Rev. Dr. A.C. George

September 19, 1935 ~ March 21, 2026

Karichal, Kerala, India ~ Evansville, Indiana, USA

There is a village in Kerala called Karichal, situated on the south bank of the Achankovil River. It was there, in 1935, that Ambakattuparambil Chacko George came into the world — the youngest of four children born to A.C. Chacko and Annamma Chacko, a Syrian Orthodox family in modest circumstances that would soon grow harder still. His siblings were Thankamma Varghese, A.C. Philip, and A.C. Jacob. His father died when he was just eighteen months old, and his mother, who carried the family alone through years of quiet struggle, followed some years later. By the time young George was a teenager, he had known loss, poverty, and the kind of childhood that leaves most boys without a future to look toward.

But God had other plans.

At fourteen, he walked into a Sunday school class at the Karichal Pentecostal Church at the invitation of his cousin Ammini, and something in him came alive. On October 23, 1949, he said “yes” to Jesus. On November 15, 1950, he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and on February 25, 1951, he was baptized in the waters of the very Achankovil River that flowed past his village. Then in 1952, while flat on his back with typhoid fever for forty-five days, he heard — not an audible voice, but an unmistakable inner certainty — the call of God to ministry. He told his eldest brother that night: “I want to do the Lord’s ministry. I don’t want to do anything else.”

What followed was a lifetime of disciplined pursuit. He studied at Salem Bible School in Mavelikara and Sharon Bible School in Tiruvalla, then made the long, coal-dusted train journey to Bangalore to enroll at Southern Asia Bible College (SABC). There he earned a double promotion and graduated in 1959 — the same year he joined the faculty. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Divinity from Union Biblical Seminary, Yavatmal, graduating in 1963 as the first student in UBS history to pass the Bachelor of Divinity in first class. His academic journey then carried him to the United States: a Master of Theology in Old Testament from Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky (1967); a Master of Arts in Mediterranean Studies from Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts (1971); and finally, in 1982, a Doctor of Theology in Historical Theology from Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia — making him one of the earliest Indian Pentecostals to earn an academic doctorate. Through every step of those demanding years, his wife Leelamma was beside him, typing his papers, his thesis, and his doctoral dissertation. As he recalled with characteristic warmth: “In America they say when the husband receives the Ph.D., the wife receives the ‘Ph.T’ — ‘push the husband through!’”

Rev. Dr. George’s life and the life of SABC are inseparable. Student in 1956, faculty member in 1959, then Director of Evangelism and Academic Dean — and in 1983, appointed Principal and President, becoming the first Indian national to hold that position. He served fifteen years in that role, retiring in 1998 with the title of Professor Emeritus. In over five decades at SABI/SABC, he poured himself into equipping men and women for ministry across South Asia and beyond. Of the AG Bible colleges in India alone, a large majority of their faculty — including their principals — were SABC alumni. When asked about the measure of his work, he said simply: “When I see the end product, I know what we are doing here is worthwhile.”

His contribution to theological education extended far beyond the SABC campus. He served in the Association for Evangelical Theological Education in India (AETEI), the Asia Theological Association (ATA), the Assemblies of God Association for Theological Education in Southern Asia (AGATESA), and the Euro-Asian Theological Association (EATA), and taught at Asia Pacific Theological Seminary in Baguio, Philippines; Continental Theological Seminary in Brussels, Belgium; and Southeastern Bible College in Lakeland, Florida. Of particular joy in his retirement years was his service alongside Leelamma on the board of New Life College, where working with their close friends Rev. Dr. John Thannickal and Mary Thannickal brought him deep satisfaction. He pioneered the Bethel Assembly of God Church in Hebbal, Bangalore, and served in church leadership within the South India Assemblies of God. He was ordained to the ministry on August 29, 1965.

He was a scholar of the first order. His published works include Dimensions of Spirituality, Hebrews: An Exegetical Study, In Rome But Not a Roman, Jesus Builds His Church: A Brief History of Christianity, and his landmark history of the Assemblies of God in India, Trailblazers for God — along with numerous articles and contributions to theological journals and publications.

On September 5, 1963, he married Leelamma, from the Mackal family, at First AG Church, Bangalore — a union of more than sixty-two years that weathered doctoral programs, institutional leadership, years of ministry travel, and all the ordinary and extraordinary demands of a life given to God. Together they raised their daughter Anita, who married Matthew Philip. After retiring, Rev. Dr. George continued as Visiting Faculty in seminaries across India, mentored doctoral students, and served faithfully as an elder at First Assembly of God Church. In 2022, he and Leelamma moved to Evansville, Indiana, to be with Anita, Matthew, and their grandchildren, Vivek and Kiran. It was there, at home and surrounded by family, that he passed away peacefully on March 21, 2026, at the age of ninety.

He is survived by his wife, Leelamma George; his daughter and son-in-law, Anita and Matthew Philip; his grandchildren, Vivek and Kiran. There are hundreds in his extended family, relatives and non-relatives alike, who will miss Appacha, Florida Appacha, and dearly loved Uncle; and thousands of students, colleagues, and alumni around the world — shaped not only by a gifted professor and scholar, but by a faithful friend and tireless encourager.

The boy from Karichal crossed many waters in his ninety years — the canal he nearly drowned in at age six, the river where he was baptized at fifteen, the oceans that carried him to seminaries on three continents. He crossed all of them, because Someone was watching over him every step of the way. When asked, near the end of his fifty years at SABC, whether he would do it all again, his answer was immediate: “If I were given another chance, I would still say ‘yes.’”

Visitation will be from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at Alexander Newburgh Chapel, 5333 State Road 261. His final resting place will be in Lake View Cemetery in Lavon, TX.

Family and friends may leave condolences online at

www.AlexanderNewburghChapel.com