Boro Baptist Church Association (BBCA) | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | BBCA |
Classification | Evangelicalism |
Scripture | Bible |
Theology | Baptist |
Governance | Central Council |
President | Enosh Basumatary |
Associations | World Baptist Alliance |
Language | Boro, Santhali English |
Headquarters | Boro Baptist Church Association, P.O. Tukrajhar, 783394 District-Chirang, Assam, India |
Founder | American Baptist Missionaries |
Origin | 1927 |
Congregations | 219 |
Members | above 40,000 |
Hospitals | Crofts Memorial Hospital, Tukrajhar |
Primary schools | JD Williams HS School |
Tertiary institutions | Shalom Bible College |
Other name(s) | Golpara Boro Baptist Church Union |
Publications | Jiu Dinga (Yearly) |
Official website | bbcatuk.net |
The Boro Baptist Church Association (BBCA) is an association of Baptist Christian churches in the state of Assam (Northeast India). Established in 1927 by the American Baptist Missionaries and later nurtured by Australian Baptist Missionary Society ABMS (now Global Interaction). The BBCA has its headquarters in the Tukrajhar Baptist Mission compound in Chirang district of Bodoland, Assam. BBCA is working in partnership with Baptist World Alliance, Global Interaction (Australia), Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, Seva Bharat, Missionaries Upholders Trust, Inspire India (Children Festival) and Tura Baptist Church.
The origins of Boro Baptist Church Association are found in two important foreign missions - the American Baptist Mission and the Australian Baptist Missionary Society. The American Baptist missionary AJ Totle sent Umon K Marak, a Garo convert who preached the Gospel among the Boros of Tukrajhar area on the northern side of old Goalpara district, some 250 kilometers from Guwahati; Marak later founded the Goalpara Boro Baptist Church Union (now known as Boro Baptist Church Association) in 1927. However, the American Baptist Mission could not continue the mission work for a longer period of time due to shortage of workers and finally transferred it to the Australian Baptist Missionary Society (now known as Global Interaction) in 1946. The Australian Baptists began work among the Boros of Tukrajhar region from 1947, though the American Baptist Mission had transferred the Tukrajhar Mission station to the Australian Baptists in 1946. The first set of Australian Baptist missionaries Rev. Wilfred and Mrs. Gwenyth Crofts were sent to Tukrajhar on 17 May 1947, just three months before India received its independence.
The Australian Baptist Missionary Society continued their mission work among the Boros for twenty-one years. Since the year (1968), the leadership has been provided by the Boros themselves. The Boro Baptists rightly consider 1927 as the year of the beginning of Boro Baptist Church Association.
The missionary movement in Lower Assam was led by Boro Baptist Church Association especially from the 1980s when the great revival (spiritual awakening of the churches) came upon the churches of the Association. The immediate result of this was the formation of Gospel Fellowship in 1980 consisted of lay people who were committed to the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. Later Mission and Evangelism was started in 1991 to intensify the mission work. At present there 18 mission fields in various parts of both within and outside of Assam including some foreign countries where 36 missionaries/evangelists are found to be ministering among various people groups. It is evident that it continues to receive new baptized members from these mission fields and that it plans on sending more workers to those who have not been reached with the Gospel of Christ in various parts of this great land and even beyond. In this regard, BBCA has recently (2016) entered into partnership with UCPI (United Christian Prayer for India) to make mission works more intense.
Home Mission, began in 1991, and encouraged supporting the mission involvement of the member churches of the Boro Baptists. It mobilized the churches to be self-supporting through systematically giving tithes for mission works besides paying yearly budgets to the Association. At present there are 35 full-time workers in the Home Mission who are being kept busy ministering 195 churches/ congregations which are clubbed together in six major pastoral service areas. Besides looking after spiritual growth of the member churches, these Home Mission workers have administrative works as they are representatives of the Association to the churches in terms of proper co-ordination and supervision of various works.
Since inception, the Association has used education as central importance in its approach to the people. The American Baptist missionary Rev. AC Bowers and the Australian Baptist missionary Rev. PN Ewing contributed much to the Boro people through establishing schools. The Association continues to engage itself with school education - in this case JD Williams English School, established in 1984, promotes quality education including Christian education for all round development of the whole person and preparation of responsible citizens of the society and future leaders. Besides this, it has theological education, that is, Shalom Bible College, formed in 1998, imparting quality theological education to the students through offering M.Div., B.Th. and other degrees for the Lord's ministry.
Medical mission has been part of the Association's activities since the beginning. From the day of the pillbox ministry, which the early Australian Baptist missionaries carried out, the Association's Crofts Memorial Hospital has grown into a good hospital to be reckoned with, now. The Crofts Memorial Hospital, established in 1956 and named after the first ABMS missionaries Wilfred and Gwenyth Crofts, is now a self contained 15 bedded primary health facility rendering low cost, effective quality health care, health awareness and community service to all people irrespective of caste, creed and color presenting Christ through the healing ministry. In addition, the Association's Bethel Prayer Tower, established in 1998 provides another healing ministry through opening 24 hours for prayer by lay people who are committed to prayer and fasting praying sincerely for the sick and suffering irrespective of race, creed or class.
The Association's relief work goes back to the Australian Baptist missionaries who carried out Christian humanitarian works during rioting which took place in 1950. Later it actively provided relief services to the victims of 1996, 2011 and 2012 riots in Lower Assam. Through Swrang Family Development Project, begun in 2002 with the support of BWAA and Goalpara Integrated Community Development Project; started in 2005; with NEICORD's support; worked for development through empowering people/capacity building activities. The Association's Boro Baptist Aid & Development, established in 2009, serves as a channel for expressing Christian social concerns and alleviating human needs during times of sicknesses and natural calamities.
According to a census published by the association in 2023, it claimed 219 churches and fellowships with 18,000 plus baptized members. [1]
Boro Baptist Church Association is located at Tukrajhar village of Chirang district, Assam at the foothills of Bhutan which is about 225 km away from the main city Guwahati (3½ hrs. by road) which is also known as the Gateway to the North East India and 28 km from the nearest railway station, New Bongaigaon and 26 km down south from the Kingdom of Bhutan. Tukrajhar is a rural but with good road connections in a very serene and quite place. BBCA is spread across approximately 70 acres of greenery and elevated land. The Headquarters is highly eco-friendly, trees and shrubs provided natural park-like surroundings. BBCA is truly a pollution free and plastic free and an ideal place for Mission Headquarters.
The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) is an autonomous division in Assam, India, and a proposed state in Northeast India. It is made up of five districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River below the foothills of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. It is administered by an elected body known as the Bodoland Territorial Council which came into existence under the terms of a peace agreement signed in February 2003 and its autonomy was further extended by an agreement signed in January 2020. The region covers an area of over nine thousand square kilometres and is predominantly inhabited by the Bodo people and other indigenous communities of Assam.
Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church (NELC) is a multi-lingual Lutheran Christian church that is centred mainly in four states of North India - Jharkhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Bengal. The reach of the Church extends into Nepal and the NELC also works in Bhutan. It is one of the three Lutheran denominations in northeast India along with the Bodo Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Rabha Baptist Convention (RBC), previously known as “Rabha Baptist Church Union”, is an association of Baptist Christian churches in India. It is in the East of India, primarily in the state of Assam. The Union is made up primarily of Rabha people, an indigenous ethnic group of northeastern India.
{{Infobox Christian denomination | icon = | icon_width = | icon_alt = | name = The Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image width = | alt = | caption = | abbreviation = STBC | type = | main_classification = Protestant | orientation = Evangelical | scripture = Bible | theology = | polity =Congregational | governance = General Council | leader_title = President | leader_name = Chilaka Nissi Praneeth | leader_title1 = Add General Secretary | leader_name1 = C.D.Prakash Rao | leader_title2 = Associate Secretary | leader_name2 = G.Joseph | leader_title3 = Director for Evangelism | leader_name3 = Rev.J.Vijay Kumar | fellowships_type = | fellowships = | fellowships_type1 = | fellowships1 = | division_type = | division = | division_type1 = | division1 = | division_type2 = | division2 = | division_type3 = | division3 = | associations = | area = Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and [[Telangana][SPl GPA Holder Rajkumar Rodricks from Telangana to protect Missionary Properties]] | language =Telugu | headquarters = Markapuram | origin_link = | founder = American Baptist Foreign Mission Society | founded_date = | founded_place = | separated_from = | parent = | merger = | absorbed = | separations = | merged_into = | defunct = | congregations_type = | congregations = | members = 740,000 | ministers_type = | ministers = | missionaries = | churches =830 | hospitals = | nursing_homes = | aid = | primary_schools = 14 | secondary_schools = 14 | tax_status = | tertiary = | other_names = | publications = | website = | slogan = | logo = | footnotes = }}
Protestants in India are a minority and a sub-section of Christians in India and also to a certain extent the Christians in Pakistan before the Partition of India, that adhere to some or all of the doctrines of Protestantism. Protestants in India are a small minority in a predominantly Hindu majority country, but form majorities in the north-eastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. They are also significant minorities in Punjab region, Konkan region, Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with various communities in east coast and northern states. Protestants can trace their origins back to the Protestant Revolution of the 16th century. There are an estimated 20 million Protestants and 16 million Pentecostals in India.
The National Council of Churches in India is an ecumenical forum for Protestant and Orthodox churches in India. It provides a platform for member churches and organizations to act on common issues relating to Christianity in India.
Christianity is the third largest religion in Assam, a state in the north-eastern region of India. The total population of Christians in the state is 1,165,867, which according to the 2011 census comprises about 3.75% of the state's total population. After Islam, Christianity is also the second-fastest growing religion of Assam. The largest concentration of Christians in Assam can be found in the Dima Hasao District, where Christians number approximately 30% of the population. The second largest concentration is in the Karbi Anglong district where they form approximately 16.5% of the population.
The Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India is an association of Baptist Christian churches in North East India. It is a member of the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation. It is also a member body of the North East India Christian Council, the regional council of the National Council of Churches in India. Its presently led by Rev. SR Onesimua Anal as President and Rev. Prof. Akheto Sema as General Secretary.
Evangelical Baptist Convention is an association of Baptist Christian churches in Manipur, India. Their main area of presence is in the southern part of Manipur. It is affiliated with the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation. Its headquarters, Dorcas Hall, is located at Hebron Veng, New Lamka.
STBC-Centenary Baptist Church Secunderabad is a Baptist Church in the city of Secunderabad, India which was established in 1875 by the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABM) and was later led by the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches (STBC) through the Deccan Association. STBC-Centenary Baptist Church has a current membership of more than 3000. The original older structure and a new centenary structure built in 1991 exist side by side in the same premises. Worship services are only held in the new sanctuary. The church conducts worship in Telugu, English, Hindi and Manipuri.
The Dark Age of the Assamese language is a 37 year long time-frame, from 1836 to 1873, during which Bengali eclipsed the Assamese language. During British India, the Bengali language was imposed over Assamese as the British took over Assam. The clerical and technical workers that they brought were Bengali, in order to impose Bengali as the medium of instruction in schools and colleges, and for all official purposes.
James Herbert Lorrain, or Pu Buanga, was a Scottish Baptist missionary in northeast India, including Mizoram, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh. He and Frederick William Savidge reduced the Lushai language to writing—devised an alphabet using Roman lettering and phonetic form of spelling based on Hunterian system translation; compiled grammar and dictionaries for missionary activities and clerical administration.
Karbi Anglong Baptist Convention (KABC) is an association of Baptist Christian churches based in Assam, India. It is affiliated with the Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India and the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation.
Boro Baptist Convention or BBC is a Baptist churches convention based in Assam, India, with more than 52,000 members and 354 congregations as of 2014. The Boro Baptist Convention was established in 1914 and completed its centenary celebrations in 2014. It has its headquarters at Harisinga in Udalguri District of Bodoland, Assam. It is affiliated to the North Bank Baptist Christian Association. The Union is made primarily of Bodo people, an indigenous ethnic group of Assam.
Frederick William Savidge was a pioneer English Christian missionary in northeast India. He and James Herbert Lorrain brought Protestantism to Mizoram, and some parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Together they were entirely responsible for the creation of written language in Mizo, beginning of literacy, origin of formal education and establishment of churches in Mizoram. They devised the original Mizo alphabets based on Roman script, prepared the first book and dictionary in Mizo, started the first school among the Mizos. Mizoram has become the most Christian populated state in India. As a professional educator Savidge was single-handedly responsible for introducing quality education in Mizoram. He is deservedly known as the Father of Mizo Education.
Mising Baptist Kebang (MBK) is a Baptist churches convention based in Assam, India. It has six associations and is spread across six districts of Assam. It is an associate member of the Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India, and has over 116 churches affiliated under MBK with 4,300 members. The MBK is made primarily of Mishing people, an indigenous ethnic group of Assam. The MBK mission center is at Moinapara, Gogamukh in Dhemaji District of Assam state.