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MAKING THE GOSPEL UNDERSTOOD

Western-style church

The large majority of Myanmar's population practices Buddhism, a religion which is poles apart from Western Christianity in terms of worldview. Consequently, contextualization (expressing the gospel in ways appropriate to the local culture) of the gospel message is extremely vital in reaching the people of Myanmar.

For most of Myanmar's church history, the gospel message has been "wrapped" in Western packaging, which is evident in the church buildings and the contents and format of church services. The liturgy is Western with Western hymn tunes sung in a local translation, and Jesus is often depicted as Caucasian.

More effort must be made in presenting the gospel in a way that is relevant to the Buddhist people, as well as the animist, Muslim and Hindu population segments. As long as traditional methods are used, Christianity will continue to be a "foreign" religion to the people of Myanmar.

Prayer Points

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Disclaimer: We've all tried to be as accurate as possible with our information. However, in many areas it is almost impossible to obtain exact figures, as data is often not available or out of date. Where there are mistakes or misrepresentations, we apologize and would be grateful if you could let us know about them.