Christianity was first brought to the island of Nias by the Catholic Missions Etrang?res de Paris,who had a short-lived mission there from 1832 to 1835. Prot missions in the island of Nias were started in 1865 by the RMG, after it had been temporarily expelled from Kalimantan. At the time, the population of the island (now over 500,000, of whom 73% are Prot, 18% RCath, and 7% Muslim) adhered to the ancestral religion. Until 1900, when the Dutch colonial power came in, growth was slow (first baptism in 1874; 706 baptized by 1890; 20,000 by 1915). From 1915 to 1920 the Christian community on Nias experienced a great revival which resulted in accelerated growth (1921: 62,000 baptized). In 1936 the first synod of the BNKP was convened, chaired, until 1940, by a German missionary. Subsequent revivals (1938-1942, 1945-1949) brought not only growth but also schisms (Fa’awösa khö Geheha and Fa’awösa khö Jesu). Other schisms, starting in 1946 and 1952, were regional in character and were rooted in the traditional social structure (cf. Gereja Angowuloa Masehi Indonesia Nias, AMIN no. 2, and Orahua Niha Keriso Protestan, ONKP no. 43). In 1994 a new schism occurred in southern Nias. Moreover, Advent and, especially, the RCath Church acted as competitors with the BNKP. Nevertheless, the BNKP remains the church of the majority, including 60% of the population. As such, the church was an important factor in welding the population of the various parts of island into an ethnic and linguistic unity, the language of northern Nias being made the language of the Bible (complete Bible printed 1913) and the church. In the future, for the BNKP as for other churches on the rim of Sumatra, the confrontation with Islam will become a greater challenge than that with other Christian groups. The BNKP is active in the field of education, medical care, and social work. It publishes a magazine,Turia Röfa(Message of the Cross). The church considers May 15, 1938 (the first church order), as its birthday.
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