History of Shan Churches in Burma 1861-2001 - Khamkoo

Challenges in twenty-first century 117
ShweLi Valley Shan Baptist Mission has been contacting directly with Myanmar Baptist Convention as
a representative of all Shan Baptist Churches. 5 Therefore if you want to do Shan Baptist Mission Work
you must do it as ShweLi Shan Baptist Mission’s work under ShweLi so that it can be legal.
Therefore if you want to do the work as ShweLi Valley Shan Baptist’s works or 21 st Century Shan
Mission’s work, they must come under the name of ShweLi Shan Baptist Mission. Otherwise Myanmar
Baptist Convention and other Racial and Regional Conventions will not recognize it and will not help
and the work will not be successful. Starting from April 23, 1988, ShweLi Valley Shan Baptist Mission
withdraws from membership of Burma Shan Baptist Mission and stop contributing financially.
In His Service,
Signed/ Rev. Shwe Htun,
General Secretary, ShweLi Shan Baptist Mission
C.c. to General Secretary, Myanmar Baptist Convention, Rangoon.
General Secretary, All Racial and Regional Conventions, Burma.
All members of SBM.
Rev. Sai Nyunt Tha lamented, “This letter has betrayed us. It is very shameful. ShweLi is not
representing all Shan Churches. How can all Shan mission works come under ShweLi? Why do they
want to be the boss of all? Why are they so selfish? Why did they send this letter to BBC and all
conventions in the whole country? What is the motive?” 6
Third Effort
Many Shan Churches’ leaders from all Shan States were gathering in MuSe Shan Baptist
Church during the “ShweLi Valley Shan Baptist Mission Centenary Celebration” in the evening of
December 24, 1993. Church leaders from ShweLi Valley Shan Baptist Mission, Eastern Shan State
Baptist Convention, Southern Shan State Home Mission Association, Shan Churches from Northern
Shan State and other Shan Churches’ leaders attended the meeting. In the meeting Rev. Sai Nyunt Tha
and I gave detailed history of the beginning of our vision and our effort in forming Shan Baptist
Convention since 1978.
Meeting at MuSe Shan Baptist Church on December 24, 1993
Two important decisions were made unanimously at the meeting.
1. All agreed to revitalize our vision of forming SBC. All agreed to form “Preparatory Working
Committee” for the formation of Shan Baptist Convention. The members of the working committee
5 ShweLi Shan Baptist Mission is representing only a few Shan Churches from the North, Palong and Chinese Churches.
6 As interviewed with Rev. Sai Nyunt Tha on March 13, 2003, ThaCheLeik.