Goal # 1 Training
How are we going to produce 201 Shan evangelists in 14 years? The following plans are made.
- To invite young and old people from Shan Churches who are dedicated for Shan missions to attend three months evangelist training. After graduation they will be given certificate of achievement to work as evangelists.
- To choose suitable places for training.
- To choose appropriate subjects for training.
- To send those who have committed for missions to the chosen mission fields.
- To invite trainers from local and abroad, who are qualified and spiritually matured, to train our people.
- To raise support from local and abroad for training, evangelism and Church Planting programs.
Sending students to Seminaries and Bible schools
The founder and President of Asian Outreach International was Rev. Dr. Paul Kauffman. By His divine appointment I have opportunity of knowing and meeting Rev. David Y.P. Wang, Vice-executive President of Asian Outreach International, in Hong Kong in 1984. I met with him, talked to him, discussed with him and worked with him about reaching the Shan people of Burma. The first step is to raise more workers for the harvest.
Invitations were sent out to all Shan Churches in all Shan States to choose and send their young people to study at the Seminary and Bible School and prepare for the future work among the Shan. Asian Outreach and my family would sponsor them for four years, as students had to study for four years at the Seminary. The response was very good. We had 19 students, including one who was going to University and then would go to the Seminary later. Sending 18 Shan students to Seminaries in Rangoon in 1985 was the first of its kind in the history of the Shan Mission. Some students were already at the Seminary but needed financial support. Never before has such a big group of Shan students gone to study in the Seminaries. A Seminary teacher claimed, “We seldom have one Shan student in one year. What happened this time, such a big group of Shan came together?” We expected that after their four-year study, they would be able to serve among Shan people as evangelists who bring “Good News” to the Shan and plant Churches.
Meeting some of our Shan Seminary students in December 1986
18 Students to Bible Schools and Seminaries
- Nang Kham Yong, M.I.C.T. (Eastern Shan State)
- Nang Kya Yung, M.I.C.T. (Eastern Shan State)
- Nang Seng Am, M.I.C.T. (Eastern Shan State)
- Nang Shwe Htwe Lay, M.I.C.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Aung Win, B.I.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Keing Kham, M.I.C.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Maung Lay, M.I.C.T. (Southern Shan State)
- Sai Maung Khaing, M.I.C.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Stephen, M.I.C.T. (Eastern Shan State)
- Sai Aung Than, M.I.C.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Saw Ah Po, M.I.C.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Maung Than, TaungGyi Bible School, (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Hla Oo, M.I.C.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Ma Kya Doi, M.I.C.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Nang Hla Khin, M.I.C.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Htun Myat, M.I.T. (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Ai Myat, TaungGyi Bible School, (Northern Shan State)
- Sai Noon, M.I.C.T. (Eastern Shan State)
Including Nang Thi Da Htun, (Northern Shan State) (University), who promised to go to Seminary after University.
They are all now graduated from Seminaries and Bible Schools. One of them died, two are not serving in ministry, and the rest are serving in Churches as pastors. Many of them have been ordained. Regretfully, none of them go out and serve as missionaries or evangelists to the Shan, where there are no Churches. They all stay in well-established Churches. Some even threatened to resign if they were sent out to other remote places. Kyat 91,750 was spent on training 19 Shan students from 1985-1989.
Training leaders
Shan Churches do not have opportunity of getting training abroad since 1966. This is the first time we have opportunity of sending our potential leaders to get training abroad.
We sent Sai Thein Aung Kham from NamKham, whom we considered to be a leader of Northern Shan State, to the Great Commission Institute Training in 1988 in Singapore for one month by sponsorship of Asian Outreach. After one month of training, he traveled to Hong Kong and we discussed the future Shan mission. He agreed to work with us in the 21st CSMP, as Hon. Assistant Director responsible for Northern Shan State. All expenses for his travel and training in Singapore were paid by Asian Outreach.
We sent Sai Stephen from KengTung whom we considered to be a leader of Eastern Shan State, to Great Commission Institute Training in Thailand in December 1990 for one month by sponsorship of Asian Outreach.
We expected that after graduating from GCI, he would be able to work with us and conduct local training for Shan Churches in the East and produce more evangelists. In 1988, Sai Thein Aung Kham was appointed Hon. Assistant Director of the 21st Century Shan Mission Project, responsible for the Northern Shan State, and Sai Stephen was appointed Hon. Assistant Director of 21st CSMP, responsible for Eastern Shan State, and I would be acting as Hon. General Director. We would work together. All were on a part-time volunteer basis. We expected that Sai Stephen would lead in the Eastern Shan State and Sai Thein Aung Kham in Northern Shan State. Later, Sai Stephen joined us in 1993 as a full-time paid Assistant Director of the 21st CSMP, responsible for Eastern Shan State. We planned to conduct local training in KengTung, TaungGyi, MuSe, NamKham, MayMyo, and Rangoon to produce more evangelists to meet our target. We planned to conduct GCI training with foreign trainers for Shan leaders in Maesai, TaungGyi, Keng