Supporting Giants of the Christian Faith

Supporting Giants of the Christian Faith

The Indian State of Orissa is a difficult place for Christians. It was there that Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned to death while they slept in their family car. Members of the militant Hindu movement Bajrang Dal have been convicted of leading the mob that committed this heinous act. That group has close associations with the Bharatiya Jantata political party, which was in power at the time the Staines family was murdered.

Orissa is also the Indian state that adopted the “Free of Religion Act” designed to prevent, or at least discourage, residents from converting to the Christian faith. Under that law, one had to have permission of the state before becoming a Christian. Of course, once the state learned of a person’s desire to become a Christian, life suddenly became very difficult for that individual.

But Orissa is also a place where God is moving in a mighty way, according to Bonnie Resu, regional secretary for the Asian Baptist Federation. Perhaps that is one of the reasons for Satan’s overt oppression of Christians there.

The All Orissa Baptist Churches Federation reports more than 3,000 Baptist churches in its membership. And it was in Orissa that the Asian Baptist Federation recently sponsored a conference for area pastors designed to inspire and encourage these frontline evangelists.

Cuttack Oriya Baptist Church, with more than 7,000 members, was the site of the conference. About 700 pastors from across Orissa attended, Resu said. Because many of these men labor alone and in hostile areas, times of inspiration and encouragement are essential, he added.

Reports of Baptist work in Orissa came during the March 7–9 meeting of the Baptist World Alliance executive committee, a committee on which this writer serves. Reports also came from many other places around the world.

Resu shared how Baptists from the Indian state of Nagaland now send missionaries to many Indian states and surrounding countries. The gospel was planted in Nagaland by early American Baptist missionaries. Now about 90 percent of the people are Christians, and about 70 percent are Baptists.

Executive committee members learned of a Baptist missions consultation of 19 different Baptist missions agencies that focus on Nepal and the surrounding area.

Again, the meeting held in Kathmandu was sponsored by the Asian Baptist Federation, a regional body of the Baptist World Alliance. One participating group was the Mizo Baptists. This group of about 200,000 Baptist believers has a missionary ratio of one missionary to every 100 believers.

In another area of India that cannot be named for security reasons, it was reported that Christians now make up about 20 percent of the population. The Lahus, a tribal group in western China, is now largely Christian. At the beginning of the last century, any Christian venturing into their lands was likely to be killed. Now this tribal group is sending missionaries to other ­areas of China and beyond. The Lahus are working in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and other places Alabama Baptists call “World A.”

It is nothing short of a miracle the way God is opening this once remote and isolated part of the globe to the message of Jesus Christ. Some places are only open to individuals from the immediate area or surrounding countries. Westerners are stopped at the borders, but Asian Baptists carry the message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ where western colleagues cannot go.

Resu cited Cambodia as a place desperately needing training for pastors and national lay leadership. In the past two decades, Baptist churches grew from only a handful of believers to 250 churches. But the lack of pastoral training left many of the churches prey to cultic groups and other Christian denominations. Now the number of Baptist churches is declining.

The three-day meeting was filled with traditional business items like membership and budget and staff. However, scattered through the agenda were reports of national Baptist leaders from around the world. Each told of the mighty movements of God in their areas and of prayer needs they face.

Being around such great Christian leaders is always a humbling experience for this writer.

Many have suffered for their faith in ways unimaginable in the United States. Many still suffer. Their faith and commitment to prayer seems to mirror that of the early church. They love ­Jesus and they love His Word. They give their lives that others may also know God and enjoy Him forever.

I thank God that the Baptist World Alliance provides a way for Baptists in Alabama to know such Christian giants and to join hands with them in promoting Christ around the world.