The nation of Myanmar is 90% Buddhist, and Christians there are often mocked, threatened and persecuted. However, the harvest is ripe, and the need for courageous spiritual leaders and missionaries is great.
We believe the most effective missionaries are local churches and bodies of believers, because of their familiarity with the culture, language and commonly-held religious beliefs of the area. So, instead of using our resources to overcome these barriers for ourselves, we have decided to invest in programs that will train these believers to be even more effective evangelists and leaders.
One of the ways we do this is through partnering with a Ministry Training Center (MTC) in southern Myanmar. This month, 38 students are graduating from this nine-month program where they studied our ABC curriculum, helped with the daily operations of a local church, conducted evangelistic outreaches and served in World Compassion’s orphanage.
These leaders will go on to plant or help plant churches in some of the most difficult areas of Myanmar, and this training will provide them with the skills they need to be effective carriers of the Gospel.
“Life as a pastor is very difficult in my country,” says one MTC Graduate, “but God gave us His blessing so that we can do very well in ministry. I am forever thankful for the training I received through MTC – it has taught us to completely depend on God.”
“Through the Ministry Training Center lessons, I was able to deeply understand the Word of God,” says another graduate, “Now I can also explain it to other people.”
We are so thankful for these students and the work God is doing in their lives, and we hope you’ll join us in prayer for them as they go out to bring the Gospel to their nation!
In addition to training up new leaders, we also put on conferences to strengthen and encourage more seasoned pastors and church leaders in Myanmar, and this past February we held our biggest event yet! One attendee told us, “We have never seen the Church do something with this much excellence; usually, only the government can put something this big on.” It was amazing how much these people were encouraged by just seeing that it is possible for the Church to accomplish big things through prayer, faith and unity.
One of these leaders is our friend Pastor Aung. You may remember that we were raising funds to help him construct a new church building, and now we are happy to report that he is fully funded and construction has begun! The new structure will not only house his church, but also a medical clinic and daycare, which will allow his congregation to reach the community of Khamti, Myanmar, in new ways.
At the heart of all of these projects and programs, however, is the biblical principle of discipleship. We created the ABC Bible training curriculum to give pastors and believers a tool that will not only strengthen their own faith, but also give them the training needed to disciple others. We currently have 800 ABC students throughout Myanmar, and we are hoping to grow that number by 1,000 this year!
We are so grateful to have front-row seats to some of the great things God is doing, and we want you to be involved as well! You can invest in these students and leaders. It costs $114 (£82) to sponsor one student through the two-year ABC program and $555 (£395) to send someone through MTC. In addition, we need a total of $16,700 (£11,879) to help cover this year’s conference costs and our staff’s travel expenses.
Will you consider partnering with us as we join in on what God is doing in Myanmar? We’re so excited to see what He does next, and we hope to have you along with us!
Together, we can continue to see the hope of the Gospel transform Myanmar.