Pastor Titus Has Passed Away

Our hearts are broken! On Sunday morning our friend Pastor Titus died suddenly from Covid-19. Titus (known as Reverend Pa Thawng) came as a refugee from Myanmar many years ago. He is from the Falam Chin group in Burma. This man became pastor of Amarillo Chin Christian Church, and then later planted his own church, Amarillo Emmanuel Revival Church, which recently took ownership of the building previously owned by Amarillo Bible Church.

Titus was a gracious, generous, joyful leader. He gave of his time as an interpreter, a social worker, a Sunday School teacher, a youth worker, a worship singer, and of course the senior pastor of the church he founded. It occurs to me today that it was he who conducted all funerals and weddings for his community, and he who did all interpreting for guest speakers. When I (Ryan) preached at his church, he was the one standing by my side. So how does the church go on? How do they even conduct a funeral, when such services always depended on him?

I spoke to my friend Hlun just now, another local Chin pastor. Hlun visited the family last night, expecting to offer encouragement and support to Titus’ wife and young daughters. Yet Hlun reported that, instead, it was them who offered all of the encouragement. It was them who were offering joy and hope in the midst of their greatest loss. Titus discipled all of those in his life about the resurrected Christ, and therefore even in his own death, his own people are rejoicing. Praise God for the testimony of a man of God!

At the same time, please pray for his wife Chin Chin, their young daughters, and their church family. Who will lead them? How can they push forward? What tremendous pain they are experiencing, even as they rejoice in Truth.