Thang Gin’s Testimony from Myanmar

Pastors in Myanmar bear a weighty responsibility. 

Like ministers of the gospel everywhere, they must follow Christ wholeheartedly. They must lead with conviction. They must be steadfast in hope.  

But in Myanmar, they are also intimately familiar with the cost of obedience. 

“Life is challenging every day.” 

These are the words of Thang Gin, a faculty member at the Expository Preaching & Teaching Academy (EPTA) and an associate pastor of a local congregation, Grace Bible Church. 

In a turbulent economy, even making ends meet is a struggle for many. Millions live in poverty. Constant power outages and unreliable water supply complicate simple routines. Myanmar’s people are desperate, not only for their families’ livelihoods, but for hope. 

“We know nothing about our future, even tomorrow—even tonight,” Thang Gin acknowledged. “Anything can happen.” 

Leadership by Example

Before stepping into the pulpit, the preacher must examine his own testimony. When the hardships of life come, how will he respond?  

Thang Gin knows that while commanding obedience to Christ from a congregation may be easy, practicing what he preaches is hard.  

“Leadership is not just words,” he said, “but living, showing example with our lives.” 

Becoming such a spiritual leader was no easy journey.  

Thang Gin’s early years were shaped by both blessing and confusion. His grandfather was among the first believers in their village. But his family followed Oneness Pentecostalism, a movement that denied the trinity and distorted the gospel. This left Thang Gin with a Christian heritage but little understanding of salvation. 

In 2002, at a Christian camp in his village, Thang Gin heard for the first time that he was a sinner at enmity with God, and that Christ had provided the only way of escape from sin.  

Though he believed, his understanding remained shallow in a church culture that emphasized external emotion rather than internal transformation.  

“This is the burden of Thang Gin’s heart: to stay and give all for Christ in a time when many are choosing to leave the country.”

But God was leading Thang Gin to deeper conviction. While studying at a seminary in 2013, Thang Gin found a copy of The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur through the Expository Preaching &Teaching Society.  

“I really believed what is written in the book,” he said, “and that's how I came to the assurance of salvation, or even more, to know deeper how God saves us.”  

Hungry for truth, Thang Gin began to search for MacArthur’s sermons at internet cafés, taking careful notes of what he learned.  

“The more I listened, the more I came to understand God’s Word deeply and clearly,” he said.  

MacArthur’s careful exposition, conviction, and commitment to Scripture became a model for Thang Gin that now marks his own ministry. Aside from his pastoring and teaching, he is the editor of The Journal of the Expository Preaching & Teaching Society and has authored several Burmese-language commentaries.  

Shepherds in the Storm

These teaching and publishing ministries are crucial for believers in Myanmar who have few biblical resources in their own language. This is the burden of Thang Gin’s heart: to stay and give all for Christ in a time when many are choosing to leave the country. 

“Jesus is my Lord and He is my all whom I would like to seek,” he said. “As I serve Him, it is my joy to live and walk worthy of my calling.” 

Pastors are not immune to discouragement. These men find hope as they continue to make Christ known—not in their own strength, but by the power of a God who sees, and cares. 

“This is the time for us to show and to live out what we always taught, what we always preach,” Thang Gin recalled saying, “that God is faithful, God is sovereign. If we cannot trust God in this time, our preaching, our encouragement to church members would be meaningless.” 

Men like Thang Gin know that their obedience, service, and sacrifice are necessary for the sake of the church.  

“I know, and I feel, and I have conviction, that God is calling me to be here.”  

In this world, we will face many trials. But Christ has already given everything for His bride. We have only to follow His example faithfully to the end.

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Watch Myanmar: Rediscovering Sound Theology in full at cbm.tmai.org.