An Iowa believer reveals how he lost his heart to the Nagas and why he travels to be with them each year
Courtesy ASSIST News Service (ANS)
It is a long way from the small Iowa town of Hiawatha to Nagaland, the mysterious state in northeastern India, but that is where Tim Phillips travels each year to minister and be ministered to by these extraordinary people. In an interview when he visited my home in Lake Forest, California, with his wife Pat, Phillips, a tall, wiry, long-distance runner, talked about his love for the Nagas and why he keeps returning to be with them. He began by talking about the area and its people.
“Nagaland is a state in northeast India near the China and Burma border,” said Phillips. “It was settled by tribal people who had migrated there from Mongolia. They were predominantly head hunters who were involved in agriculture. There are 16 different tribes that make up the Naga people. Hindu missionaries were fearful of dealing with these fierce warriors and left them alone. In 1876 the first Christian missionary made contact with these headhunters. He had traveled from Boston and it took him many months to arrive in the Naga Hills. On his first day of ministry he led over a dozen to Christ. The next day they went to the jungle to cut down bamboo to build the first church.
“The Nagas have always been independent. When offered the opportunity to become a part of India in 1948, they expressed their desire to remain free. Instead of leaving them independent, the Indian government tried to conquer them militarily. This led to a continuing war for independence which has seen over 250,000 civilians killed. Today there are about one and a half million Nagas living in Nagaland. If you include Nagas who live in Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Burma there are just over three million. There has been a cease fire between the Nagas and Indian government since 1999 to resolve the issue of Naga independence.”
The Revival that Swept Through the Area
When I asked him to talk about the great revival that took place there in the 1970s and the covenant that Naga Christians have made to send thousands of missionaries to nearby lands, he said, “In 1976 in the midst of terrible persecution, Naga Church leaders were distressed about the spiritual condition of the church. They began to pray and fast for revival. Thirteen months later revival began to fall. There was great repentance among the people and God confirmed His word with signs and wonders.
“It was like the book of Acts all over again. Out of this revival the Church leaders realized the need to fulfill the Great Commission. They made a covenant with God to send out 10,000 missionaries and take the Gospel message to all the nations. There goal is to have missionaries in Israel, the birthplace of Jesus. As of this year they have sent out nearly 8,000 missionaries. They are located in remote areas of India, Burma, Nepal, Tibet, Bangladesh, S.E. Asia, Indonesia, Japan and many others.”
He added, “In Nagaland 99 percent of the people are Christians. In some areas of the Himalayan region we minister in, there are only a few believers. There is also a great deal of persecution in Hindu and Buddhist dominated areas. We have met families of people who have been beaten, deprived jobs and martyred for their faith.” Phillips said that he first visited Nagaland in March of 1999. “There were two pastors traveling with me,” he said. “It had taken me a year to arrange my restricted area permit. This was done through our local contacts living there.
“We ministered in the Theological school as well as a revival crusade attended by over 10,000 people. It was a tremendous experience to see a hunger for the Lord that is not so apparent in the West. The people from the highest ranking church official to the farmer or soldier, all are involved in the covenant at some level. They want to see the Gospel go into all of the world. I was deeply impressed with the intercessors we met. They will rise at 3 or 4 in the morning and meet at the church to spend hours in prayer before the day’s activities. We have been told by various leaders, this is the secret to the on going revival and the missionary fervor.”
He went on to say, “I have been to Nagaland every year since 1999. We go because we are invited to minister in churches, Bible Schools and crusades in remote areas in the Himalayan region of northeast India. We assist local pastors and missionaries in outreach, encouragement and leadership training. We have provided finances to build church buildings, Bible Colleges and Christian schools. We come along side of the national workers and provide what they need : preaching, teaching, prayer, resources, what they need, not what we think they need.
“We have seen God work mighty miracles in various meetings. The sick healed, deaf hear, blind see, lame walk, demons cast out. This year a mother brought her daughter to a crusade we were doing in the Himalayan region. The lady was an animist. She had lost three other daughters to sickness. We were her last hope. The locals said the girl, 10 years old was dead. After prayer God raised her up. Both mother and daughter gave their lives to Christ. This is one of the main reasons we go. The people are so open and hungry to hear the Truth about Jesus. We could preach the same word in the West and people would walk away unfazed. “
When asked what a typical service is like in Nagaland, he said, “Services would be similar in content but not in structure or length. Some services can go for several hours. They sing traditional tribal songs and songs we are familiar with here. The people give what they can but they are very poor. I have seen people put an egg in the offering to help a missionary. In addition to Sunday and mid-week services they also have Friday night revival services. Nearly every day villages will come together for a prayer meeting. Some of their church buildings are stone and cement, others are bamboo with thatched or tin roofs.”
Arrested
Tim Phillips then spoke about the time that he and his team members were arrested during a visit to Nagaland.
“On my second visit we were assured our restricted area permits would be waiting for us when we arrived in Nagaland,” he said. “The paperwork was not to the satisfaction to the local authorities. We were first taken to the jail and later to a prison until our situation could be resolved. Our pastor contacted appealed on our behalf. He promised the officials if we tried to escape or caused any trouble he would take our place in prison.
“We were placed under ‘house arrest,’ driven to our hotel and not allowed to leave. We had many ministry assignments arranged and now could do nothing. There were threats made about us having to go to prison, or be taken to the border and dropped off to find our own way home. We spent a lot of time in prayer. After several days the situation was resolved. We only had one day left on our permit but were allowed to spend that day at a crusade ministering to thousands of people. We had armed guards with us to keep us out of trouble. They also had to report to their commanders everything we said and did. So they got an earful of the Gospel.”
I then asked Tim Phillips what were some of the prayer needs of the believers there.
He replied, “Provision for their every day needs. Most live by agriculture. Pray for the resolution to the peace talks. There are a lot of natural resources available if the people were free to access them. Pray the young people would reject the ways and materialism of the West and follow in the revival of their parents. Pray for the needs of the missionaries, pastors and evangelists be met. Like the Apostle Paul most must work secular jobs as well as ministry.”
Tim Phillips said that he plans to return again to Nagaland early next year. “Because it is very difficult and conditions are primitive we have a careful screening process that those traveling with us must go through,” he said. He concluded by saying, “In spite of the many challenges we experience, it is a blessing to minister with and to people who genuinely want our help. We have solid national contacts we work with who know the local traditions, customs and language. We go to serve, not to be served. We look forward to taking many new friends to heaven with us.”
