Ep. 79 / From Hindu Heritage to Christ's Call to NextGen with Amit Khaira

An unexpected hug in an Asian grocery store becomes the spark for a family’s spiritual transformation. In this episode we sit down with Amit Khaira, the South-Pacific Regional Director for NXT Move Ministries. Amit grew up in Perth, Australia in a devout Hindu household, but all that changed when a Korean stranger shared the love of Jesus with his mother, and the entire family encountered faith in a fresh new way.

Amit shares honestly about the complicated parts of faith: the shame and rejection his mother faced when she told relatives she now followed Jesus, to the painful reality that church communities can wound the very people they’re meant to shelter. Amit reflects on humility, repentance, and what it means to keep running after Christ when you’re disappointed by Christians, especially as an immigrant navigating predominantly white spaces.

Then the conversation turns toward vocation and resilience. From a cancer diagnosis that challenged surface-level expressions of spirituality, to experiences in school chaplaincy, youth ministry, and social entrepreneurship that keep Amit focused on one aim: bring gospel hope to young people who feel unseen and unheard. 

If you'd like to learn more about Amit Khaira and NXT Move you can go to their website and follow them on Facebook. And please don't forget to share this episode and join the conversation on YouTube! 

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Transcript

Welcome And Guest Snapshot

Brian Stiller 0:10

Hello and welcome to Evangelical 360. I'm your host, Brian Stiller. One of the things I've always believed is that the gospel takes root in the most unexpected places, and that some of the most compelling witnesses to faith are people whose journey to Christ cuts across every assumption we might make about who belongs in the kingdom. Amit Khaira grew up in Perth, Western Australia, in a devout Hindu family, the only migrant student at a Dutch Reformed school navigating the particular loneliness of not quite fitting anywhere. He found his footing through sport, especially basketball. And that instinct to create belonging for people on the margins never left him. It became in time the signature of his ministry. Over more than two decades of community-focused work, Amit's been a school chaplain, a lecturer in youth studies, an ordained Churches of Christ minister, a social entrepreneur, and a voice for emerging leaders trying to make sense of faith and vocation in contemporary Australia. He founded the Catalyst program to equip young adults for exactly that challenge. He ran Halo Espresso as a social enterprise to fund community development work through initiate Australia. He has served with Compassion Australia, carrying a vision for the church to engage poverty not just with charity but with transformation. His own answer to the question of how to represent Christ authentically, not as a performance, but as a life, is what I'm looking forward to exploring today. I mean, a joy to have you on Evangelical 360.

Amit Khaira 1:52

It's great to be with you, Brian. Thanks for having

Identity And Growing Up In Australia

Brian Stiller 1:55

me. You've got an accent and a uh facial colouring that seem to be uh a bit.

Amit Khaira 2:03

Am I the one with the accent or is this you? The exactly both of us.

Brian Stiller 2:07

From the colonies of Canada, I have that accent, and you're from Australia.

Amit Khaira 2:12

Yes, yep. So uh born in Singapore and raised in Australia with an Indian heritage.

Brian Stiller 2:22

Both mum and dad?

Amit Khaira 2:24

Mum and dad born and raised in Singapore, grandparents. So on my father's side, um, Punjab, and on my mother's side, West Pakistan. Um but yeah, mum and dad born and raised in Singapore, my sister and I born in Singapore, then I moved to Australia when I was six. So I say to people, if we talk food, I claim my Singaporean heritage. If we're talking business, I claim my Indian heritage. And if we're talking sport, I'm an Aussie all the way through.

Brian Stiller 2:52

My goodness, you've got good choices.

Amit Khaira 2:54

Yep, praise the Lord.

Brian Stiller 2:56

Praise the Lord. Why?

Amit Khaira 2:59

Because he is good, his love endures forever, and his faithfulness shall be forevermore. That's that is a testimony of my story. Yeah.

Brian Stiller 3:07

How didn't you come to that? Know that?

Amit Khaira 3:09

Through many different challenges and obstacles, I have come to know that those words out of the Psalms are very, very true. He is good, his love endures forever, and his faithfulness shall be forevermore. Yeah, that's my lived reality.

Brian Stiller 3:27

Did your parents teach you that?

Amit Khaira 3:29

Uh, not initially. Uh, wasn't born into a Christian household. So uh my mom was a very devout practicing Hindu. Uh, my dad was a very nominal Sikh, but they had an arranged marriage, and this is what it was. But didn't come to faith until it was actually my mum who became a follower of Jesus first. And I was 10 years old at the time, and everything in our family changed at that point.

Brian Stiller 3:54

How did that happen?

A Korean Stranger And A Mother’s Rescue

Amit Khaira 3:56

Oh man, I love telling this story. Oh, Brian, this is so good. When we make the move from Singapore to Australia, my mum really struggled. Well, what you and I would now call like poor mental health, right? So it would not be uncommon for me to wake up in the mornings getting ready for school and to see some bottles of alcohol on the bench. And just mum always being a shade of grey, like just always upset the world, the weight of the world on her shoulders. I just never remembered as a young fella looking at my mum with a smile. Like I just never, I just I don't have a recollection of that until this age of 10. Anyway, at one particular day, she just had enough. And so uh she she planned some pretty uh drastic steps. But before she was going to go ahead with those drastic steps, she didn't want to leave uh the family hungry. So she took my sister and I to the local Asian grocery store nearby where we lived. And she left my sister and I in the car, and then she went through this shop and she was just emptying out the shelves into the trolley, crying, knowing that this was going to be her final grocery shop for her family. And as she was in this Asian grocery store, this random Korean woman walked up to my mum, just gave her a hug, and just said to her sister, You don't know who I am, but you just need to know that Jesus loves you. And my mum's crying and she's looking at this Korean woman and she's like, Who are you? Why are you hugging me? Um, who is Jesus? Why are you hugging me? And then mum finishes her shop. She walks out of this door with this Korean woman who gets into our car. The 10-year-old Amit's thinking, you can buy anything at these shops, right? You've got a trolley full of groceries and a Korean woman. This is amazing. And this Korean woman comes in our car to our home, and every single day, Brian, every single day for the next two weeks. I wake up in the morning, she's at our breakfast table. I come home from school in the afternoon, she's at our dinner table. She's just there every single day for two weeks solid and just sharing about Jesus with my mum. And the way that she did this was using three words: love, light, and warmth. That's how she described Jesus to my mum. And then over those two weeks, mum was starting to improve. Some changes that we were noticing, but this career moment just brought so much joy into our house. And then there were two weeks of no contact. So two weeks of daily contact, and then two weeks of zero contact. And during the zero contact time, my mum would take my sister and I, we would be walking through the streets and she's asking people, has anyone seen this woman? Um, this short Korean, uh, she's Asian looking. I'm like, Mum, that's like all the Koreans, like you're not really narrowing it down. It's like be a bit more descriptive, mum. But we couldn't find her. Uh this is way before mobile phones and Facebook and everything else. So we just had no way to get in contact with this woman. And then it gets to the end of this two-week block, and this was a Thursday evening going into a Friday morning. My sister and I sharing a room, my mum and dad in the room next door, very small house, um, still the same home they live in today. And I just remember in the early hours of that Thursday night into the Friday morning, waking up to the sound of my mother screaming. Even as I'm telling you this story now, like I'm I'm back in that moment again, Brian. And I come out of my room and I go and stand in front of my mum and dad's bedroom door, and my dad comes out and he's like, son, go back to bed, mum's fine. I'm like, dad, like, mum is not fine. Like, what on earth is going on? And it probably lasted maybe like 15 or 20 seconds, but it felt a lot longer. And then I just remember then the screaming stopping, and then my mum coming out in her pajamas and just running through our small little home, and all she was saying was, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. And I'm like, I'm freaking out, right? So I try to go back to bed, didn't get an ounce of sleep. I get up the next morning, get to the breakfast table, no bottles of alcohol. Mum's like dancing in the kitchen preparing dinner, like completely changed. I would even go as far as to say, transformed. And then there's a knock on our door. So I go and open the door, and guess who's there? Our Korean woman, Auntie Nansan. Auntie Nansan, where have you been? I've been looking. We've been looking everywhere for you for the last two weeks. And she looked really ill. She'd lost some weight, her eyes were all dark, her face was sunken, she didn't look well at all. Son, is mum home? Can I come in? Of course she's home. It's breakfast time. Come. So she comes in and she sits at the head of the table where my dad would normally sit, but he was already off to work. And again, mum's dancing in the kitchen. My sister and I are sitting like this opposite from each other and just like nervously eating our breakfast, like, what on earth is going on? And Auntie Nanson looked at my mum and just said, Sister, I'm so proud of you. You did it. My mum stopped and looked at her and said, Did what? And Auntie Nansen recounted my mother's nightmare as if she saw the whole thing like a movie scene. So my mum is one of eight, a very large family, quite an influential family within Indian Singapore society. And in this dream that my mum was having, where she was screaming, um, her family were holding on to her. And so Auntie Nansen was like, all of your brothers and sisters, even your mum and dad were there, and they were, they weren't letting you go, were they? So, no, but you saw him, didn't you? She said, Yeah, this Jesus you've been telling me about. He was calling me by name. Oh my goodness, every time he said my name, that love that you were talking about, I could just feel it. It's real, he's real. Nansan, he's real. And oh, he was so bright, and the room just felt so warm. I just knew that I had to be with him. So again, that love and that light and that warmth was just a way that my mum was able to, there was a bridge that was built for my mum. And then Auntie Nansen was looking at my mum and she's like, Yeah, and then you uh you finally broke free from your family, didn't you? She's like, Yeah, and then you woke up, didn't you? And then you were running through your house. What was it you were saying, sister? Say it again, say it again. I'm free. Yes, sister, you are free, and you are free indeed. I've got to take you to the local church. And this was on Friday morning. So Sunday, Auntie Nansan comes back to our house with her son and daughter. Her son's the same age as me, her daughter's the same age as my sister. And she takes us to the local church just up the road. And um that's how our journey of faith as a family started. And the reason Auntie Nansan looked sick, she'd lost weight, her eyes were dark, didn't look well. For those two weeks that we did not see her, she'd just been praying and fasting for my mum and our family. And it just so happened that when things broke, she just knew. And she was right there the next morning again. And this is our testimony, man. So, from a very devout um follower of Hinduism to someone who was just filled with the love of Christ and the joy of life and smiled again. And the difference in those four weeks was this Korean woman and Jesus. So for me, my journey of faith was I just I'm in whatever she's got, talking about my mum, or whatever she's got, I I want. Whatever this is, yes, yep, yes. What else do you say? For space of four weeks, how how do you again the only difference being this Jesus that was introduced to my mum? So, yeah, that's that's a bit of the origin story, Brian. Praise God, ho? Praise God. Um, about five or so years later, dad then professed his faith.

Family Pushback And Church Hurt

Brian Stiller 12:08

Was he resistant to this? Oh, look at the befuddled by this new woman that he now has as a wife.

Amit Khaira 12:16

Yeah, it's a great question. I've talked to him about this a lot. So this was going back to 1991 when all this took place. And uh in 1993, I think it was, or 94, we took a family holiday back to Singapore because some of the family members were unwell. And so all the uncles and aunties from across the globe, all the cousins, they all got together and we were there. And my mum took the opportunity to share with the family. This was the first time we were all back again together, to share with her brothers and sisters and the rest of the family about the difference that this person of Jesus has just made in her life. So she could she couldn't hold it in, it was just overflowing in every part of her life. And the response from the family members were how dare you bring this shame on our family? How dare you? So there's the door, you're not welcome here.

Brian Stiller 13:16

And shame for what reason?

Amit Khaira 13:19

Again, just a very influential family within part of society in Singapore, and they were known, and there's a reputation there, and um, being a follower of Jesus was not a part of the narrative. So that was the shame that was brought on the family. So I remember sitting in in that room as a 13-year-old, walking out with my sister and my mum, and my dad, and looking at my mum with tears just rolling down her face, and her arm around my sister and I, and all she said to his son, it's okay, Jesus is worth it. So, for my dad, he he lost his father at a very young age and spent a lot of his younger years working to be able to support his three siblings and his mum. And so when he was witnessing uh the abandonment, the rejection, the caste aside, the offense, um, it was just it was too big a step to take. And so that was the big part of the reason for that five-year gap. You know, there was a couple of years when after mum first got um introduced to Jesus and before we had that family holiday in Singapore, and there was a bit of a gap that was there, but it was just like trying to figure out what on earth is going on, and dad's never really been devout in any sort of practice besides work. He's always worked very hard. And yeah, it was just a step too far to take. But yeah, about five years later, there was a family in Australia that really just took my mum and dad and my sister and I under their wing, um, Uncle Paul and Auntie Mavis. And we used to spend our Christmases with them. I got introduced to the traditional Sunday roasted dinner with them. Um, Uncle Paul taught me how to play snooker. Um, took me to my very first cricket game. His son Matt was one of my first mentors. Uh, it's just a very, very special family. And on one of these Saturday afternoons that we were there for another meal again, um, Uncle Paul had taken my dad out and they went hiking for a little bit in the afternoon. And just remember coming back and having that roast dinner, and Uncle Paul just saying, Hey, why don't you why don't you tell him what happened today? And I think Dad's words were something along the lines of, I'm in. So that was a good roast dinner that night, man. That was a good roast dinner. And his journey is his story to tell, but I will say this, because I think this will connect with many of your listeners, Brian. It hasn't been a smooth ride for Dad, because he has experienced a lot of hurt within the context of communities of faith. And uh where he would be at in his story now, again, I could say this confidently, because I speak to him often about this. Um, if this is what Jesus is like, I don't want any part of it. So he's seen the radical transformation, so he knows and he knows and he knows. And then he's experienced just pain and hurt and brokenness in community, and it's just like, well, if this is what it's all about, then like I don't want any part of this. I love Jesus, but I'm not so sure about his followers. And so this is just the journey that we're still on with dad now.

Brian Stiller 16:33

Yeah, there are so many layers here. Tell me about it. You're an immigrant family, yeah. Uh out of an Asian community, yeah, with an Indian and Hindu heritage, yeah, into a prominent dominant white English culture.

Amit Khaira 16:57

Yeah.

Brian Stiller 17:00

Cared for by a Korean who led to faith.

Amit Khaira 17:04

And an old British couple called Paul and Mavis. That was the the adopted grandparents.

Brian Stiller 17:10

And then you go to uh probably a a white kind a white dominant church in in Australia.

Amit Khaira 17:16

Yeah, yeah, there wasn't too many colored faces in the room at that stage.

Brian Stiller 17:20

And then you so they nurture you, you learn about you learn how to overcome all of these layers and lead someone to faith as a Korean woman led your mom. And yet your father runs into those kind of sorrowful experiences that seem to offset the very idea that drew your mom by this Korean woman to to faith in Christ. So it's a many-layered story.

Amit Khaira 17:56

It is.

Brian Stiller 17:57

What sense do you make of it?

Amit Khaira 17:59

I'm just as broken as the next person, and if not for Christ, I what hope do I have? So I don't profess to be perfect or to have it all together or even know the best way in which to treat people. I often get things wrong. So I just ask others to be gracious with me as I try and be gracious with them as Christ is overly gracious with us. And that's just that's all we can do, man. But the last thing I want to be do is offending others. And the last thing I want to be do is letting go of Jesus. And this is just the dance that we are in. So we just keep running after him and just loving people as best as we can along the way. And when we acknowledge or recognize that we have caused offense, I am very quick to repent.

Brian Stiller 18:44

Were you a high-energy kid?

Amit Khaira 18:46

Uh, some would say undiagnosed ADHD.

Brian Stiller 18:50

Join the crowd. My sister has complained about that for years.

Amit Khaira 18:54

Uh yeah. No, yeah, I'd definitely say so. Yeah, I I love life and I try to live it to the fullest.

Brian Stiller 19:00

So you your your your mom transformed? Yeah. She's a different person. She certainly is. And you say, I'm in. I certainly did. And as a teenager, did your walk with Christ follow somewhat uneventful, or how how did this thing grow in your life to adulthood?

A Clean CV Meets Cancer

Amit Khaira 19:24

How did it grow? Yeah, I think for many would they would look at it and say uneventful for sure. I grew up in a home where there was always a curry on the stovetop, always an abundance of love and cuddles. There was always great conversation, always felt welcome. My friends were always welcome, never really experienced much social isolation other than um a season of pretty intense bullying at school. I was in a very uh white-dominated school, um, Dutch Reformed background. But even me saying that, I also acknowledge that I wasn't, I wasn't just a victim, Brian. I was also a perpetrator. Like I'm far from perfect. So you would poke the bear now and then. I still do, I think. I still do. Uh definitely, but you know, like I met my wife and I, we've been together for 34 years. We've been together since the age of 10. I've never kissed another girl. She's the only girlfriend I've ever had. Uh, I only had eyes for her, still do. She's the only one for me. My first love was basketball. She knows that. Uh, and then um, yeah, but in a great group of friends, like I've never been drunk, never taken recreational drugs. There's just some would look at the CV and be like, yeah, this is a pretty clean sheet. Um, which is actually in some of my later years and some of the challenges that we have faced, has actually made some of the challenges that little bit more difficult. Because I would often, when come up against different obstacles, read or just remind Jesus of my CV and be like, so where did this come from? So, probably the most recent one that I can share with you is um when I got my cancer diagnosis five years ago. And I remember um coming home from the appointment with the specialist surgeon who had booked me in for surgery. And look, that's a wild story how that all came about with no signs or symptoms, and within 24 hours, it was just game on. And I remember driving home from the specialist appointment, and probably I prayed the most honest prayer that I've ever uttered. It was filled with a lot of words and sentiments that I probably haven't vocalized before. But it was it was very direct. And essentially, I was just taking the opportunity to remind God of my CV and my resume and all the things that I had done and had not done. And and then now I get cancer. Like, what did I miss, mate? Like, what's going on? So then I as soon as I had that moment of prayer, which was quite a while, I then And called my wife as I'm driving home and spoke to her. And the first thing my wife says to me is, Hun, give me the name of three of your mates that you can call because you're not going to be able to do this journey alone. And then I asked her, What are the name of three girlfriends that you can tell me you're going to call because you're not going to be able to do this? We've got to do this together, but we need village around us. And so the first mate of mine that I called, so I live in Perth in Western Australia. This mate of mine's over in Melbourne. And the reason I called him was because I knew that he himself had been through a pretty significant cancer story. So I called him, and I was like, mate, you're not going to believe what's going on. So tell me. And then I shared the story with him with everything that was unfolding. And then he said, Oh, have you prayed? I'm like, well, I don't know if I'd call it that, but yeah, I've had a few words. I've had a few words. Oh, what did you say? I'm like, all right, I'll repeat what I said. So I did. And then this friend of mine on the phone just says, Well, Amit, are you done, mate? I'm like, what sort of a question's that? Like, I'm in a pretty dark place right now. Amit, just take this as a uh virtual slap across the face through the phone. All I'm hearing you say is, why me, why me, why me? Why not you? Why not? You just reminded me of your resume, and by the way, good job. But what makes you think that any part of your story would make you immune to the pain and brokenness and suffering of this world? Where does that come from? And if you honestly say the faith, you have the faith that you have, if you honestly mean that, surely this is going to give you a sense of courage and boldness to be able to engage in this next season, the way that many others may not be able to. So is it game on or are you tapping out? And as soon as he said these words, bro, I was just like, oh no, how do I click on email undo with that? I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. And uh I'm so grateful for friends like that. I'm so grateful. But that that rephrasing of that season, instead of asking the why me questions, to actually just sit with the why not me, and then again just continue to run to Jesus with everything that I have and just hold on to him and may his will be done. It's been beautiful. So, yeah, through the teen years, pretty clean sheet. Uh, my faith was able to transition from uh, I just want what she's got to owning it for myself. And I've been serving in my community from the age of 14. And I like I love Jesus, I love my community. He's placed me where I am for a reason, and I just want others to know that he is good, that his love endures forever, and he is faithful forevermore. That's all I want people to know. So, this is what I've been doing.

What It Means To Love Jesus

Brian Stiller 25:02

When you say you love Jesus, yeah to some people that may sound corny. Sure. Childlike. But what does that mean?

Amit Khaira 25:15

What does it mean to what does it mean to love Jesus?

Brian Stiller 25:21

How do you think about it? How do you feel about it? What does it do to you?

Amit Khaira 25:27

I'll respond uh in this way, and this was uh a story that one of Mother Teresa's nuns shared with me while I was in Kolkata a few years back. Um, she shared this story of a journalist that went to spend some time observing Mother Teresa. And uh, after observing her for a period of time, like weeks, they sat down for an interview. And the journalist asked Mother Teresa, You spend a lot of time praying. What are you what are you what are you saying to this god of yours? To which Mother Teresa responded, I'm not saying much, I'm just listening. Oh, you're spending a lot of time listening. What's this god of yours saying to you? Um, he's not saying that much, he's just listening. The journalist is quite confused by this stage. And uh he just looks at Mother Teresa, he's like, What do you mean by this? To which this nun told me she responded, Have you ever been so in love with someone that just merely being in their presence was more than enough? That's me and my Jesus. So when you're asking me the question, what does it mean when you say like you just love Jesus? Look, if it sounds corny, if it sounds childlike, you know what? Praise God. It is childlike because just being in his presence is more than enough, Brian. I don't always seek answers. I don't always seek guidance. I just want him. I can't get enough of him. I crave the word. I love being able to see my voice is terrible, but I just love shouting it to him. I love sitting in his presence. I love just like soaking myself with him. I just I love seeing him at work through creation, through people, through all I just I just I love, I just love what he's done, I love what he's doing, I just love him. He's my purpose, he is my strength, he is my vision, he is my he's my hope, he is everything. And again, if that sounds corny to people, then I actually don't care. Because that's who he is to me. Um, and he gives me clarity and he gives me purpose, and I'll just keep running after him.

Brian Stiller 27:41

How does that unfold in you in what you do, how you live?

Amit Khaira 27:45

Yeah, I think the depth of that love and my relationship with Jesus, and then some of the challenges that I faced, even just what I've shared with you in regards to our journey with cancer, it's giving me great clarity around why I do what I do. As someone was asking me this the other night over dinner, and I just said, there's for me, having death breathing down your neck that clears the fog that often exists in life. That's just been my story. And I I don't want that to sound overly dramatic, but at the time when I first got my diagnosis and everything was panning out, like I just didn't know what was going to happen. And I acknowledge that throughout my teen years and my 20s and even into my 30s, that so much of what I did was performative. Like I just wanted to, I wanted to do good. I wanted to help others. And it wasn't that I felt like I had to earn my salvation, but I just didn't want to leave any room for anyone to think that I wasn't really serving the Lord. So I was just, you add that with the energy and away we go, right? But now it's just how does that inform or dictate what it is that I do? There's nothing else worth living for. And it's the only thing worth dying for. So I've I just said to Jesus, while you continue to put breath in my lungs, you have my yes, no matter what it is that you ask. And that's led us to a pretty wild ride over the last, well, the last 10 years. We've spent 471 days homeless in our city, living out of suitcases with my wife and four kids. We've had the cancer story, there's been seasons of unemployment as assignments have come and gone, and there's just been a wild adventure. God is good, his love endures forever, his faithfulness should be forevermore. Brian, it's our story. This is, he just continues to lead. We might be getting things wrong. We might be making some big mistakes and decisions that we're making, but as we like to say in Australia, we're just having a crack mate. I've just, what's there to lose?

Brian Stiller 29:45

So you uh experience this with your mother. Yep. You grow up as a teenager, yeah. You meet this young lady as a ch as a as a kid and you love Sky. Yeah, that's her name. Yep. How how does this then massage itself into your vocation, into your calling, into what what you do when you get up in the morning?

From Classroom To Chaplaincy Calling

Amit Khaira 30:15

Sure. So I was uh running a business when I was going through university, and I was always working towards an early retirement so that I could uh without any distractions just serve the Lord. So the plan was to retire when I was 30. Uh the business was going pretty well, and then I looked towards the end of my university degree and was praying about next steps. Do we go all in with the business stuff or what do you want us to do? I studied accounting and secondary teaching at university, and I really felt the Lord leading me towards the education space. So I sold the business and got a job at a school. And then getting to know the students and all the issues that were happening outside of the classroom that was impacting the way that they were engaging with the work inside of the classroom, as in they weren't engaging because of all the other issues that were going on. I just found myself probably doing more pastoral care than teaching. And I loved it. I loved it. I just loved connecting with these young ones. I loved being able to learn their stories and being able to find. So, where does hope fit here? Because he's there. Hope is a person, his name is Jesus, he's there. I know he's there. Do you? And working with the kids through this. And that lasted about three years as a classroom teacher. And then the principal pulled me aside and was like, hey, we just see what's going on here. And we love the way that you're loving these kids and the way they react and interact with you. But like, we really need you to focus on the teaching side of things. And I'm like, I don't think teaching's for me. I think just being with the young ones is for me. So then I left that school, got a job at another school as a business manager because I had my accounting degree, and my wife and I had some dreams and we needed to get paid. And so I was sitting in the interview for this other job as a business manager, and the principal and the existing business manager at the school were looking at me and they were like, Have you ever thought about being a chaplain? I'm like, Yeah, I have, but it doesn't pay much. And we've got we've got some things that we're going after, we just can't do it. What if what if we could work something out? Like, I love thinking outside the box. I'm open for the conversation. Anyway, ended up being at that school as a two and a half day a week business manager, two and a half days a week chaplain. And then at the end of the first 12 months, I'm like, guys, just get me out of the office, get the tie off me, let me get, I just want to be with these kids. And that was the next 10 years, just doing school chaplaincy work, and I loved it. Um started working in a not-for-profit organization with a really close friend of mine. Uh, we're working across seven different countries, different business ventures with young people. Yeah, it's just it's been a fun ride. And just trying to do whatever we can just to share the love and the hope of Christ. And then after our fourth uh child was born to us in 2015, one of my mentors asked me the question while I was on long service leave, um, where do you see yourself in five years? Like if nothing changes with everything that you're doing assignment-wise, what does the next five years look like? I was like, I was 34 at that stage. So five, I'll be almost 40, 39. If nothing changes, what is 39-year-old Armor doing? And then I was looking at what was going on, I'm like, oh, I can't let that be my story. Oh, what does this mean? So my wife and I started praying about a few things, and again, just really felt God leading us into a new season. And so we handed our resignation letter into that school. Um, we bought a cafe in our city, set it up as a social enterprise with a friend of mine so that all the profits that we're generating through that business would then fund our charity work wherever it was that God would lead us. I did that for about four years, um, started working for a Bible college, wrote some university programs, got a job working with a local church group, um, studied my master's degree, did a few other bits and pieces over those next four years. And then a lot of those assignments again that we picked up, and in that time was that homelessness season and whatever else. And then some of the assignments started coming to an end. So 2019, November, I was like, oh, what's next? No idea. Lord, what are you doing here? What's going on? And then I started, uh had the opportunity to work with Compassion International. So I was got got to work with them for four years as a partnerships manager and business development manager. Love the work of compassion, still volunteer wherever I can. And then uh things changed again dramatically in August of 2023.

Chicago Mural And Next Gen Mission

Amit Khaira 34:56

I was invited to go and speak at the Global Leadership Summit in Chicago with the Next Gen team. And so I was there, and in some time leading up to Chicago, I learned that Chicago is actually a bit of a mecca globally for urban art. Now, I love urban art, but the Holy Spirit was highlighting this to me a lot in my time with him. And so started studying about urban art and urban art culture and hip-hop culture and how they all merge together, and Chicago being a bit of a ground zero for all of this. And there's different tours that you can go on in Chicago to learn about this history and see the art on these walls, but you have to pay for them. So, being the Indian Heritage, the business, Indian Heritage, I'm not paying for anything. Like, I'm gonna download these maps and I'm gonna walk for free. And so on the Saturday morning, I'm there in Chicago, I take myself into the Pilson district and I'm looking at this particular picture on this wall, and I'm brought to my knees in a weeping mess. So there's a picture, it's a young African-American, art is its own language, right? So this was my interpretation of what I saw on the wall. There's a there's a picture of a young African-American boy. He's got a block over his mouth, block over his eyes, a teardrop. He's painted blue, and on the side it just says R. I P John. And as I stood in front of that painting, I was just like, this can't be it. My interpretation was this young kid in this community, he looked like eight or nine years old, felt so unseen and unheard, and was in so much pain that the only way out for him was to take his life. I said, this can't be it. God, this can't be the story for this next generation. Surely there's more. They've got to know you in a deeper way. And in that moment, just felt the Holy Spirit just asking me the question: Well, son, would you like to do something about it? Um, and that's just dictated our steps pretty much ever since. So we're just doing what we can to take the hope of the gospel into communities where young people are, and if they know him, we're mobilizing them as much as we can. And if they don't know him, we're introducing them into them as best as we can. And that's what we do, Brian.

Brian Stiller 37:12

Amit, it's been a great joy for me to hear you, meet you, and to have you in Evangelical 360.

Amit Khaira 37:19

Thank you, Brian. Thanks for being here today. Thanks for having me.

Closing And Listener Next Steps

Brian Stiller 37:23

Thanks, Amit, for joining me today. Your leadership and creative initiatives have been strategic in enabling us to see how the Spirit is at work guiding the Church of Jesus Christ through turbulent times. And to you, my listener, thank you for being a part of the podcast. And be sure to share this episode and join the conversation on YouTube. If you'd like to learn more about today's guest, just check the show notes for links and info. And if you haven't already received my free ebook and newsletter, just go to Brianstiller.com. Thanks again. Until next time.