One man, his life and vision : Part VII

In 2006 Viju launched United Adoration under VJ Traven ministry.In the last five years, thousands got touched by the Holy Spirit through Viju's albums and testimonies.Hundreds of backsliders returned to the Lord, thousands of broken people were healed, more than two thousand people responded to the alter calls for baptism, again hundreds committed their lives to serve the Lord full time. God is using Viju powerfully to restore the glory in the body of Christ through building inseparable intimacy with Jesus. Today Viju is driven by a vision to win billions of souls for Jesus in this generation and next through his Praise and Worship Crusades. He did two super hit Gospel albums in Malayalam Yeshuve Karunamayane and Ente Yeshuvin Ormmackai. Next album Aaghosham is ready to record, waiting for God's answer for financial resources. Viju has composed and written more than thirty contemporary Malayalam Gospel songs and many English Worship songs. He did two world class music videos which was played in MTV, God Channel and is still playing in Christian and mainstream channels. In English and Malayalam he writes,sings, leads worship, teaches and conducts worship seminars,preaches in youth meetings and leadership conferences, Church Conventions in India and abroad. Viju's dream is to globally launch world-class English Praise and worship productions and tour all over the world to magnify the name of our Lord Jesus.He is praying, writing and waiting for the time of the Lord to launch his passionate worship thoughts in the blend of contemporary sound with rich Indian flavor . Now Viju and Junie has three little sons, Johnnie, Dannie and Nathen.This blog is his new avenue in the ministry.

Hello, do you want to know more to partner in this vision from God to heal and win the nations of the world??? Write to us ! Come together, let's flood this world with the Light of Life in Jesus name !!!

Let King Jesus be glorified.Amen Amen !!!

One man, his life and vision : Part VI

During this time, the founders of the Exodus were back in Cochin together after a long time and started growing in grace day by day. Exodus did their fourth anniversary as a Festival of Praise and Worship in September 21st 2001 and then started a Sunday evening fellowship. God led Abe, Reji, Viju and Mathew, to Church ministry.Afterwards Viju started constantly getting affected by Laryngitis, a disease that is a nightmare to singers and preachers. Various treatments done were
ineffective, medicines failed to heal. His voice was in trouble every now and then. This depressing experience tormented him and broke him inside. He told his wife "I'd rather die than living without my voice". In the midst of his agony, he learned to spend time alone with God, and it made him write six devotional songs in Malayalam. Holy Spirit made him understand he should earnestly seek the purpose of God in his life, more than the restoration of his voice.Somewhere he needed to get right with God more meaningfully than before. So for seven days he fasted along with Exodus church, and he said "Lord I am available if you need me to be back in the full time ministry, but you have to heal me and restore me". He also said, "I need to record my songs with the best musicians in the finest studios in India". Lord was kind to Viju.Lord answered the fervent prayers of His people. God healed Viju completely and also blessed him with a breakthrough in his career. Hope Givers International and Northfields Corporation stepped in to promote him. His debut album was recorded in 2002 at Chennai and Mumbai with the best musicians in the finest studios. In his twenty two year old career in music,what was impossible by man was made possible by God.Today he stays passionately committed to the Lord's Ministry full time.

One man, his life and vision : Part V

Meanwhile Reji, became a strong committed believer through Sharon Fellowship and was working in the Middle East. God called him for full time ministry and he together with Abe was waiting and praying for God's opening in the ministry. They thought about their roots in music and came to 'Exodus' again. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit in 1997, they started a youth ministry. Viju started singing in Exodus meetings. The fellowship with his old friends restored Viju's relationship with Lord Jesus. His friends introduced him to one Pastor named Jacob Ninan who headed the new English worship of Highlands Pilgrims Church in Cochin. Lord started drawing Viju nearer to him. Lord started blessing him and Viju got married to Junie in 1998.

In 1999, Exodus was growing as a prominent youth movement in Cochin. Viju went back to Bombay to work as a composer and singer for the National and International advertising industry. His most outstanding works were Wipro corporate, Healthy world, 7UP, Britannia, Lux, etc etc. In Bombay, Viju was attending the Bandra New Life fellowship. Whenever he is back home in Cochin, he sang in Exodus. One year later God blessed Viju and Junie with their first son. Little Johnnie was born in Junie's home town Cuttack. Those days Viju was getting established in Bombay, but then suddenly his dad got sick with lung cancer and was in hospital for six weeks. He passed away in 2000 July. Ever after the demise of his beloved father who dreamed about his son to be a full time minister, Viju felt the intense need to get right with God more intimately than ever. He came back to Cochin and started totally involving in the ministry of Exodus

One man, his life and vision : Part IV

Meanwhile, Mathew and Abe, came to the Lord. Abe took his degree in Bachelor of Theology and later became a Pastor of the "Full gospel Church of God" where Mathew was also ministering with Abe.During this time Viju became a celebrity in the Indian Rock music scenario. Everything was going fine till he finished three great years with Shiva. Then suddenly one day he was down with high fever while Cerebral malaria was spreading in Calcutta. The preventive medicines prescribed by a doctor left Viju half dead. By the side effect of the medicine taken, he had a hallucination where Viju almost lost his mind. In three weeks time he totally regained his mental and physical
health. But after this episode the saddest thing happened, the celebrity of Rock lost his job. Shiva refused to take him back after that frightening one month. They said, "we cannot have a lunatic singing in the band". Viju was totally rejected and broken, he parted ways with Shiva and left Calcutta in September 1994. He didn't realize God was patiently waiting for Viju to return to Him regardless of all these terrible set backs in life. When he came back home, he found no band was good enough for him to join. He had few guest appearances with bands like Firefly in Cochin and Stonecold in Banglore. With long hair, no Church was ready to accept him in Cochin and he
refused the idea of attending the traditional Malayalam fellowships because of the bitter experiences in the past.

In 1995 Viju re-invented himself as a composer for T.V. Commercials. His jingles won gold and silver awards. His most popular works in Kerala were "Johns Kuda" (Unnikkinnuoru kuda venam), Sabari Tea, VNM Jewelers, Malabar Cement, Medifresh Soap, Kaveri Facial Cream etc. He joined "Living theater" and started composing music for major English plays in Cochin, which won a lot of critical acclaim from the mainstream media for Viju's music. During this time the Hollywood actress Persis Khambatta hired him for the launch of 'Pride of India' her coffee table book about Miss India's. He composed and recorded three songs and also performed the same with nearly 60 Miss India's on stage for the launch program at Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay.

One man, his life and vision : Part III

Later in Bangalore, he started a new band 'Rock Clef' with Sash George his drummer friend. There he was becoming popular as the new vocalist. He stayed in Bangalore till he met one of the most outstanding bands in the Indian history,'Shiva'. In1991 September he joined Shiva in Calcutta and started performing in the biggest arenas all over India. Shiva became the most popular band in the college and club circuits with Viju as their front line vocalist. In major events, more than thirty thousand spectators used to attend the 'Shiva' concerts all over the country. In the midst of all this glamour and glitter, Viju somehow regularly attended the Sunday services in Park Street A.G.Church.

He released his own composition 'In your arms' through Rock Street Journal,which became a big hit. His career as Rock singer peaked in Calcutta and he had a tremendous fan following all over the nation. His own compositions received great reviews in national and international magazines like Cutting Edge in US. Viju even received a fax message from Peter Jenner, the ex-manager of Pink Floyd, appreciating the quality of his voice and music.All this responses made him very serious about discovering more of his own original sound.

One man, his life and vision : Part II

For next three years he walked with God like the young Timothy. Time passed by and all things were fine, but when he slowly discovered the hypocrisy within the community, it broke his heart badly. He lost his focus on Jesus and it led him to walk out from the traditional Pentecostal Church. Young Viju couldn't stand the leaders who preached only for their own benefit.

Viju was left alone and didn't know what to do. He felt, he lost five long golden years, which made him a specialist in nothing, as he was twenty years old by then. He found solace in a box guitar and would spend time strumming it. He thought God send music to rescue him. In 1985, he chose music and took it seriously as a career for rest of his life. Then one day he met two musicians playing drums and guitar and liked them and he started visiting them frequently. He started his first band Exodus with Reji, Abe and Mathew.

After two years 'Exodus' was not functioning as a band, musicians got involved in other avenues of life. Viju formed a new band 'Break Chambers'.Later he left in search of better musical opportunities in Bombay. Viju was not successful in making a break through there. In the midst of setbacks, he was getting drawn back to the Lord little by little. He shifted to Bangalore trying for new avenues in music and also started attending Pastor.Paul Thankiah's A.G Church.

One man, his life and vision : Part I

Born and raised in a middle class Roman Catholic family in South India, Viju Jeremiah Traven was the only child born to his parents Varghese and Gracy.His father was a broken businessman, who got healed miraculously from cancer in 1978. After that his father Varghese Kattapuram (Kattachayan) became a very committed Christian, he attended a traditional Pentecostal Church in Cochin. From the childhood, Viju used to paint and was very musically inclined and he used to listen to various forms of music seriously.Viju was never interested in seeking the face of God and refused to worship God along with his dad. But one Saturday night during the early college days, Viju heard God asking him " Where are you going away from me? "Next day morning what Viju told surprised his dad,"I am coming withyou now for Sunday worship".Viju accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and soon got baptized in water and was filled with the Holy Spirit. He became passionate about learning the word of God and was powerfully anointed with the Spirit of vision and prophecy. He studied under Pr.P.K.Chacko, who wrote the first Malayalam Bible dictionary and spend a lot of time in prayer with Variyapuram Yohannachayan, one of the greatest prophets ever lived in Kerala. He learned many deep spiritual truths from these great men of God and later he gave his life for ministry as they laid hands and separated him for the call of God in his life.