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The first sight in Burma that caught Adoniram Judson's eye that July morning in 1813 was the massive Shwedagon pagoda. In this new millennium, the gleaming gold spire of Buddhism's most sacred shrine is still a magnet for the eye amidst the smog of a bustling, crowded city. In one sense, little has changed since the young missionaries first stood on the shores of the "Golden Kingdom." Then it was one of the poorest lands in Asia. In spite of strategic natural resources, it still is. Human rights organizations list Myanmar (modern-day Burma) as one of the most repressed nations on earth.

Nevertheless, something is strikingly different. Along with the pagodas, the spires of many churches dot the skyline. Judson set a goal for himself that first year: During his lifetime, he would translate the Bible into the language of the people and see a little church of 100 members. In reality, when he died in 1850, he left the entire Bible in Burmese, 100 churches, and over 8,000 believers—now grown to several million. Moreover, the Judsons' work had repercussions among Baptists in America that they could never have dreamed of. Both at home and abroad, the Judsons left an indelible mark on missions history.

For the Baptist mission in Burma, the period from Judson's death until the end of the American Civil War was a time of uncertainty and change. But the formation of the Burma Baptist Mission Convention in 1865—with the stated goal of promoting an indigenous church—consolidated the work. As the 19th and early 20th centuries progressed, more Baptist missionaries (among them two of Judson's own grandchildren) were joined by Methodists and Anglicans. New emphasis was given to the training of national Christian leaders. Medical and agricultural work, industrial schools, Bible translation, and publication of Christian literature expanded as the missions grew. By the time the centennial celebration of the first mission to Burma took place in 1913, a remarkable 78 percent of the 900 Burmese churches were self-supporting, and the Baptist mission in Burma was recognized as one of the most successful in the world.

Judson had once said that making a convert in Rangoon was "like drawing the eye-tooth of a live tiger," so deeply was Buddhism entrenched in the culture. Consequently, it was not among the majority "Bhama" ethnic group that Protestant (and also Roman Catholic) missionaries had the most success, but among the numerous non-Buddhist tribal groups in the hills and jungles. The Karen, once called the "Wild People," are at least 40 percent Christian today. The Kachin tribe is 90 percent Christian, and the Chin tribe 95 percent.

The church in Burma/Myanmar continues to thrive in spite of more than a century of wars, oppression, discrimination, and the corrosion of unity among the various Christian groups. With only 49 million people, including 4 million Christians, Myanmar has the third largest number of Baptists of any nation—over 2 million. Only the United States and India have more.

Many individual Christians throughout Myanmar can trace their spiritual roots back to the 19th century. Ah Vong, the Chinese-Burmese printer who helped publish the first edition of Judson's Burmese Bible, became the patriarch of a huge family of Burmese believers. The Ah Vong clan continues to produce leading Christian pastors, doctors, theologians, and educators. One Ah Vong descendant married the first Burmese president of Rangoon's prestigious Judson College. Zau T. Win, a prominent senior member of the Burmese delegation to the United Nations, proudly traces his Baptist ancestry to U Khway and Daw Pu Le, great-great-great-grandparents who were baptized by Judson nearly two centuries ago.

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