When IMB missionaries reconnected with the churches in the late 1980s, they found a Baptist faith that was deeply rooted in the nation. Several other factors and characteristics contributed to the movement. From the beginning, Scripture and worship were in the heart language of the people. Undergirded by the high literacy rate, the Bible became a center of both corporate and private spiritual life. Prayer was also a key component.
Prayer continues to saturate their worship and daily life.
They are also a people who love to sing. Worship services resound with lively hymns and songs of praise in the heart language. An important challenge occurred with the severe economic crisis of 1992, which prevented church members from traveling significant distances to their church buildings for worship. Baptists chose the latter as they moved their meetings into homes and found that growth greatly accelerated. Once again, Baptist missionaries played a strategic role by introducing cell church models used in other parts of the world.