The Tripura Baptist Christian Union is the largest protestant church body in the Indian state of Tripura. It has its head office in Agartala, the state capital.
History
It was formed under the leadership of Rev. M.J. Eade in the December of 1938 in Lakshmilunga, a village six miles from Agartala.
TBCU was supported from the beginning by the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society and the NZBMS provided most of the staff till the 1960's. After then till now TBCU has become an independent and self supporting church organisation in the state.
It employs many pastors and evangelists and also runs many community programs such as schools and dispensaries.
TBCU celebrated its Golden jubilee and Diamond Jubilees in 1988 and 1998 respectively with much fanfare.
Recently it has started partnerships with the Zoram Baptist Missionary Society of Mizoram.
The Organization
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The TBCU has affiliations to the Asian Baptist Federation [1] and the Baptist World Alliance,[2]. It has 12 associations affiliated to it. The associations are:
- Sadar North Baptist Association (SNBA)
- Central Baptist Association (CBA)
- Khowai-Ompi-Kamalpur Baptist Association (KOKBA)
- Udaipur Baptist Association (UBA)
- Belonia-Sabroom Baptist Association (BSBA)
- Kailashahar Baptist Church Association (KBCA)
- Jampui-Sakhan Baptist Association (JSBA)
- Achik Krima
- Amarpur-Raima-Sarma Association (ARSA)
- Saisawm-Sazai Baptist Association (SSBA)
- Dharmanagar-Longai Baptist Association (DLBA)
Every year a meeting of the Council Members of the TBCU is organized in any of the churches within the Union (TBCU).
Office bearers of TBCU
- General Secretary : Rev. Ngaituasunga Darlong (KBCA)
- Associate General Secretary : Rev. Lalthanliana (JSBA)
- Secretary : Rev. Rana Kusum Debbarma (SNBA)
Saint Paul's School, Agartala
The TBCU run's the one and only school under TBCU authority, the St. Paul's School which is situated in Arundhutinagar, Agartala. The Principal of School is Rev. Lalrema Darlong and the Vice-Principal Rev. Sukhendu Lal Nath.
The school is a Higher Secondary school with classes from K.G. to Class XII. It is affiliated to CISCE. There are more than 1500 students. [3]
Sadar North Baptist Association
Sadar North Baptist Association started as a small circle within the Central Baptist Association of TBCU. It later on evolved and developed into a full-fledged association of TBCU with many churches affiliated to it. Today there are around more than 100 churches and fellowships within Sadar North Baptist Association. Some the pioneers of the Baptist's in Sadar North is Life Deacon Biralal Debbarma (one of the first three christians in the Kokborok speaking community) and Late Rev. Rabindra Debbarma.
SNBA, as Sadar North Baptist Association is abbreviated, has the highest strength of Kokborok speaking Christian community in Tripura. Estimates says that there are roughly 16,000 baptists in Sadar North. SNBA has headquarters in Agartala. The Executive Secretary of SNBA is Rev. Chandra Kanta Debbarma.
Some churches like Kisong Baptist Church and Khumulwng Baptist Church have huge strength of members whereas others like Roktia Baptist Church and Rasu Baptist Church have less strength of members.
Some allegations
The Left-Front Government of the state of Tripura alledgelly blames the Baptist Church of Tripura as supporting and funding the Tripuri militant organisations. [4].