Church Organization and Pastoral Administration

Topic: Gaili Baptist Church Administrative Structure: Strengths and Weaknesses

Submitted to: Rev. Paras Tayade

Submitted by: Keringgumle Hau
30th September 2017.
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1. Introduction

This paper deals with the administrative structure, its strengths and weaknesses limited to Gaili
Baptist Church, Nagaland. Besides, background of the establishment of Baptist denomination and
the particular Church affiliation with the higher associations are labelled in brief.

2. Background of the Baptists

The Baptists have their roots deeply rooted in the history of Christianity. They believe that their
teachings are based upon the New Testament. And the Sacred Scriptures have been their supreme
rule of faith and practice. Their story is not only of a denomination within Protestantism, but of a
movement which has been characterized by the nonconformist spirit.1

There are theories concerning the origin of Baptists. According to the Jerusalem-Jordan-John
theory, Baptists have been in existence ever since the days of John the Baptist’s ministry along the
Jordan River. The chief emphasis of those who trace Baptist history from primitive Christianity is
upon the concept of what may be called an apostolic succession of Baptist Churches. Another
theory is that the origin of the Baptist should be dated from 1641, when immersion was renewed
in England by a few England Separatists who came out of the Jacob Church at Southwark, London,
having become convinced that the biblical practice was dipping under water.2

The Baptist Churches comes under Congregational model of Church Organization.

Congregationalism is a Christian Movement that arose in England in the late 16th and 17th
centuries. Baptists believe in congregational church governance and the autonomy of churches.
Therefore, Pastors are not appointed by some entity outside of the local congregation. Each

1
Robert G. Torbet, A History of the Baptists (Philadelphia: Judson Press, 1950), 15.
2
Torbet, A History of the Baptist, 60.
congregation is responsible for the selection of its Pastor and Deacons. Governance is in the hands
of the Church as a whole, not the Pastor or Deacons. In this model, each Church is independent
and the congregation plays a major role as the decisions are taken collectively though the Pastor
is appointed as the head of the Church who oversees the entire Church body. Any individual from
any faith can be a part of the Baptist organization except that S/he should accept Jesus as their
personal Savior and be baptized to be a member in the Baptist denomination.

3. Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC)

American Baptist missionaries brought Christianity to the Nagas in the 19 th Century.3 Dr. E. W
Clark, an American missionary with the help of Godhula, an Assamese Christian established the
first church in Nagaland in the year 1872. Through his efforts, many were converted and Nagaland
Baptist Church Council (NBCC) was formed in 1953. NBCC is the association of Baptist churches
in the North Eastern Indian state of Nagaland. Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (Ao Baptist Churches
Convention) and the Angami Baptist Church Council are the largest conventions affiliated to
NBCC. 4 Similarly, Zeme Baptist Church Council is an affiliation of NBCC. All the tribe-wise
Church Associations fall into the Nagaland Baptist convention affiliated to the Christian Baptist
Council of North-East-India (CBCNEI) which is aligned to the apex body i.e World Baptist
Alliance (WBA).

3.1. Zeme Baptist Church Council (ZBCC)

The Zeliangrongs in Nagaland were first evangelized through the Kohima Mission Centre
established by the American Baptist Missionaries. Christianity among the Zeliangrongs began with
the establishment of the first Baptist Church at Benreu in 1897. Baptist, being the first Christian
denomination to enter the area, is the dominant denomination in the Zeliangrong areas. Heizieluing
Meru of Benreu village was the first Zeliangrong Christian convert. He and others established the
first Baptist Church at Benreu, Nagaland in 1897, which also became the first Church in the entire
Zeliangrong areas.5

3
Elungkiebe Zeliang, Charismatic Movements in the Baptist Churches in North East India: A Zeliangrong
Perspective, (Delhi: ISPCK, 2014), 39.
4
Dr. H. Bareh, Nagaland District Gazetteers, Kohima (Calcutta: Sree Saraswaty Press, 1970), 96.
5
Zeliang, Charismatic Movements in the Baptist Churches in North East India…, 36-40.
The Zeliangs formed their own association called “Zeliang Baptist Association” (ZBA) with 17
Churches and about 400 baptized members. H.K Lungalang continued to serve as the first Field
Director of ZBA and they established its mission centre at Ndunglwa village in January 1954
which was later shifted to Peren Town in the late 1957.6 ZBA underwent several structural changes
in the 1980s and was renamed as Zeliangrong Baptist Church Council in 1982. In January 1988,
the Council changed its name to Zeme Baptist Church Council (ZBCC), which stands still today.
The ZBA got affiliated to the NBCC in 1997.7

3.2. Gaili Baptist Church Council (GBCC)

Gaili is a small village located in Peren district, Nagaland. Gaili Baptist Church falls under the
association of ZBCC. The Church administration is independent and the entire decision is taken
by the residents of Gaili Village. The Church has its own governing structure and is not controlled
by any external church. The congregation can delegate the decision making power over to the
Pastor for various issues but the congregation has the final authority. Gaili Baptist Church is
organized with “The Pastor” and Deacon Board. A search committee is appointed by the
congregation to prayerfully evaluate the qualifications of various persons to be the Church’s
Pastor. The term for Pastor is five years. And the term for the deacons, treasurer and executive
secretary is three years.

There are various departments inside the church body. Departments such as, the church council,
the women department, the youth department, and the Sunday school department functions
independently though they fall under the same Church organization. Each department consist of a
chairperson which oversees the entire work and plan for the given term. The chairpersons of these
departments gives a report normally by end of every financial year through the executive council
meetings and the Church Annual Session. The Church conducts a General Body Meeting or so
called Executive Meetings thrice a year for Church planning and discussions about the tasks to be
taken forward. And once a year, there is Church Annual Session where all the budget reports and
the yearly plan reports are being presented to the congregation and the leadership team. Besides
this, all other administrative and governing matters are conducted completely sovereign. Even the
electing of executives and staffs are done independently. Also, the Church appoints two Home

6
Zeliang, Charismatic Movements in the Baptist Churches in North East India…, 43.
7
Zeliang, Charismatic Movements in the Baptist Churches in North East India…, 46.
Evangelists who are independently sponsored by the congregation or individual family. The
Church consists of more than 1000 baptized members. Despite, the Church being an autonomous
structure, the Church is actively involved in the higher association (ZBCC) decisions on various
issues.

Regarding the finances, there is a treasurer in every department where all the financial matters are
dealt with. S/he prepares a report of every detail both income and expenses and is brought forward
to the church during the annual session for approval. All the financial matters are dealt separately
without involvement of the Pastor or the Deacon Board. But ultimately, all the reports are
presented before them for approval. The tithes and thanksgiving money is given to the Church
treasurer where s/he records it and are distributed in hard copy at the end of the year to the
congregation.

3.2.1. Pastor and Associate Pastor: The Pastor plays the leading role in the Church. While, the
Associate Pastor gives a helping hand playing the role of the Pastor whenever the Pastor is
unavailable. The Pastor is the chairman of the governing Deacon Board which is the apex body of
the Church. Under the leadership of the Pastor, the members of the pastoral team have
considerable freedom as they use their gifts to build up the church and minister to people who are
not part of the church community.

3.2.2. Deacon Board: Deacons are part of the church body that carries authority and makes
decision concerning Church matters. A group of deacons are elected by the church membership,
and provide spiritual and practical leadership in partnership with the pastoral team. The decisions
are made collectively with the help of the congregation and the other leadership team. The deacon
board consist of seven each male and female members. Deacons are asked to evaluate and
recommend major matters to be brought to the entire congregation for vote especially in terms of
the member’s excommunication because of their immoral deeds. The Church involve deacons in
various ministries, such as visiting the sick, helping families in distress and counselling.
3.2.3. Women Department: Women department consists of the chairperson and secretary, and
inclusive of the seven deaconess who takes the initiative in organizing various activities and
programmes for the welfare of women. Their role is to evangelize through home visitation and
praying for families. They organize a Sale Day every year to help the church funds. Also, camping,
seminar, motivational meets are part of their yearly plan. A treasurer is appointed internally and
they carry out their activities independently. Though eventually, they have to give a report of every
detail at the end of the year during the annual session. They organize their own annual session
before the church body annual session for awareness and corrections. Also, they meet up every
Thursday for fellowship in the Church. Zeme Baptist Mipui Maadi (ZBMM) (this consist of all
the women body of ZBCC, Nagaland) annual session is organized every year where all the women
from various parts of Nagaland comes together and have a combine fellowship. In this session, the
progress and the development of role of women in every Church is discussed in detail. This helps
them to analyze and various suggestions for improvements are carried forward which is indeed
very helpful for Church development.

3.2.4. Youth Department: A president is appointed for leading the Gaili Baptist Youth Fellowship
(GBYF). The president has the freedom to come up with various activities such as motivational
plans, trainings, camps, fundraisings, etc. But every decision taken by the president are first
presented to the youths. The youth department too have their independent structure where all the
tasks and decisions are taken separately within. They lead the praise and worship in the church
services also have their individual youth fellowship on every Saturday evening. Various seminars
are organized for meeting their spiritual, physical, mental and social needs which indeed helps
them to grow more in His likeness and helps them in character formation as well.

3.2.5. Sunday School Department: A Sunday school superintendent is appointed to supervise the
teachers as well as the children. The leadership team of the church appoints the teachers and the
supervisor. They organize competitions based on the Bible to create and establish an environment
providing physical, social, mental and spiritual needs of the children. They organize a Vacation
Bible School every year for the children for refreshing the mind and soul which also helps them to
take active participation in every activity. ZBCC organize a conference every year for the Sunday
School Department which includes the overall children from different Churches. The church have
active participation towards the programmes organized by the higher association especially when
it comes to spiritual awakening though their structure is totally independent.

3.2.5. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Church:

Strengths:
 1. The Church body is entirely independent which gives the freedom to take decisions and
the procedure of any action is processed without much phase.
2. Congregation have the sense of personal accountability and responsibility as they are part
of the decision making process and policy.
3. The congregation is better informed about the direction and decisions of the church.
4. Even in decision making and yearly planning, the contributions of the body rather than an
individual gives more stability.
5. The needs of the entire congregation is identified as the congregation is involved in
decision making.
6. The whole process of decision making is streamlined since the committee members are
few in number and there is a possibility of bringing about a common solution.
7. Majority decision is approved and absence of favoritism.
8. The church has the authority to change a leader of any committee even in the middle of the
leader’s tenure if their behaviors are found inappropriate.

Weaknesses:

1. During decision making, since it involves the whole congregation, it becomes difficult
when there are quite a lot of suggestions.
2. At times, the less trained people influences the decision of the whole group.
3. Coming to conclusions with the decisions taken by the majority be it right or wrong as
it is often assumed that the decisions agreed by the majority is always right.
4. Conclusion

As we have observed from the paper, it is the congregation that plays a key role in the Church as
the entire decisions are taken collectively. It has got a lot of advantages as the needs of the
congregation are met often though there are few limitations and shortcomings. Therefore, it can
be concluded that a key factor to the success of any Church organization is in the final analysis of
a Godly leadership. Godly leaders who are led by the Spirit of God guides the congregation in
directions consistent to the will of God. In order to have a smooth governing structure and
administration, God’s wisdom and grace is required for serving effectively in our Churches.