2 of 4

"Christianity taught us tolerance. As God said, 'Revenge is mine.' Had missionaries not come, maybe we would still be living like animals."

The life of Khala's forefathers was one of fear. They lived in an animistic world. They thought angry spirits caused sickness. To find healing, they sought to appease the spirits' anger. Superstition was predominant, and people relied heavily on good and bad omens in making decisions.

"For Nagas, introduction to Christianity was a new experience of peace, hope, love, and the future in Christ. It freed them from fear," says Wati Aier of Oriental Theological Seminary in Dimapur, Nagaland's commercial center.

Khala was born into the devout Christian family of a Naga missionary pastor. Khala's father helped to plant 200 churches in Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state north of Nagaland.

"God through my father did many miracles, like healing the sick and casting away demons from people. Those who were born between the 1900s and 1930s witnessed with their own eyes God's miracles," says Khala.

As a child, Khala heard stories of how people were expelled from villages and tribes for becoming Christians. But others saw that those who became Christians also became responsible, dependable, and prosperous. "As they say, seeing is believing. Others saw it and followed. God blessed them as they converted to Christianity," says Khala.

Khala's relationship with Christ deepened as he grew into adulthood. "I became born again the day my father died in 2003. Only after my father died did I come to my senses.

"All these worldly things I wanted. Instead of pleasing the physical body, why not pray to God and live happily for eternity?"

Since his father's death, Khala has rarely, if ever, missed a Sunday service. He prays three times a day with his five sons and is a deacon at Sema Baptist Church. His wife teaches at the church's Sunday school. Khala prays for the extension of God's kingdom and contributes generously to missions. He says the story of his family is one of transformation from animism to Christianity in two generations.

During the three revivals within 16 years, a vision emerged to send 10,000 missionaries from Nagaland to the world, starting with other states in India. Because of the decades of deep civil conflict, the church had done little missionary work. But that's beginning to change, as more Naga churches put a priority on cross-cultural missions.

Nagaland is strategically located near large populations with few churches and even fewer missionaries, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Butan, Nepal, and western China. S. A. Walling, a well-known lay leader and scholar of Naga Christianity, told CT, "The Holy Spirit has been working continuously. The seed sown by the American missionaries has grown to become a healthy tree, bearing fruit from one generation to the next. God has a definite plan for Nagas in missionary work."

Naga Christians have become accomplished church-planters and builders of schools and seminaries. Vilodi Sakhrie, the young pastor of Union Baptist Church, located in the heart of Kohima, told CT, "There must be at least 15 churches in a one-kilometer area from the place you're sitting now."

next page... |  2 of 4

share this page

February 2006, Vol. 50, No. 2