Born into a missionary family in Myanmar’s only majority Christian population, the Chin State, Rev. Van Biak Thang has been saying “yes” to God all his life.

As a young adult, he embraced the missionary calling and moved to a lower Myanmar state with his younger sisters, cousins, and uncle to spread the Gospel. 

Through their formation of a soccer club and summer schools for middle and high school students where he taught English, computers, and music, Rev. Thang shared the Gospel with Buddhist communities and planted four churches that his family now leads. 

Rev. Thang’s ministry to Myanmar did not stop with soccer clubs, preaching, and education. He served as an HIV/AIDS consultant for nearly ten years, which resulted in his traveling to Indianapolis, IN, to attend a United Methodist Global AIDS Conference, where he met United President Kent Millard. A brief conversation after President Milliard’s session, in which he expressed his desire to pursue formal religious training, resulted in an invitation to United and his decision to enroll in the Master of Divinity program.

Since moving to the United States, he has been connected to a refugee community in Lancaster, PA, where he serves as senior pastor. With only 1 percent of the congregation conversant in English, he often preaches and teaches in at least three different languages to meet the spiritual needs of his community.

Despite his distance from Myanmar, Rev. Thang still oversees the four campuses he planted there, meeting with campus pastors weekly via Zoom to provide encouragement, leadership, and resourcing for their ministries. He attributes his compassion and care as a pastor to his time as a student at United. His interaction with the leadership and faculty of United showed him a new way to lead that stood in stark contrast to the military-based leadership he was accustomed to in Myanmar.

Because of the great military presence and threat to Christians back in Myanmar, Rev. Thang has been unable to return to his home country, but he has a strong desire to return home and serve. “I still want to serve, so I’m still praying that God opens a way,” says Rev. Thang as he stands in his “yes” to the call to serve God’s people, from Myanmar to Lancaster, PA.