History of Shan Churches in Burma 1861-2001 - Khamkoo

Baptist mission among the Shan 77
Statistic in 1958
The number of Churches under ShweLi Valley Shan Baptist Mission were 5, total number of
Baptized Christians were 768 (women 474, men 295), the number of Sunday Schools were 5 with 880
students, of whom 178 were girls and 157 were boys, the number of C.E. Societies were 4 with 558
members, of whom 804 were girls and 249 were boys, the number of Christian Women Societies were
4 with over 200 members and one roving woman evangelist and the number of mission primary schools
were 4 with 284 pupils, among whom were 125 girls and 109 boys. Teacher-Evangelists; 5 women and
2 men.
Total number of Baptisms given during 1958-59 were 142, of whom 85 were men and 57 were
women, total number of Chinese and Lisu families won from Animism were 8 families with 17
members and total number of Buddhist families won to Christ during 1958-59 were 14 families with 44
members.
Membership in 1992
Baptized Members
All
NongSanKone 562 1042
MyoMa 114 282
SeLan 60 100
MuSe 400 1000
LaShio 100 240
MuongKut 54 138
Muong Pa 23 86
MuomgMyit 20 36
ManPon 26 42
Total 1359 1964
1,359 baptized in one hundred years. The membership in 1954 was 666. Most of them are second
generation Christians. 77
It was reported in 1954,
“The Baptists have a strong and varied work in the Northern Shan State. The
ShweLi Valley Shan Baptist Mission is one of the strongest Shan Baptist fields in
Burma, with Churches at NamKham, SeLan and MuSe. This work has shown a vigorous
growth doubling in numbers in the last ten years. In addition to work among the Shan
full-time evangelists are employed for work among the Chinese and Palong. A Bible
Training School at NamKham was started in January 1953 with seven students. The
Shan Bible Training School at NamKham is designed to meet a local need and is not
well situated for work for the whole Shan States. Vigorous evangelistic work is carried
out in villages near NamKham and very cordial relations are maintained with the Kachin
Baptist. The NamKham Hospital is essentially an integral part of the mission work in the
ShweLi Valley although at present it is not under mission control. The ShweLi Valley
Baptist High School, on the hospital compound, is also a part of the general Christian
work.” 78
In 1958 there were 9 full-time teacher-evangelists preaching gospel not only among Shan Buddhists but
also Palong, Lisu and the domicile hill Chinese.
77 ShweLi Valley Shan Baptist Mission, NamKham, N.S.S. Report for the year 1956-57 ending July 31, 1957
78 A Study of Baptist Work in the Shan States By E.E. Sowards, published by Burma Baptist Mission, Rangoon, 1954, p2