Two Myanmar congregations lose their churches to military attacks

The Christian Post reports that Myanmar's military destroyed two churches this month in Chin and Kachin states, where most people are Christian. Bombs hit a Presbyterian church compound in the town of Mindat and wrecked the building. Days later, troops burned down the Htingnan Kachin Baptist Church outside the town of Bhamo. No one was reported killed or wounded in the Mindat bombing.

Thy Kingdom News, citing Christian Solidarity Worldwide, says two junta fighter jets carried out the Mindat attack on October 9. According to CSW, an advocacy group based in the United Kingdom, the jets took off from an air base in Magway and made two bombing runs over the town at about 2:30 p.m. They dropped four bombs, which landed at two sites, and one hit the church compound. The Christian Post says Mindat, in southern Chin State, has faced repeated ground offensives, shelling and airstrikes since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, and many residents have fled.

Then on October 12, at about 3:30 p.m., troops from the military's 33rd and 88th Light Infantry Divisions burned down the Htingnan Kachin Baptist Church and the houses around it, The Christian Post reports. The church stood in Shwe Pyi Tha Ward, part of a neighborhood known as Three Mile in Bhamo Township, in Kachin State. The Kachin Baptist Convention ran it. Col. Naw Bu, a spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army, told The Irrawaddy that soldiers set fire to the church and that clashes had broken out in the area from time to time as the military pressed to retake Bhamo.

CSW Founder President Mervyn Thomas said in a statement that the destruction of the two churches are "clear violations of international humanitarian law and freedom of religion or belief". CSW said the attacks fit a pattern in which the military targets religious buildings in Christian-majority ethnic states such as Chin, Karenni and Kachin. Churches in those areas also serve as shelters for people displaced by fighting, as schools and as aid distribution points, the group said. The Christian Post adds that Buddhist and Muslim sites have come under attack too. The monitoring group Myanmar Witness reported in April that it recorded more than 300 airstrikes on religious sites, including mosques, monasteries and churches, from January 2024 through December 2025.

As the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church draws near, begin with these two congregations. Pray for the believers of Mindat, who have lost their place of worship, and for the families near Bhamo who lost their church and their homes in one afternoon. Hebrews 13:3 shows us where to start.

Read Hebrews 13:3