Several years ago I heard about the nation of Nagaland. It is situated between India and Burma, and although a "protectorate" of India, it considers itself a sovereign nation, with its own constitution, laws, police and schools. The people are from more than 18 different tribes, with none of them being related to Indians ethnically and each having their own language. So what makes this place worth writing about?
In 1859 Edward Clark was ordained a Baptist minister, after marrying his wife, Mary in 1858. He had an encounter with Christ at age 14, received baptism at a Baptist church, declaring at an early age that he would follow wherever Christ would lead him. In 1871 he went to Nagaland with his wife, after losing their only child, a daughter. They would remain in Nagaland for the rest of their lives.
In 1872, Clark baptized 15 converts, the first Christians of any type in Nagaland. The country was made up of indigenous tribes, all of which practiced some sort of animist religion, and practicing headhunters. So why was Clark the first Christian missionary to go to Nagaland? It is because he was the first brave enough to go! At that time Nagaland was technically a conquered territory of the British Empire, but the Anglicans declined to evangelize the area because of how remote and dangerous it was. Any foreigner ran the risk of losing his head, and the heads of a white person was prized above all others, as it was thought to give the warrior special power. Those 15 converts were marked for death by the local tribesmen, as they had abandoned the religion of their ancestors. God's providence prevailed, and Clark gained more and more converts, baptizing 190 in 1905. Headhunting was still practiced by some as late as the 1960's, but after 1970 all 18 tribes had become more than 90% Christian. After the Baptists had made Nagaland safe, other groups filtered in, but none gained a strong foothold among the people. Today 90% of Nagaland is Christian, and more than 80% are Baptists. Think of these statistics. The U.S. state Mississippi is 55% "Baptist", while Nagaland is over 80%, and all this happened in a span of less than 100 years!
When Nagaland declared its independence, it affirmed in the preamble to its Constitution, the sovereignty of God and the entrustment of the nation to Him. If by the grace of God, southeast Asia and China ever rids itself of communism, Nagaland is poised and praying to "conquer" the hearts of the people for Jesus! Nagaland has the largest Christian church of any kind , with a weekly attendance of over 10,000, the Sumi Baptist Church in Zunheboto. Many churches in the remote regions, still sing with no instruments, and sound amazingly like an old country Baptist church here in the USA.
What do I want us to see in this? I want us to see what a truly Christian nation looks like. Not a theocracy by law, but a Monarchy of Grace! See this video made during the lockdown of COVID. The capitol city's police force stand in the streets singing, "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder I'll Be There" and "Are You Washed In the Blood"! See here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYfFyUqn3Ak. In the next video, you can watch a news story of Easter celebrations in Nagaland. Notice how respectful the reporter is, even referring to the Savior as "the LORD Jesus Christ"! Also notice the woman who actually declares the Gospel in her prayer, without being censored. Do you think any newscast in the USA would ever show that kind of respect? Watch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHrIMJejpDk
In closing, let us be reminded that God will always have a people. We are nothing special, and if we abandon God, as current trends suggest, He has "others not of this fold". Praise the Name of the Lord!
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