Today’s Leader of Faith
Bro LAZAR SEN, Hebron, Hyderabad/Ahemedabad.
Home Call : 06 March 2013
Melody King, Lyricist, Songs Composer, Evangelist, Co-worker of Bro Bakht Singh and Chosen Brother.
Bro. Lazar Sen (1927-2013) is a well-known servant of God who worked alongside Bro. Bakht Singh. He has fervency in the Spirit and a burden for the Gospel since the day he was saved. Most importantly, his ministry was centred around songs with music. Like King David in the Bible, from a young age, he excelled in writing songs, composing music, playing instruments, and singing songs with a natural inborn talent. God blessed him with a beautiful voice. He used all the talents that God gave him to serve the Lord and glorify His name. His talent was recognized by his school teachers from a very young age. By the age of seven, he was singing, playing the harmonium, and performing concerts. As he grew, many music directors noticed his remarkable talent. One of his teachers even made all the arrangements for him to become a playback singer in the Bengali film industry in Kolkata. However, by 1947, he had already dedicated his life to the Lord, so he declined the offer. Likewise, Bro. Bakht Singh, also recognised his musical talent and entrusted him with the responsibility of Hindi songs. Many songs in the Zion Song Book were composed by him. He composed about 800 songs in Hindi, Bengali and other languages. In all the Holy Convocation meetings, he was the lead singer of Hindi songs. As part of his faith-based ministry, he often left his family for extended periods to preach the gospel and minister in other places. In those days, with no communication systems, he entrusted all his family’s burdens entirely to the Lord and continued in His service. He was appointed as one of the chosen brethren because of his faithfulness to the Lord from the first day. He remained committed to the principle he had learned, that all full-time servants of God should live by faith alone, and upheld it steadfastly until the end.
Bro. Lazar Sen was born on October 16, 1927, in Kharagpur, then part of the Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal), as the second-born child of his parents. His mother tongue was Bengali. His father passed away while he was still in his youth. As the eldest, he had to take on the responsibility of his mother, elder sister, and younger brother, which led him to work hard from a young age to support his family. His family had been affiliated with the Baptist Church from the beginning. He especially had a deep love and passion for music from a young age, which led him to form a music team. During the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, due to the difficult circumstances faced, all his music team members, who were Muslims, were forced to flee. This made his situation even more distressing. As people mistook Bro. Lazar Sen for a Muslim and attempted to take him away, his mother, seeking to save his life, advised him to hide in the village of Jalgram at the home of his aunt who worked as a nurse. That very night, he had an encounter with the Lord. The Lord asked him only one question: “If you die today, where will you go?” He had no answer to that. However, having known the Scriptures from childhood, he confessed all his sins before the Lord. With a broken and contrite heart, on the night of March 12, 1947, he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. After his salvation, he continued attending the Baptist Church as before. During this time, through Dr. Simon, he developed a close association with Bro. Jordan Khan. As a result, he experienced the true New Testament Church vision through his ministry and rejoiced in the fellowship with them regularly, experiencing the presence of the Lord. Around the same time, while working in the railways, he received the Lord’s call for full-time ministry. Bro. Bakht Singh frequently visited there and, noticing the talents of Bro. Lazar Sen (such as singing, playing musical instruments, and innovatively preaching the Word in open-air gospel meetings) invited him to Madras in 1948-49. Furthermore, during his ministry, Bro. Lazar Sen consented to and dedicated himself to full-time service. His mother also encouraged his divine calling for full-time ministry. He received training in the Lord’s service from Bro. Jordan Khan in Kharagpur and Nimpura and composed many songs. He respected Bro. Jordan Khan as an elder brother and greatly rejoiced in the presence of the Lord.
In fellowship, everything depends on faith, including marriage. It is not known who will marry whom, but they must submit to the will of God as revealed by His servants of God. On June 26, 1958, Bro. Lazar Sen was married to Sis. Amrita, a handmaiden of the Lord. Their wedding was held in Kalimpong and was solemnized by Bro. Bakht Singh. The Lord provided for all their needs. She was a resident of Kalimpong and came from a non-Christian family. She, along with her sister, were saved through the ministry of Bro. Jordan Khan at a young age. As a result, they were expelled from their family. However, the early believers took them in, cared for them and led them in a way so that they may dedicate themselves to the Lord’s service. After marriage, Bro. Lazar Sen and his wife were sent to Kharagpur to serve the Lord. They worked alongside Bro. Jordan Khan’s family for three years. Their children passed away, but later, they were blessed with a daughter, Jerusha (Sen) Lukos. After much prayer, Bro. Bakht Singh sent him and his family to Ahmedabad for ministry. From there, they served throughout the entire state of Gujarat. Like Hannah, they prayed, saying, ‘If You give us a son, we will dedicate him back to You’. After some years, they were blessed with a son, Bro. Hanoch Sen. Bro. Lazar Sen faithfully served the Lord in Ahmedabad for 50 years. His beloved wife, Sis. Amrita Sen, was called to be with the Lord on April 26, 1986. He travelled to the US and many other countries to serve and encourage believers. They were blessed with two children and five grandchildren. Just as they prayed, Bro. Hanoch Sen, along with his family, continues to serve the Lord in the United States. Sis. Jerusha Lukos and her family are serving at the D.L. Moody Institute.
Bro. Lazar Sen, demonstrating divine order and God’s love in the places he served, held fast to the joy of salvation he received and, after 65 years of long and fruitful service, kept his faith and finished his race at the age of 86 from Beersheba House of Prayer, Ahmedabad.