Myanmar (MNN) — Myanmar can’t afford to lose its next generation, but it is. After the 2021 coup, the military junta soon realized that rebel fighter groups were there to stay. In February 2024, they installed a conscription law.
“Basically, it was a mandatory two-year service of men aged 18 to 35 and women [aged] 18 to 27,” says Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations.
Youth in Myanmar know too well the dangers of military service. “A lot of these people are thrown into the worst of situations that experienced military people want nothing to do with — for example, being dropped behind enemy lines,” says Kelley.
There is evidence that the military forces children to serve as soldiers, porters, and even human shields. The rebel groups are no saints either, says Kelley, but he adds, “There’s plenty of fault to go around, but these [resistance fighters] are largely people who love their country, and they’re fighting for their country.”
(Photo of Bagan, Myanmar courtesy of Ajay Karpur via Unsplash.)
Young people are desperately trying to escape conscription, fleeing across borders or seeking education abroad — if they have the means. (More on their plight here.) The military responded in January 2025 by issuing a travel ban for people of conscription age.
“We’ve even heard cases of young people committing suicide versus the alternative of going and serving in the military and fighting against their own people,” says Kelley. “This is a civil war, and so you’re fighting against someone that maybe was your brother, cousin, neighbor (in rebel groups), because they are fighting for freedom. It’s an incredibly difficult and complicated situation.”
The loss of this next generation puts a strain on Myanmar’s churches. Yet the chaos has also opened the way for the gospel. People who used to live in hostile communities now find themselves in refugee camps — environments where gospel workers sow seeds of hope.
Recently, 35 teens at a refugee camp heard the gospel and were baptized.
“How God uses [these young people] is going to be the million-dollar question,” says Kelley. “Yes, many of them will now probably have to serve for two years. Where God places them — whether it’s in the military or they go into a church environment for evangelism — the gospel will be shared there.”
The sobering spiritual reality
“A majority of [the people in] that country — over three-quarters — literally are without access to the gospel. That in and of itself needs to make it a priority,” says Kelley.
He adds that Myanmar suffers “the worst of both worlds.”
(Photo of child in Tambon Mae La, Kayin State, Myanmar courtesy of Z via Unsplash)
“What do I mean by that? I mean they don’t have access to the Gospel, which is horrific in itself. But then you go, ‘Oh yeah, and by the way, there’s been a military coup. They’re in the midst of a horrific civil war.’”
That’s not all. Myanmar is also vulnerable to typhoons and other natural disasters. The recent March 28 earthquake killed more than 3,700 people, according to the military junta.
Keep Myanmar in your prayers. Pray for God’s mercy, that every person will have a chance to hear the hope of Christ. Pray also for organizations like Unknown Nations that have networks on the ground.
“Our infrastructure consists of dozens of leaders. These are national, indigenous people who speak the various languages, who are going in — even into the war areas, into the [refugee] camps — sharing the gospel message. We just appreciate people’s prayer, [and any way] they can come alongside of us as the Holy Spirit leads them,” says Kelley.
Header image: U Bein Bridge, Mandalay, Myanmar (Photo courtesy of Alexey Komissarov via Unsplash).
