On most Sundays at CERC, if you look carefully, you’ll see a young man with sharp features, quiet eyes, and a ready smile. He slips into his seat with his Bible open before the first song begins. During the sermon, he leans forward, intent on every word, typing away notes on his laptop. And after the gathering, he lingers, talking with friends, encouraging younger students, sometimes reading the Bible with them too.
His name is Divyesh Subramaniam, and only two years ago, he was bowing to Hindu idols.
A Hindu Son, Growing Restless
Divyesh grew up in a devout Hindu family, surrounded by temple life and tradition.
Divyesh grew up in a staunch Hindu family. Rituals, prayers, and temple visits were woven into his childhood. He was proud of it too. “I was staunchly Hindu,” he recalls, “and I never thought I would be anything else.”
But when he entered his second year of engineering studies at Nottingham University Malaysia, cracks began to show. Questions he couldn’t answer gnawed at him. The gods seemed silent. His life began to unravel under the weight of emptiness and restlessness.
“I was lost,” he says simply. “I didn’t know why I was alive. I was just existing, going through the motions.”
An Unexpected Invitation
Everything began to shift in 2023 when one of his classmates, Caitlin Pon, extended a small invitation.
“Hey Divyesh, would you like to join SOLIDD Online?” she asked.
SOLIDD—Serving Our Lord in Dutiful Delight—is CERC’s Christian Fellowship for university students. SOLIDD Online is its arm for students spread across the nation, meeting online every Monday night.
So, one evening, curiosity drew him in. As the session began, he found himself listening to a talk on the book of Exodus.
“I didn’t understand much,” he admits with a laugh. “It was like entering a different world. The words, the categories—they were all new.”
He left unchanged. But he came back a few months later.
Why? “Honestly, I was empty. I had nothing better to do. So I thought, might as well.”
A Talk That Cut Deep
That second visit would change everything. The topic: Sin. The speaker: Shaun Alex Thomas, then only just stepping into his role as a Church Ministers’ Apprentice at CERC.
Divyesh remembers the moment vividly.
“Shaun said that because I was sinful, I deserved to go to hell,” he recalls. “I was furious. I wanted to tell him to go to hell. Because all my life, I thought I was a good person. A struggling person, yes, but a good person overall. His bluntness just wrecked me.”
After the talk, he sought Shaun out. Not to learn, but to confront.
“I told him he was being unloving. But Shaun didn’t flinch. He said calmly, ‘This is what the Bible says about you. The question is, will you accept it, or fight God?’”
That sentence pierced him.
“I knew it was true. I couldn’t explain why, but I knew. I saw myself clearly for the first time: evil, unable to love God, an enemy of God. And if that was true, then I really did deserve hell. It was crushing.”
From Anger to Mercy
That day marked the turning point for Divyesh.
“I was so angry because I came wanting to be a better version of myself. I thought Christianity was about self-improvement. Instead, I heard that I was totally depraved. That God had to kill His own Son because of my sin. That shook me.”
But in the shock, something broke open.
“The fact that I wasn’t dead yet—that I was still alive—was God’s mercy. I calmed down and asked Shaun to help me know God and myself better.”
So began weeks of one-to-one Bible reading between Divyesh and Shaun. Together they worked through Mark’s Tough Questions (a valuable Matthias Media resource) on Jesus’ hardest sayings. For the first time, Divyesh came face to face with Christ in the pages of Scripture.
And slowly, light broke through the darkness.
“I saw Jesus for who He is: the Son of God who came to save sinners like me. I saw that real life is not about making myself happy, but repenting and glorifying God. By God’s grace, I was saved to have faith in Jesus.”
From death to life: Divyesh declares his faith in Christ in his baptism.
A New Life
Life changed rapidly after that. The emptiness was replaced with conviction. The apathy with joy. The despair with hope.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for CERC and especially its university ministries,” he says, “I’d still be in Nottingham, but living in sin. Going to class, then indulging myself. Self-indulgent. Hating others. That’s who I was. But God saved me.”
Since then, Divyesh has thrown himself into knowing and serving God as a university student. When Nottingham SOLIDD first began (a ministry built just for students at Nottingham) he stepped forward as one of its first student leaders. From there, he’s spent his university days with an open Bible in hand, reading it with friends, telling them about Jesus, and quietly shouldering responsibilities to care for and minister to fellow students.
“What I appreciate most about CERC is how blunt and clear the church is with the Word,” he says. “CERC will go all the way for the Word and because of that, all the way for the people God has saved into Christ’s church. That’s love. That’s real love.”
Hungry for God’s Word: Divyesh joyfully learning the Bible with friends at Nottingham SOLIDD.
Tested but Steadfast
His newfound faith hasn’t come without cost. Coming from a Hindu family, Divyesh has faced backlash. Some relatives have rejected him. Friends have turned cold.
“What keeps me going?” he reflects. “It doesn’t matter what the world thinks, even people I love. I love my biological family, and I’m grateful to my parents for raising me. But the way I love them now is by being Christian: by showing them Christ.”
It’s not easy. At times it is deeply painful. But he stands firm.
“If I’ve learnt anything, it’s that God is love. And He has shown me that love through CERC. I see nothing but love here. I know the Spirit is working here. I know the Word is here. I know I want to be here until I die, or until our Lord Jesus returns.”
Fruit That Lasts
Those who know Divyesh can testify to the change. He is no longer restless and aimless, but steady and eager. No longer wandering but anchored in God’s Word.
And his story is not just about him. It is about God’s work in this church.
When CERC members pray, give, and serve, they may not always see immediate fruit. But in Divyesh’s life, they can. Here is one young man who might have wasted his years in idolatry and sin. And yet, God plucked him out through a classmate’s invitation, a blunt Bible talk, and a church that would not compromise the Word.
“I’m excited for CERC,” Divyesh says. “We’re always growing. With the new building coming, I can’t wait to see how God will use this church to reach more lost souls. Because I know there are so many out there like me, trapped in darkness, searching for light.”
Brothers in Christ: Divyesh building deep, godly and meaningful friendships with other students in CERC.
Looking Ahead
Divyesh is still young in the faith. He still has much to learn, many battles ahead, many tests of perseverance. Yet his desire is clear.
“I want to give my whole life to Christ,” he says without hesitation. “If that means going into full-time paid ministry one day, I’m open to it too. Because I love Jesus’ church that much.”
That is what God can do. He takes a Hindu son, restless and lost, and makes him a Christian brother, full of conviction, brimming with love for God’s people, hungry for His Word. It is a story that humbles, encourages, and compels us. God saves. The Word works. The Spirit moves.
And in the life of one student, we see it plainly.
