A previously-unreached village in southeast Asia was converted to Christ after their apparently dead leader appeared to come back to life when he was prayed over.

The story of a modern-day "physical resurrection from the dead" was told by David Platt, president of the Southern Baptish International Mission Board, at a recent meeting in Nashville.

A local southeast Asian Christian who had been coverted by some Southern Baptist missionaries took some friends with him and began evangelising in a village "that was totally unreached with the gospel until they got there," Baptist Press reports.

The villagers responded positively, bringing idols, necklaces and amulets associated with the occult to be burned, Platt said.

But then the village leader died.

The villagers believed they had angered their local spirits by turning to Christ and asked for their ritual objects to be returned to them. 

So the Christians went to where the leader lay and prayed over his body "that God would show His mercy to the people in the village, that God would show His glory and His love to that people who were so close," said Platt, according to Baptist Press.

Suddenly, the man coughed once, then again, and then started breathing.

Platt said this encouraged the Christians in their evangelism.

"So they shared the Gospel, and in the days to come, people started coming to faith in Christ and that village starting burning their idols."

Platt said he did not know whether the village leader had really died or not, but that "Even if he wasn't dead, God sure chose an opportune moment for that guy to cough."

He concluded: "There are some things I don't know, but here's what I do know: we have the Good News of a God who has conquered death, who has power to say to the dead, 'Come to life.' So brothers and sisters, let's work together to see thousands upon thousands of Southern Baptists proclaiming that Good News to the ends of the earth."

Platt said it was an example of "God's power to supernaturally save sinners."