to serve the food became ill . “Yes” the pastor friend replied, “but you may not like him.” “Does not matter, as the purpose is very important,” replied the organiser. Br. Mathew’s heart came to his mouth in joy when he was ushered to the place specially meant for Rev.Reinhard Bonnke and his associates.
Thus as the meeting finished, Rev. Reinhard Bonnke came into the place which was cordoned off for Rev. Reinhard Bonnke and his associates alone.. Thus a great desire not only to see but also to speak to Rev. Reinhard Bonnke became full filled and as Br.Mathew (Tangu Br) served the food , Rev.Reinhard Bonnke got introduced to Br.Mathew (Tangu Br) and asked if he was willing to serve in the crusade which Br.Mathew (Tangu Br)was very excited to do.. Rev. Reinhard Bonnke asked the organiser to give Br.Mathew an official badge so that he could be with him in the crusade also. Thus everyday, even though the organisers did not like it , Br.Mathew (Tangu Br) was with Rev. Reinhard Bonnke .At the last day of the Fire Conference, Rev.Reinhard Bonnke was going to lay hands and Br.Mathew Kuruvilla was escorting Rev.Reinhard Bonnke from the stage to the special place where Rev. Reinhard Bonnke was laying hands. On the way Rev. Reinhard Bonnke asked Br.Mathew Kuruvilla what his desire was, for which Br. Mathew Kuruvilla said that he wanted to be a millionaire in souls. Rev. Reinhard Bonnke said, “That’s my dream too”, so I am going to lay hands upon you to impart whatever God has put in me. Suddenly one of the organisers became angry and said “enough!! You go to the stage and I will accompany Rev. Reinhard Bonnke for laying hands”. Br. Mathew (Tangu Br) had to go to the stage as Rev. Reinhard Bonnke walked ahead. After taking ten steps Rev. Reinhard Bonnke stopped, turned around and shouted ” Come Br. Mathew” for which Br. Mathew(Tangu Br) replied and said ” This organiser wants me to go to the stage “’”.Rev.Reinhard Bonnke became angry and told the organiser. ” You go to the stage, Br. Mathew will accompany me”. Rev .Reinhard Bonnke said,” Get ready as I am going to impart whatever God had put in me” and he laid hands upon Br.Mathew (Tangu Br). “ Nothing is impossible with God if your desire is genuine”.The ministry of Br Mathew Kuruvilla changed after the laying of hands. Wherever he went thousands started to gather and outstanding miracles were done through his hands.
Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ
The church has grown from 1 to 15,000, with attendance on Sunday service being even more. Br.Mathew Kuruvilla (Tangu Br) travels all over India and the world shaking cities and towns under the power of God. He always recalls Rev. Reinhard Bonnke’s statement- “Don’t pray for the revival, but make the revival happen. Don’t wait till the iron is hot but strike till the iron is hot.” This encounter with God through His servant Rev. Reinhard Bonnke changed the whole ministry of Br .Mathew Kuruvilla (Tangu Br)
The revival that started from Kottayam has spread all over the nations with hundreds of churches across the nations & across the world .
Glory of God revealed and magnified !!
Today, Br .Mathew Kuruvilla (Tangu Br) is filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Evangelism. He dreams, seeks, moves ahead, and presses on to see India and the world saved.”
As Rev. Reinhard Bonnke says,” Plundering hell to populate heaven!!”