Dr. Mar Pongener affirms ABAM and IM Partnership

Benjamin Chan

Dec 1, 2021

Our India team had a wonderful virtual meeting with Dr. Mar Pongener, Executive Director of Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (ABAM, aka the Ao Baptist Church Association) this morning. ABAM and IM entered a partnership in 2019 to promote ministries of Evangelism, Discipleship and Theological Education; Justice and Peace; and Training and Capacity Building.

One of the outcomes of the partnership is the appointment of three International Associate Missionaries: Dr. Wati Longchar, Rev. Lanu and Rev. Alemla Jamir. Dr. Mar Pongener affirms ABAM’s partnership with IM, and we agree to continue our dialogue to enhance common missions in India and globally. ABAM will celebrate its 150^th Anniversary in Impur, Nagaland on November 1-3, 2022. Dr. Pongener welcomes American Baptists to attend the celebration. I have agreed to serve as a speaker.

I am happy to tell you that Dr. Pongener was the student of IM former missionary Dr. Fred Downs. He is one of the first students to receive IM Leadership Development Grant for Graduate Study, a program initiated by Dr. Downs in 1993. Dr. Pongener finished his master degree study in the United Theological College in India, and doctoral degree study in the Trinity Theological College in Singapore. He then became a professor at the Clark Theological Seminary in Nagaland which is supported by ABAM. After 30 years of service at Clark with teaching expertise on the History of Christianity, Dr. Pongener was invited to serve as ABAM Executive Director from April 1, 2021. Dr. Pongener has mobilized the revival of Naga churches. He published the book Peacemaking and Dialogue : Religious Approaches in the Quest for an Interfaith Relations in 2018.

ABAM is the largest Church Association of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council with more than 200,000 Christian brothers and sisters (both baptized and non-baptized members), who worship in more than 163 constituent congregations in the Indian states of Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, and Delhi. Click to read more about ABAM history and ministries: http://abamimpur.org/ (Picture of Installation: Dr. Pongener at the right)