Chin Baptist Church
—A home for the Chin people in Kitchener, ON
May 2011
The Union of Burma is a country with eight major ethnic groups: Burma, Shan, Mon, Karen, Kayah, Rakhine, Kachin and Chin. For centuries, each ethnic group has had different cultures and religions. The Union of Burma came into being as a result of the Pang Long Agreement that was signed in February 1947 by Burma, Shan, Kachin and Chin to gain independence from Britain. To this end, the ethnic groups agreed to form the Union of Burma in which each state receives equal rights and status.
However, right after Independence was declared, the union faced off with internal conflict that led to the long-lasting struggle between some ethnic armed forces and the Burma army. The government declared a “one religion” policy, naming Buddhism as the sole religion for Burma. That led to protests by Christians and ethnic groups.
In 1962, General Ne Win launched a coup and seized state power by force. Military rule became the legitimate rule. Since then, the rights of ethnic minorities, including the Chin people, have gradually disappeared.
In 1988, the people of Burma protested to demand democratic rule and human rights. The government responded with hoses and bullets that got international attention. Thousands were killed, and many left the country.
Christianity in the Chin Society
The Chin people, for centuries, had practiced traditional nihilism, ruled by traditional village-heads under traditional self-administrative rule. But, after the arrival of Rev. Arthur Carson and his wife Laura from the American Baptist Mission in 1889, the Chin society was largely transformed into a Christian-dominated state.
Based on its firm belief to spread of Gospel to unbelievers, the Zomi Baptist Convention (ZBC) launched a major mission program called “Chin for Christ in One Century” in 1984. They hoped to Christianize the whole Chin population within a century. As the living Word of God was with the Chin people, 90% of the population became Christians before the beginning of the new millennium. After its tremendous success in the Chin society, the mission is now focusing on non- Christian populace in other states in Burma.
Political and Religious Persecution and the Influx of Refugees Abroad
Chin State suffers under religious persecution. Many churches were demolished, and building new churches is largely prohibited. In some circumstances, Christian leaders and pastors are victimized by the military government for their active role not only in Christian activities, but also in social activities which are essential for the local people.
Because of political and religious persecution, many Chin people fled to neighboring countries like India, Malaysia and Thailand.
Chin People in Kitchener, ON
The settlement of the Chin people in Kitchener traces back to 2003 when a handful of Chin refugees from Malaysia and India came to Canada as permanent residents. At that time, our numbers were few, and we used one house after another for Sunday Worship Services.
But the Chin people in Kitchener increased day by day. In 2005, we had reached more than 50 people. A house-to-house worship service on Sunday was no longer possible. And we were expecting more Chin people to come to the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
Every Sunday, we had mass prayer for the new comers and for the refugees. We also prayed to find a place to worship.
At that time, our fellowship was named Kitchener Chin Christian Fellowship (KCCF). In November 2005, we began to meet in various buildings around the city for short periods of time, but no place was permanent.
By December 2007, KCCF had grown to an attendance of 80. Unfortunately, because of denominational issues, the congregation split into two different groups. One group of about 40 people became Chin Baptist Church.
Since March 2, 2008, Chin Baptist Church has met together every Sunday in one of the halls at Benton Street Baptist Church in Kitchener. This church has been helping us to grow in many ways since then. We feel blessed that we are able to use one of their halls to worship our God in our own language and tradition.
Recently, our members have increased to more than 100. We have two services a week, Sunday afternoon and another on Saturday night (house-to-house worship). We hope Chin Baptist Church will grow continuously, both physically and spiritually in the coming days. We want to give our honour and thanks to Benton Street Church for their help, care and support.
We are so proud and happy to be here in Canada even though we face many challenges. Our biggest challenges are first the language (English) and second the snow, but we still enjoy and love it.
Please pray for us so that we may have our own church building in the right time and place.
Van Kung is the volunteer pastor at Chin Baptist Church (Kitchener-Waterloo, ON). Salai Thawng Hu is the chairman of deacons.