Das, Isa (1880-1940)
Isa Das (1880-1940), the son of a rich Satnami farmer from Kyota Dabri near Mungeli, was an orphan of the 1896-1897 famine. He was brought up, educated, and married in the Disciples of Christ mission in Bilaspur. As teacher-preacher, he and his wife, Mathuria, also a famine orphan, served in rural evangelistic work. Because of his great generosity to the poor, Isa could not always account for the mission funds he had spent. These misunderstandings led to his resignation from the Disciples of Christ mission.
At the invitation of P. J. Wiens, Isa and Mathuria joined the General Conference Mennonite Church mission in 1911. They were stationed at Mauhadih first and then moved to the new outstation at Sukhri (1917-1923) where Isa ministered in the surrounding villages with great success, baptizing 109 converts in 1919. Isa and Mathuria also worked at Dhabakar and later lived at Basna and Jagdeeshpur.
Characteristic of Isa Das was his close identification with the people. He repudiated the use of a bicycle in favor of walking, talking, and singing his way into the hearts of the people. He chatted freely with farmer, weaver, merchant, or official , and always kept an eye open for children. As with a magnet, he drew them to himself. In the shade of a tree he would sit and sing and tell of Jesus, an effective way of reaching adults as well. His Satnami background, and his wife's Brahmin background, permitted them free access into homes of low and high caste alike, and enabled them to bring the gospel to those others could not reach.
| Author(s) | Helen Kornelsen |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1986 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Kornelsen, Helen. "Das, Isa (1880-1940)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1986. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Das,_Isa_(1880-1940)&oldid=87027.
APA style
Kornelsen, Helen. (1986). Das, Isa (1880-1940). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Das,_Isa_(1880-1940)&oldid=87027.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 215. All rights reserved.
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