Small Beginnings

Jason G (aka Slapp-V) forwarded me an encouraging article by Janie B. Cheaney – regarding the spread of the Gospel and its explosion from nation to nation.  The article describes how God can use small beginnings for a greater work than we can imagine or expect.  The article does a rapid-fire narrative of how the Gospel came from Christ to the disciples to Paul to all of Macedonia to Europe to the States and … to Nagaland.  Cheaney writes:

The Macedonian call was a mustard seed, a small measure of yeast that worked its way around the world. Even as Europe burns out and America sputters, the gospel blazes its way so far westward it comes east again. The highest concentration of Baptists anywhere in the world is in Nagaland, on the northeast border of . . . India.

Nagaland is the region east of India and West of Myanmar, former Burma.  I’ve never been to Nagaland but I did spend 2 weeks ministering with Nagas on my brief 2-week trip to New Delhi, India.  During that period of time I can testify to the passion and zeal of the Naga people for spreading the Gospel.  The article claims a statistic, “60 percent of its population confesses Christ.”  According to the Nagas that I spent time with a greater number of the Naga people profess Christ and claim Christianity.  However the problem in the Naga region has become apathy and nominal Christianity.  A form of easy-believism has taken root and has spread throughout the many villages of Nagaland.  The goal of my Naga friends is still to spread the glorious Gospel throughout Nagaland but also to bring reformation to its churches to have a higher view of God, a clearer view of sin, and a greater love and service to Christ.

You can read Cheaney’s article here.