Missionary to the Headhunters
by Thomas Ray
In the mountains of North Eastern India is the state of Nagaland. In 1980 the Indian government conducted a national census, and the results from Nagaland vividly illustrated the value and positive effect of missionaries. The census revealed that 90 percent of the Nagas professed to be Christians and 70 percent of the population said they were members of a Baptist church. This is the highest concentration of Baptists in the world. These figures are amazing when you discover that in 1870 there was not one known baptized believers among the 13 Naga tribes.
The conversion of the Nagas began in 1868 when Edwin and Mary Clark sailed from Boston to India. The Clarks had been sent by the Baptist Missionary Union to Sibsagar, Assam, India, as missionaries and printers. After a five-month-long difficult and dangerous journey they reached their destination. Shortly after their arrival, Clark came in contact with some Naga traders. Curious about their origin, he was informed that these men were notorious Naga headhunters who lived in the neighboring hills. He also learned they were receptive to the gospel, and at that time no effort was being made to evangelize the Nagas.
Clark was anxious to make a missionary journey into Nagaland, but the British military, fearing for his safety, refused to allow him to enter their territory. Thankfully, one of Clark’s co-workers, a native evangelist named Godhula, volunteered to attempt to establish contact with the headhunters. Godhula, after several months, returned to Sibsagar with a group of Nagas. Nine of the Nagas confessed their faith in Christ and were baptized by Clark.
On December 18, 1872, 42-year-old Edwin Clark, having received permission from the British government, made a trip to Pekahaimong, a village of the A O Nagas. Five days after reaching the village, 15 more men were baptized, and on December 23, 1872, Clark organized the first church of any denomination in Nagaland. The infant Naga church experienced a steady increase in its membership; however, hostility among the unconverted villagers towards the Christians forced Clark and his little band of believers to establish a new village on an uninhabited mountain that they named Molumgyimsen. God blessed the new settlement both spiritually and financially.
Clark faced a formidable task in bringing the gospel to the Nagas. The Nagas did not have a written language, therefore he had to create an alphabet and a speller, and then he had to teach the people to read in addition to translating the Scriptures into their language.
Clark labored among the Nagas 42 years with only two furloughs. In 1911, 81-year-old Edwin Clark’s health began to fail, forcing him to return to America. Two years later, on March 18, 1913, Edwin Clark entered into his rest.
In 1911, when Clark departed for America, there were 1,128 baptized Naga believers. Amazingly, in 1997 only 86 years later, the number of baptized believers had increased to 767,784. This remarkable achievement was accomplished through the determination and commitment of the A O Nagas Christians to evangelize all the Naga people. Their efforts sparked a revival that spread like wild fire among all the 13 tribes. Clark never saw this great ingathering, but he planted the seed that produced this great harvest. Modern Baptist missionaries are still planting seeds, and often the harvest from their efforts will not occur until many years after they have laid down their swords.