“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me” James grew up in a Christian family. James grandfather, Dar Hnin, was the first converted in their village. His father was an elder in the church, and his mother was the leader of women's groups in the community. James was a Christian with a traditional Christian background.
James parents used to pray for him by laying their hands on his head, and they committed him to the mighty hand of God. His parents wanted him to be a missionary, and James also wanted to be a missionary from the time he was a young boy. He was involved in different activities in the Church when he was a teenager. James promised God that he would go to unreached people and preach the Gospel after he graduated from high school. It was very difficult to graduate from high school, especially for member of his tribe, Chin. He graduated but did not go to the unreached but ran from God to continue his education at the Government University in Yangon, where he received his B.Sc degree. His parents supported him because, although they were uneducated, simple farmers, they wanted their son to be educated. When James was in the university, his parents, who lived in Kalay, sent him letters containing bible verses. One day he received a letter from his father that included Isaiah 6:8, “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, “Here I am! Send me!'” |
His father also included 2 pages of his teachings with explanations about the verse. And James mother put a reading assignment on the bottom of that letter, Matthew 28:16-20. From that day, those verses became James's heartbeat. Having known Jesus's love all his life, he decided to follow Jesus and serve him. As soon as he came back home to Kalay, James was baptized by the local pastor.
James knew that he needed to learn more about the scripture, so he traveled 2 days by bus from his native village again to Yangon to study. There he earned M.Div, and D.Min (highest level) degrees. The first year of his M.Div class, he understood that to make disciples requires more than being a Christian; it requires a changed life. As Paul had said to do, James began to imitate Christ in his life and ministries. And God helped him to obey and abide in him to answer his call to make disciples of all nations. In 2007, James started JMA Ministries , and he sent a letter to his father that God was calling him to make disciples. In a few months his father wrote, “My prayers and your mother's prayers have been answered. I am proud of you and happy to be a father of a man.” James obey the command of Christ, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” This is his mission. James is the author of 6 books including Spiritual Leadership and Cross-Cultural Missiology, and he translated Who is this Jesus? into Burmese, as well as many other evangelistic materials. Today, James and his family live in Atlanta, GA, United States. |