A Commitment to Myanmar’s Pastors
God’s Mission in Myanmar
It’s God’s mission, not ours. That’s what compels our faculty and students around the world to obedience—even through war and natural disasters.
The Expository Preaching and Teaching Academy (EPTA) in Myanmar is a testament to this. Four years into a civil conflict, EPTA has maintained its ministry of raising effective preachers: adapting its teaching, publishing resources, and welcoming students through the challenges.
And there have been many.
Earthquake Amid Civil Conflict
On March 28, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar. The country was ill-prepared to handle the quake; ongoing civil war has crippled Myanmar’s economy and development. Without the infrastructure to mitigate such a disaster, the earthquake caused the deaths of over 3,600 people, while destroying the homes and buildings of millions already suffering from the conflict.
EPTA immediately turned to serve its community—providing food, emergency supplies, and most importantly, Gospel hope. But running a training center in Myanmar is uniquely challenging in these times. Young men across Myanmar live under the threat of conscription and being forced to fight against their own communities. Some of EPTA’s own students have been drafted.
“Young people are just not in the mindset of starting a new education program inside Myanmar,” Isaiah*, a faculty member at EPTA, explained.
Yet despite these obstacles, about twenty new students joined the training center in June—an encouraging sign that God is still at work. To address safety and travel risks, EPTA has purchased new livestreaming technology and modified its programs to offer all of its classes in a hybrid format.
“We would like to train our students with high quality training despite all these internet difficulties, political situations,” a local faculty member shared. “Please pray for us.”
Building Resources for the Church
EPTA has also steadily persevered in its efforts to develop biblical, local language resources through its publishing ministry, the Expository Preaching & Teaching Society (EPTS).
Translating and Publishing Biblical Resources
“The work of training church leaders requires adequate resources,” Isaiah explained. “Since we are committed to making our training accessible to church leaders who speak only the Myanmar language, we’ve been working hard to generate resources in their language. Very few solid resources are currently available.”
With the help of local translators, EPTS recently completed an intense two-year project: the Burmese translation of The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Another important work, a translation of Essential Christian Doctrine, was released in May.
“Each of these resources will fill a tremendous need for Burmese speakers in their particular subject area,” Isaiah said.
Last year, the team also made a milestone accomplishment with the publishing of a commentary on Colossians—an original work written in Burmese by a local faculty member. By emphasizing quality and depth, EPTS hopes to change the perception of Burmese resources, which have typically been poorly translated or theologically weak.
“As an instructor, I have been deeply encouraged by the resilience of the students to complete their assignments and maintain their interest in improving their understanding of the Word. We know God can use difficult circumstances to produce steadfastness.”
EPTS also conducts preaching conferences in Yangon to encourage local church leaders committed to biblical exposition. This year’s conference theme was “Preaching Christ,” showing Christ as the one revealed by the overarching story of Scripture.
To further serve these church leaders, EPTS produces an academic journal, The Journal of the Expository Preaching & Teaching Society. Articles are contributed by EPTA’s own faculty or translated from relevant English resources.
Perseverance in an Unstable Environment
In Myanmar’s unstable environment, each of these efforts is doubly challenging. But EPTA’s perseverance is a testimony to the power of God’s word, which alone brings lasting hope.
Isaiah shared, “As an instructor, I have been deeply encouraged by the resilience of the students to complete their assignments and maintain their interest in improving their understanding of the Word. We know God can use difficult circumstances to produce steadfastness, and we see that steadfastness leading to a sweet spiritual maturity among the EPTA family.”
Thank you for praying with us for the strengthening of pastors and churches throughout Myanmar. If you would like to partner with EPTA, you may do so by clicking the button below.