History of Shan Churches in Burma 1861-2001 - Khamkoo

Baptist mission among the Shan 50
salary. There are three Sunday school classes, an adult male, an adult female and a children class. We
expect to add a Bible class for the Christians. There is room for a good deal of improvement here.” 34
It was reported by Dr. & Mrs. Henderson, Dr. Robert Harper, and Mrs. H.W. Mix in 1898, “Our
Church here has almost doubled its membership by baptism. Our gain has been ten by baptism and one
by restoration (our only backslider); five baptized from the school, two through treatment at the hospital
and three from the heathen on the compound. There still remain five or six who say they intend to be
baptized but I do not feel that these are all Christians. Our Sunday school is doing thoroughly good
work but is now ready for better organization.” 35
Dr. and Mrs. Henderson, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Harper and Mrs. H. W. Mix reported in 1899,
“The spirit and condition of the Church were never better. Briefly the lines on which we have advanced
are: the establishment of a Wednesday evening prayer meeting down town, formal election of Church
officers and a monthly officers’ meeting, the vote to erect a Church guesthouse for the use of people
from a distance who come for instruction, a daily thanks offering of rice from many. This is brought in
on Sunday and the proceeds applied to famine relief in India. In Sunday school the adoption of the
international lessons illustrated by blackboard drawings was used. In this line I must acknowledge the
kind help of the English political officer, Mr. Gordon, on several occasions. Through his energy we
now have interstate postal communication. With the help of our contributions, as members of the
Church, the pastor has been supported and a good balance left in hand. This has been the case every
year since 1894. Bazaar and town meetings are doing good steady work.” 36
MuongNai Church had 33 members in 1892 and 60 members in 1903. Over seventy-five Shan
Christians regularly attended Church services. In 1904 there was a baptism of twelve converts added to
the Church and three expulsions from the Church. In 1930 Dr. Henderson wrote, “There is a fine spirit
of consecration that does one good to feel and touch about 80 usually attend the monthly communion
service and the Churches themselves are beginning to shoulder the financial responsibility for the
evangelistic work of the field.” 37
World War II brought destruction to the buildings in MuongNai. After World War II, a new
church building was dedicated in 1950. The brick church building seen in year 2000 was dedicated in
1969. Hla Tin became preacher of MuongNai Church on March 15, 1960. In the year 2000, there were
105 baptized members. MuongNai Church is now a Burmese-speaking Church consists of different
racial groups. The members of the Church increased from 33 in 1892 to 105 in year 2000. Only 72 new
believers gained in 108 years. All these believers were not the Shan. In the 1930’s because of the
depression in the United States, drastic curtailment of the work in Burma had to be made. The Bible
Churchmen's Missionary Society, a British organization, was prepared to take over work in the
Southern Shan States. Small hospitals were established at PangLong, a few miles north of LoiLem, and
at LangKho, within twenty miles southeast of MuongNai. Local Baptist Churches retain their
connections with local Baptist organizations, but the major responsibility for evangelistic work among
the non-Christian Shan of the Southern Shan State was relinquished by the Baptists. The LoiLem
compound was swept clear of all buildings by the end of the war, but the local Church soon put up a
small church building. A Shan pastor Saya Si La, and his wife Daw Miriam, a trained nurse, had served
many years.
Why is it so difficult to evangelize Shan in MuongNai? What are the obstacles for them to
believe in Christ and become Christians? We have seen 10 people baptized in 1893 just one year after
mission field started. If this rate has been continuing, the membership might have been 1,113 in the
year 2000. When I visited MuongNai Church in June 2000, the old pastor was seriously ill and
hospitalized in Yangon hospital. A Karen young man was temporarily taking care of the Church. About
34 82nd Annual Report, 1896, American Baptist Missionary Union, p287
35 84th Annual Report, 1898, American Baptist Missionary Union, p102
36 86th Annual Report, 1900, American Baptist Missionary Union,
37 117th Annual Report, 1931, American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, pp76-77