Huni Gogoi ordained as pastor at Nakachari Ao Baptist Church

Jorhat, September 7 (MExN): In a solemn ordination service at Nakachari Ao Baptist Church (NABC), Huni Gogoi, Executive Secretary of the Assam Valley Baptist Association (AVBA), was ordained on Sunday.

Nakachari Ao Baptist Church was established in 1946 by Ao Naga settlers who had returned from service with the Naga Labour Corps after the First and Second World Wars. The church became affiliated with the Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (ABAM) in 1962, becoming the first affiliated church from the plains sector.

Gogoi, trained at Impur Bible School and fluent in Assamese and Ao dialect, has served in the Sibsagar Baptist Association from 1985 to 1999 and joined NABC as pastor in January 2000. He received his Christian Minister License from ABAM the following year, becoming the first Assamese pastor in an Ao church under ABAM.

Through his initiatives, the Assam Valley Baptist Mission (AVBM) was formed in 2005, which was later upgraded to a full-fledged association, AVBA, in July 2024 and affiliated with the United Baptist Churches Convention (UBCC), Dimapur.

The ordination ceremony was conducted by the UBCC Ordination Committee led by Rev Dr Rabi Pame, Rev Dr Sahingmak Newme and Rev Y T Lotha. Rev Dr Pame administered the act of ordination. The Lord’s Supper was administered by the newly ordained minister, assisted by four pastors.

Church members from NABC and neighbouring congregations attended the event. Recommendations and greetings were shared by senior pastors and officials from NABC, ABAM, AVBA and UBCC. The programme concluded with a mass prayer and benediction, followed by a community feast.