The Providence of God in Bringing First BPC and Bethel BPC into One

Greetings to all of you in the most blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We trust this write-up finds you all well in the Lord, as we keep praying for you. Today, I am very thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to give you a short account on how the Lord has providentially brought First BPC and Bethel BPC into one church, after a decade of serving the Lord as two churches.

When First BPC was founded by the grace of God in 2009, one of its commitments was to expand its witness for the Lord to any place, near and far, wherever the Lord would lead (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). At that time, First BPC was based in Insein - one of the towns that makes up the city of Yangon. As the church continued to pray and reach out to people with the gospel of salvation, the Lord led us to a place in particular, namely, Dagon, which is, like Insein, one of the towns of Yangon (The distance between Insein and Dagon is about 45 minutes’ drive). Here, the gospel door was opened to us, and First BPC took the opportunity to conduct Bible study every Saturday. As the weekly Bible study continued faithfully, the Lord gradually increased the number of people attending it, and by the third year it was deemed good to transform the Bible study group into an out-reach church. Thus, with the hand of the Lord leading, Dagon Bible-Presbyterian Church was born in October 2012, taking the name of its location. Later, it was renamed Bethel Bible-Presbyterian Church, Dagon.

Meanwhile, by way of testimony, the Lord led us further up to the northwestern part of Myanmar, namely Ngalti village, Chin State, where a faithful BPC witness was much needed. Chin State is located in the northwest of Myanmar, sharing a border with India, quite a distance from Yangon. By God’s grace, in this remote part of the country, Ngalti BPC was started in 2010 the following year after the founding of First BPC. All praise be to God!

Bethel BPC, Dagon, started with a very humble beginning, and since its inception it had been under the direct oversight and leadership of First BPC. The two churches shared a very close relationship, much like that of a mother-daughter church.

In the year 2021, the Lord brought us into another chapter of ministry, in a most amazing way. As is known to all, the Covid-19 pandemic was making its spread extremely rapidly, bringing devastating effects in the years 2020-2021. This, among other things, caused all the ministries of the church to be suspended, as extreme preventive measures and lockdowns were ordered by the governing authority. All had to stay at home, and the ministries could only continue via online. Consequently, the situation was further compounded by a political unrest that took place in February 2021. During this difficult and trying time, however, the Lord had His own plan in store for us (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20).

As the pandemic pressures continued and the political situation remained unfavourable, Rev Biak and family had to move from Insein to Dagon, on a part-time basis, to take care of his elderly mother-in-law. This provided, in the Lord’s providence, ministry opportunities for Rev Biak, including a closer spiritual oversight of Bethel BPC in Dagon, and an outreach work to people nearby, and a better exploration on the town of Dagon itself as well. One result of these, among other things, is that he became better acquainted with two nearby families, who were in charge of up-keeping a church property (sanctuary). As the outreach continued, the importance of standing for God’s Truth and First BPC’s commitment to fulfil the Great Commission was shared with the two families. They were further invited to join First BPC as regular worshippers, when services were conducted online. Praise God that their response was positive, and the Lord moved their hearts so that they were willing to offer the sanctuary under their charge for First BPC’s use, free of charge. (The size of the sanctuary is about 60’x30’, which can accommodate approximately 80-100 people. It is well facilitated with pews, pulpit, fans and air-cons.) At this point, please note that all these while, both First and Bethel BPCs were operating in the homes of the pastor and preacher respectively, all rented by the church.

Upon the availability of this sanctuary, our church leadership had successive meetings to prayerfully consider the matter and how the various ministries of First (Insein) and Bethel (Dagon) BPCs ought to be continued in such unique circumstances. After much prayer and deliberation, we came to an agreement that we should take the newly available sanctuary and that a combined online service should be conducted temporarily for both First and Bethel BPCs. This continued for some time, even when physical gathering became possible by December 2021. At the same time, we were in prayer seeking the Lord’s will for the possibility of the two churches to become one.

Hereby, I would like to take the opportunity to share with you of what had always been in the heart of our church leadership. It is the desire of the church leadership that one day the two churches can join together as one when the Lord provides a property (sanctuary) of our own. After years of prayerful thought and consideration, our church leadership has become more and more inclined towards Dagon, rather than Insein, for the church’s future permanent base. The reasons are several, of which the main are: (1) Dagon is, in terms of the government’s town-plan, a better planned and well organized township, compared to Insein and other townships in Yangon; (2) ministry opportunities – most of our church members (First BPC) have already moved into Dagon, and there are opportunities for an outreach ministry to the people nearby and students of Dagon University etc. (there are fewer churches in Dagon than in Insein); (3) accessibility – it is easy to reach Dagon from different parts of Yangon.) This is the human side of the matter, and we are subject to God’s sovereign will.

So, since 12th December 2021, First and Bethel BPCs have been worshipping together as one at the newly available sanctuary in Dagon. The unity, warm fellowship, and spiritual blessings that we have been experiencing during these times are indeed delightful, edifying, and glorious. We believe that the circumstances leading us this way is God’s providential hand. Therefore, after worshipping together for two years on a temporary manner, on the 10th of January 2024, First BPC and Bethel BPC came to an unanimous agreement to become one, retaining the name First BPC.

Truly, we praise and thank God for His marvellous leading. We pray and believe that this coming together will bring greater commitment and more effective service, all for the glory of God. All praise and glory be to Him. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth (2 Corinthians 13:8). First BPC’s new address is: 159, ThitSar 5th Street, 39-A, North Dagon, Yangon, Myanmar.

With love in Christ,

Biak Lawm Thang