If they are vocal, they and their denominations could be targeted for prison/house arrest, or the military could use deadly force as they have in the past and in many of the former leaders’ memories,” said Ellis Craft, Southeast Asia ministry director for the US-based missions organization Reach A Village. “The leaders in high positions in the church have the most to lose. The Myanmar Evangelical Christian Alliance as well as an interdenominational Christian group in Mandalay, the second-largest city in the country, recently issued statements condemning the coup. Despite the risk of retribution, some Christian institutions and individual pastors have spoken out. In the past, the military government has upheld Buddhist culture and tradition to the extent that churches become subject to restrictions, one local pastor told the ministry.Įvangelicals make up just under 5 percent of the country’s population and are its largest religious minority.
The takeover exaggerates existing vulnerabilities for Myanmar’s Christian minority, according to Open Doors. The move harkened back to decades of military rule and Suu Kyi’s historic fight as a pro-democracy activist. The unrest began a week before, on February 1, when the military detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, cut off communication and news networks, and put a commander in charge of the country. Pastors in his network, Nehemiah Ministries, shared masked selfies of themselves crowded onto overpasses and holding signs at intersections as mass protests continued for a third straight day on Monday. Abroad, we will let the world know that we are fighting back.”
“On the ground, our brothers and sisters will continue their movement of peaceful civil disobedience, the drumming of pots and pans, peaceful mass marching demonstrations, and the chants of condemnation to the military. “Our friends and relatives are unreachable, but they will not succeed in suppressing our voices,” said Michael Koko Maung, who leads a national network of church planters.
Ministries are scrambling to adapt so they can keep encouraging one another and ensure evangelism efforts don’t let up during another dark chapter in their country’s history. Hundreds of displaced Christians have been physically blocked out of their towns due to travel restrictions and roadblocks. Evangelical pastors in Myanmar have taken to the streets alongside their Buddhist neighbors in the week since a military takeover, believing that God is on the people’s side and praying desperately for him to bring justice.Īmid nationwide internet and phone shutdowns, some churches gathering online due to the pandemic couldn’t connect to worship together last weekend, the first Sunday since the coup in the Southeast Asian nation formerly known as Burma.