Pastor Jehu's Dream

Building Bridges of Community

Pastor Jehu Lian left his congregation in Chin State of Western Burma (Myanmar) and immigrated to Canada where he became pastor of Chin Christian Church in Kitchener, ON.

As the Kitchener community grew, they found that they were unable to meet the financial expectations of renting a facility. When First Hmong Mennonite Church became aware of this, they immediately offered their building to them without hesitation. First Hmong MC was able to assist the Chin community in the same way they had received assistance many years earlier when they were newcomers to Canada.

Chin Christian Church continues to explore what it means to be Mennonite. They have watched those around them. When a village in the Chin State was destroyed by fire, Chin Christian Church collected money to send back home. “We learned that from Mennonites - helping our neighbours,” Jehu states with a smile.

Jehu has a dream that all the members of Chin Christian Church would be able to provide for their families. There are skilled people in Chin Christian Church who are unemployed because of communication barriers.

He has noticed that there are many business people in the Mennonite denomination. “Is there a way to connect people in my congregation with their brothers and sisters in MCEC?” Jehu asks. “The benefit would be mutual – the employer would have a skilled worker and the worker would be able to support their family without worry. It just takes someone willing to work with someone who may not be able to speak English.”

Brian Bauman, MCEC Mission Minister, expounds, “There may be someone out there who can provide that opportunity. We see articles in the media on a regular occurrence where immigrants are well educated, but are not able to get meaningful work anywhere near to their expertise.”

In response to Pastor Jehu’s dream, MCEC has developed a new section on their website entitled People Helping People. For more information on how to support or connect with this ministry, please visit their profile.