Myanmar (MNN) — Famous Christian author C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures… but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Sometimes, that pain looks like war.

In Myanmar, “There’s a whole generation of people that have just lived in war and instability,” Greg Kelley of Unknown Nations says.

“They’re ready for something new, and the Gospel is making great inroads right now.”

For decades, ministries took a “from the West to the rest” approach to missions. In other words, missionaries from the U.S. and Europe would raise funds to serve the Lord in a distant land.

Today, indigenous outreach has shifted to the forefront of missions. Instead of a Western-driven approach, missionaries are now going “from everywhere, to everywhere.”

(Photo of child in Tambon Mae La, Kayin State, Myanmar courtesy of Z via Unsplash)

Unknown Nations partners with local believers to reach communities that have never heard the name of Jesus. “[In] places like Myanmar, there’s no other option,” Kelley says.

“For us to send missionaries from America, Europe, or even other countries in Asia is almost impossible right now. We have to invest in the local, indigenous Body of Christ and help it be able to deploy in more effective and strategic ways.”

Local believers reach frontier communities

Together, believers seek “frontier” communities, or places where the Gospel has never been heard before. By meeting urgent physical needs and introducing the hope of Christ, believers create sustainable pathways for long-term church planting and discipleship among the unreached.

In Myanmar, Unknown Nations seeks to strengthen and multiply local church leadership. Here’s how you can help.

“There’s always going to be an element of underground churches and people gathering together to serve Jesus. But if leaders are not being raised up and developed, then all of that becomes very fragile,” Kelley says.

“The strength of the Church in Myanmar is going to be their ability to create healthy disciples, because they’re living in such a challenging, hostile environment.”

Myanmar is primarily a Buddhist nation, but some ethnic groups – primarily the Chin and Karen – identify as Christians. Pray that many people in Myanmar will find the hope and peace only Jesus can offer.

“Only about five percent of the country would be evangelical followers of Jesus. Most have never heard the Gospel message,” Kelley says.

 

Header image depicts an agricultural scene in Bagan, Myanmar. Photo courtesy CILER YILDIZ via Pexels.