“God gave me a burden not just to help the poor — but to train the pastors who serve them.”

Kiran Boddu was born and raised in Hyderabad, India, where he witnessed both the beauty and brokenness of a spiritually hungry nation. His father, a faithful man of God and a leader in their local church, passed away unexpectedly — a loss that deeply shaped Kiran’s understanding of legacy, calling, and the urgency of gospel-centered leadership.

In the early 2000s, Kiran helped plant the Presbyterian Church of South India in partnership with Mission to the World, where he also began writing and teaching theological courses for untrained rural pastors. These early materials would later be adapted and improved by Equipping Leaders International (ELI) and translated into Telugu, Hindi, and other Indian languages.

Desiring deeper theological formation, Kiran moved to the United States and earned his Master of Arts in Christian Leadership from Birmingham Theological Seminary in 2018. Shortly after returning to India, he launched what was then called New Life Initiative in 2019 — a small, faith-driven team focused on equipping untrained pastors in rural India with sound doctrine and reproducible discipleship.

When COVID-19 hit, Kiran and his team pivoted to provide food, medicine, and support to villages in crisis. That response opened unexpected doors. By the end of 2020, over 100 village pastors were connected to the ministry — and 45 of them expressed a desire to receive theological training. That group became Zoe International’s first graduating class.

Since then, Kiran has led the development of Zoe’s 16-course certificate program, built a national team of regional trainers, and launched 64 training centers across India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. His leadership remains grounded in the belief that God raises up local leaders to reach their own communities with the gospel of grace.

“When my father died, I asked God why. I realize now that He was stirring something in me — not just to mourn a man, but to continue a mission.”

— Kiran Boddu