The Church of the Nazarene in Myanmar recently held its third Pastors' Conference from 18 to 22 September 2023 at the Myanmar Life Hotel in Yangon.

More than half of the participants attended this conference for the first time, a testament to the country's growing missional church planting and disciple-making movement. The first Pastors' Conference was held in 2017 with 47 participants. In 2018, there were 76 participants. This year, despite the impact of COVID-19 and ongoing political unrest, over 223 pastors and church planters from four districts and three pioneer areas attended the gathering.

This year's theme was based on Matthew 4:19, which challenged every participant to commit to becoming disciples of Christ and making disciples. The five-day event was filled with inspiring and motivational messages from several speakers.

• Bill Kwon, Southeast Asia Field strategy coordinator, who shared on contextualized discipleship for Southeast Asia
• Min-Gyoo Shin, senior pastor of Sangamdong Church of the Nazarene, who preached about sanctification and Nazarene identity
• Dan Balayo and Leody Tan Echavez III, who spoke about compassion as a lifestyle
• Myungmuk Jeong, senior pastor of Onnuri Church, who taught about preaching as pastoral communication

Other event highlights were the First Women in Leadership Conference and the launching of Pastor's Kids Discipleship.

Ram Neihthang, superintendent of the Myanmar Southern District, shared that the Pastors' Conference is an excellent opportunity for creating a strong Nazarene identity among new pastors and new pioneer areas. Additionally, the conference offered a space for worship and fellowship among pastors and their spouses, as well as the children of pastors.

Pastor Vula, a participant, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to be part of this gathering. 

"I have been serving the Lord through the Church of the Nazarene," Vula said. “Now, I am over 60 years old. I thank the Lord for allowing me to witness this conference in Myanmar. As I look back on our founding leaders… I'm sure they would also be very happy if they were here."

--Church of the Nazarene Asia-Pacific