Source: OMF International, May 9, 2025
For five or six years, missionaries working with the Shan have said, “We are on the cusp of seeing a movement to Christ taking place amongst the Shan.” When considering church planting among the Shan, it’s crucial to remember those who shared the gospel in challenging times when the Shan people were less receptive.
From 1863 to 1965, expat missionaries worked with Karen missionaries to reach the Shan and Shan-speaking minority groups in Burma. The Shan work in Thailand began much later, in 1953. [During these decades], between 0.05 and 0.1 percent of Shan people have believed in Christ. Only since the late 1990s have the Shan people responded in groups instead of as individuals.
In 2024, an OMF missionary with decades of experience wrote a paper that described the early Shan believers as “one in a thousand” — those who persisted in faith despite persecution, discouragement, and isolation, with little or no support from other believers.
How did it change? Read the full story. It’s a long one, but a reminder that breakthroughs may be preceded by decades of prayer and effort.
Readers might also be interested in a new book coming out on May 28. Check out What Actually Starts Movements: Partnering with God for Kingdom Multiplication, by Emanuel Prinz (100 Movements Publishing).
In another story from East Asia, ministry leaders respond to China’s recent restrictions on foreign missionary activity (Christianity Today).