Our History

With much prayer they joined hands with Sumi, Lotha and other tribes and started a combined fellowship as Daklane Church in 1938. This marked the beginning of inter-tribal Christian fellowship in Kohima, laying the foundation for what would become a thriving religious community.

As the Capital Kohima developed, more people migrated and settled in Kohima. And with the given increase in the number of Ao families, the growing need for an Ao dialect service was deemed necessary. So with the permission of Rev. Sapplie, the Ao community started their own Ao Christian Fellowship separately in February 1939. Mr. Imtinüngsang from Waromung village was chosen as mission in charge in April 1939. Since there was no Pastor at the time, the service was taken up in turns by the members.

Then Second World War reached our doorstep with the invasion of the Japanese military coop of Kohima. As it became impossible to live in Kohima, the government ordered people to leave the town. Apart from those government officials, women and children left Kohima in 1942. 

When the fight intensified and it was heard that the enemies were reaching Kohima, all the government officials left their work and departed from Kohima on April 3, 1944.

After the Second World War ended, the government officials with their families returned to Kohima and with much faith once again wanted to revive the Ao Christian Fellowship. So in 1946, they started the Fellowship with Mr. Chubameren from Kübza village as the service-leader and Alemkaba from Waromung village as mission in charge.

During the initial years worship services were conducted at a place called Mission Chapel which progressed to an army store house. It was then shifted to the Naga Club house and later on, to a house belonging to the Assam Rifle (Para military). After all these years of worshiping without a proper place the first church building was constructed during the year 1956 - 1957 at the current location.

As the congregation grew, the church building underwent several expansions:
1963 – 1965 : Second church building constructed.
1970 : Enlarged again to accommodate more worshippers.
1980 – 1983 : Dismantled and rebuilt to increase capacity further.

The Ao Christian Fellowship for a long time was praying of a pastor and Mr. T. Süpongsenba from Molungyimsen village fit the role like an answered prayer. So he was chosen as the pastor on March 1972. And with time, Ao Christian Fellowship gradually changed to Kohima Ao Church with the vision of the Church as "Faith, Service and Missions." 

The Kohima Ao Baptist Church at the apex of celebrating its Golden Jubilee on the 9th of February 1989 undertook the commemoration of a holistic centre named Jubilee Memorial Centre in Lerie Colony (JMC). This marked a significant milestone in the church's outreach and community service initiatives. 

KABA managed the Clark Memorial High School in Impur under ABAM for five years, from 1993 to 1997. As agreed in the MoU, the school was handed back to ABAM.

After Pastor Süpongsenba, Rev. M. Asangba Longkümer on 1st March 2004 took over as the Pastor. During his time, there were many notable changes made in the title allocation such as Senior Pastor, Pastor, and Associate Pastor. Rev. M. Asangba Longkümer served as the Senior Pastor of KABA from March 2017 till November 2020.

With the increasing number of members the need for a larger church building was felt and hence it was dismantled in the year 2010. The construction of a new church building resumed the same year. It took almost 9 years before it was finally inaugurated and dedicated on the 28th of April 2019. This building is referred to as the 'main church' of the Kohima Ao Baptist Church. The Main Church has a total sitting capacity of 3600: 2500 in the main hall and 1200 at the basement. It houses the administrative office of the church along with meeting halls, library and Sunday school.

The South Bank Baptist Mission Field in Jorhat District became part of KABA’s outreach. Originally initiated by the Kohima Officers’ Union, it was handed over to local churches in partnership with TAKAM after 25 years.

Rev. Sentisashi Aier took over as the Senior Pastor in December 2020, continuing the legacy of faithful leadership and community service. Under his guidance, KABA continues to grow and serve the community with the same vision of "Faith, Service and Missions."