Correspondent
KOHIMA, OCTOBER 5
The four-day India Mission Summit, celebrating the 200th year anniversary of the American Baptist International Ministries (ABIM) and the 175th year of its mission in India, concluded here Sunday at the NBCC Convention Centre, Kohima with a call to all Christians to rejuvenate their faith.
Chief Minister TR Zeliang, who delivered the greetings in the morning service acknowledged the ABIM for choosing Kohima as the venue, and the NBCC for hosting the India Mission Summit and expressed optimism that the Christians of Nagaland will receive new strength and spiritual blessings through the summit.
Zeliang asserted that the theme of the summit, ‘Celebrating the Past, Envisioning the future’ is very appropriate as it ushered the opportunity for the people to recount the struggles and achievements of the first generation of missionaries in lndia, and be thankful to them for their sacrifices, at the same time enabling the people to assess the tasks at hand and focus their future missions.
Pointing out that a vast majority of people in lndia and other Asian nations are yet to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Zeliang said every Christian has the challenge and a responsibility to fulfill in spreading the Gospel to every nation and tribe.
The Chief Minister underscored that the Gospel of Christ has worked miracles for the Nagas ever since it was introduced to them by ABIM missionaries about 142 years ago.
“The Gospel of Christ had brought us out from darkness into light, and converted us from ‘Head hunters to Soul hunters’… Now we are sending out thousands of missionaries of our own,” he said.
“On behalf of the people of Nagaland, I take this opportunity to thank the American Baptist International Ministries and their missionaries who came to Nagaland, particularly the pioneer missionaries like Rev. EW Clark and Rev. CD King, for bringing the Gospel to us and for all the abundant blessings we have been receiving through their ministry,” Zeliang added.
He expressed hope that the delegates of the Summit will carry back to their states and countries happy memories of Nagaland and continue to be the ambassadors and benefactors of Nagalandand its people.
Hyderabad based former journalist, writer, preacher, historian and itinerant evangelist Rev. TA Prabhu Kiran, in his message, called upon all Christians to introspect where their faith stands today and rededicate themselves to the Lord. Basing his sermon on the Gospel of Luke 7:1-10 which narrates about the faith of a centurion in Jesus to heal his valued ailing servant, Rev. Kiran emphasized the need for all believers to rejuvenate and strengthen their faith like the centurion.
He said there are four elements in these scriptures which all Christians must emulate - the life of the centurion, who left everything aside to seek the Lord; the love that the centurion showed for his servant by counting him as a part of his family; sending elders of the Jews to call Jesus, who were otherwise critical of Him; and the faith that the centurion had in Jesus by conveying that his servant will be healed if Jesus says the word without even entering his house.
Referring to the scriptures Luke 7:9 and Mark 6:6, the reverend said the people’s faith and lack of faith are the two things that amazes God. We have a God who amazes us with His love, with His mercy, His righteousness and faithfulness but in turn, He is amazed by our faith, he asserted.
“We need to question ourselves whether it is our faith that is amazing God or our lack of faith,” he challenged the congregation.
Rev. Kiran also talked about families across the world needing the healing touch of God. This God ordained institution (family) is in shambles today, he lamented, and pointed out that it is the good family that makes the church a good church. He urged upon believers to develop the responsibility of others around them as the salvation of the latter lies on believers who should not hesitate to make known that anyone can accept Jesus as their personal Saviour.
“We are envisioning a new heaven and new earth but the newness will depend on the faith of the inhabitants,” he stated.
Later in the day, an interactive cultural programme was held wherein delegates from Nagaland Baptist Church Council, Abundant Life Ministerial Associates, Banjara Baptist Sanghevur Malawo, Baptist Convention of Telugu Churches, Bengal Orissa Bihar Baptist Churches Association, Arunachal Pradesh Baptist Convention, Assam Baptist Convention, Garo Baptist Convention, Karbi Anglong Baptist Convention, and Manipur Baptist Convention participated among others.
A pledge was made during the evening service for future missions and a special thanksgiving prayer was said for the successful conduct of the summit as well as for future summits.
Over a thousand delegates from Nagaland, different parts of India and abroad attended the programme.
