Constituent Members

It is to be remembered that there are many Baptist groups and associations existing even before the formation of KABC. All of them are small and weak yet exist independently. When KABC was formed by the initiative of the three associations (i.e. PKBA, NKBA and WRBA), some of these Baptist groups expressed their willingness to affiliate with KABC. Simple affiliation norms were laid down for these groups to become a member of KABC.

1. Dhansiri Valley Baptist Association (DVBA): The Adivasi and Garo Baptist Christians living in the east Karbi Anglong who were part of the Assam Baptist Convention were the first to get them affiliated to KABC in 1984. At that time they have 12 churches with 508 Baptised members.

The history

The history of Christianity in Karbi Anglong is started from 1857, when the Home Board of the American Baptist Missionary Society sent out an exploratory team of missionaries to Karbi Anglong. Subsequently, they commissioned C. F. Tolman in 1859 to be the first missionary to the Karbis. The seed of Christianity that was planted then has been bearing fruits continuously. However, due to different factors, the growth rate is comparatively dead slow and small. As reflected in 2001 census, out of the total population of 8, 12,320, a margin of 14.45% are Christians in Karbi Anglong and the majority of these Christians belong to the Baptist denomination.

The Genesis of KABC

When Revd. W. R. Hutton, one of the last American Baptist Missionaries left Karbi Anglong in 1954, there were two main Baptist Associations, i.e. Puta Karbi Baptist Association and Nihang Karbi Baptist Association (the former Nilip Hobha). These associations were mostly led by lay-leaders for many decades and that too on a part time basis and so they were quite weak and loosely organized. They were under the Assam Baptist Convention; however, this Convention also being loosely organized could not attend effectively to the various problems and needs of the Baptist Christians in Karbi Anglong. Consequently, division and dissension took place within the churches and associations in Karbi Anglong.