A Faithful Servant, Visionary Educator, and Pillar of the Myanmar Assemblies of God
LIVING WATER MEDIA | August 21, 2026
The Myanmar Assemblies of God and the wider Pentecostal community are mourning the passing—and celebrating the remarkable life—of Rev. U Ngwa Ye Yaw, a respected denominational statesman, visionary Christian educator, and spiritual father who faithfully served the Lord and His Church for decades.
Rev. Ngwa Ye Yaw entered eternal rest in Japan on Friday, August 21, 2026, at the age of 85. His homegoing celebrates the completion of a faithful earthly ministry and the beginning of an enduring legacy within the Assemblies of God of Myanmar.
His influence continues through the national fellowship he helped strengthen, the theological institutions he served, the ministers he encouraged, and the churches reached through the workers he helped equip.
For approximately 21 years, Rev. Ngwa served as General Secretary of the General Council of the Assemblies of God of Myanmar. Long before assuming that national office, however, he had already demonstrated a deep commitment to biblical education and practical ministry training—most notably through his leadership in establishing Living Water Bible School in Myitkyina.
He will be remembered not merely as a leader who held important positions, but as a servant who used those responsibilities to equip others, preserve unity, strengthen the Church, and advance the gospel.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
—2 Timothy 4:7, NIV
A Life Given to the Service of Christ
Rev. Ngwa Ye Yaw belonged to a generation of indigenous Pentecostal leaders who carried the work of the gospel through decades of political restriction, economic hardship, geographical isolation, and limited institutional resources.
Following the departure of foreign missionaries from Myanmar in 1966, responsibility for governing churches, training ministers, financing missions, and extending the gospel rested increasingly upon national leaders. Rev. Ngwa emerged within this historic transition as one of the leaders who helped the Myanmar Assemblies of God mature into a resilient indigenous movement.
His ministry reflected a clear conviction: the Church in Myanmar must be spiritually vibrant, biblically grounded, administratively responsible, and capable of equipping its own workers.
Serving in a country of considerable ethnic, linguistic, and regional diversity required more than public preaching. It demanded patience, wisdom, collaboration, cultural understanding, and an unwavering commitment to the unity of the body of Christ.
Those who knew and served with Rev. Ngwa remembered him as an honest, upright, humble, and steadfast servant of God. His leadership was respected because it arose from Christian character rather than personal ambition.
Twenty-One Years of National Leadership
From 1990 to 2011, Rev. Ngwa Ye Yaw served for approximately 21 years as General Secretary of the General Council of the Assemblies of God of Myanmar.
His long tenure made him one of the most enduring executive leaders in the history of the national fellowship.
The responsibility of the General Secretary extended beyond correspondence and recordkeeping. The office occupied a central place in communication and coordination among the General Council’s executive leadership, district councils, ministers, churches, and educational institutions.
Rev. Ngwa served during an important period of denominational development. The Myanmar Assemblies of God was expanding across multiple ethnic and geographical regions while navigating serious political, economic, social, and religious challenges.
Maintaining cooperation within such a diverse national fellowship required both administrative competence and spiritual maturity. Rev. Ngwa provided continuity, stability, and trusted leadership while churches, district ministries, and Bible schools continued to grow.
His legacy must therefore be measured not only by the ministries directly associated with his name, but also by the organizational strength and unity he helped preserve for future generations.
A Trusted Witness to Myanmar AG History
Rev. Ngwa Ye Yaw also contributed directly to the preservation of Myanmar Assemblies of God history.
On September 2, 2000, historian and theologian Saw Tint Sann Oo interviewed him in Yangon. Information from that interview was later published in the scholarly article, “The History of the Assemblies of God Theological Education in Myanmar: Development of the Assemblies of God Bible Schools,” in the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies in 2014.
The study identifies him as the General Secretary of the General Council of the Assemblies of God of Myanmar and cites his testimony regarding the development of Evangel Bible Institute, Living Water Bible School, and regional theological education.
Rev. Ngwa was not merely an observer describing events from a distance. He had personally participated in the history he recounted. His testimony therefore became an important primary source for preserving the story of theological education and church growth within the Myanmar Assemblies of God.
Through that interview, his firsthand knowledge was preserved for future historians, educators, ministers, and church leaders.
A Champion of Pentecostal Education
One of the strongest and most clearly documented themes of Rev. Ngwa’s ministry was his commitment to theological education.
He understood that Pentecostal experience and biblical instruction must work together. Christian ministry depends upon the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, but faithful ministers must also know the Scriptures, teach sound doctrine, shepherd congregations responsibly, and discern theological error.
Rev. Ngwa served as Secretary of the School Board of Evangel Bible Institute in Myitkyina, Kachin State. EBI became an important all-Myanmar institution for training pastors, evangelists, Sunday school teachers, and other Christian workers.
The institute combined classroom instruction with practical ministry. Students participated in chapel preaching, weekend evangelism, Sunday school teaching, pastoral service, and outreach through local churches.
Rev. Ngwa later confirmed that many Assemblies of God churches in Myitkyina were established with the active assistance of EBI students. His testimony revealed an important principle of his educational vision: theological education should never remain confined to the classroom. It must produce evangelism, discipleship, pastoral ministry, and church planting.
Establishing Living Water Bible School
Rev. Ngwa Ye Yaw’s most distinctive educational contribution was his leadership in the establishment of Living Water Bible School in Myitkyina.
According to the historical record based upon his 2000 interview, the Number 1 District Council opened the school in 1981 through his leadership, while he was serving as Secretary of the Evangel Bible Institute School Board.
Living Water Bible School was created to address the practical barriers that prevented many called men and women from receiving ministry training.
The school was intended especially for:
- Those who did not meet the educational qualifications required for EBI’s diploma program.
- Those unable to leave their families, occupations, churches, or ministry fields for several continuous years.
- Rural believers and emerging workers who needed accessible biblical instruction.
- Evangelists requiring urgent preparation for ministry among Chinese Lisu communities.
- Students who could learn more effectively through Lisu or Myanmar-language instruction.
This initiative did not lower the Church’s commitment to sound theological education. Instead, it extended biblical training to people who might otherwise have been excluded because of education, language, geography, or personal circumstances.
Living Water Bible School reflected Rev. Ngwa’s conviction that when God calls people into ministry, the Church should help remove unnecessary obstacles and provide them with faithful biblical preparation.
A Flexible and Accessible Training Model
Living Water Bible School initially required students to complete a three-month Bible course each year for three years. This flexible arrangement allowed rural and bivocational workers to receive training without permanently leaving their families, churches, and ministry fields.
The program later developed into a one-year Certificate of Theology, commonly abbreviated as C.Th.
In 1995, Living Water Bible School became an extension program of Evangel Bible Institute in Myitkyina. This development brought the accessible, locally focused school into a more formal relationship with an established theological institution.
The school’s history demonstrates Rev. Ngwa’s ability to hold two essential values together:
- The importance of structured and recognized theological education.
- The need for flexible, culturally appropriate, and linguistically accessible ministry preparation.
His vision was both educational and missional. He did not simply ask how the Church could maintain a school; he asked how the Church could equip more believers to answer God’s call.
Ministry in the Languages of the People
Living Water Bible School’s use of both Lisu and Myanmar was an important part of its ministry.
Language can either open or close the door to theological understanding. By supporting instruction in the languages students understood, the school enabled future ministers to study biblical truth more deeply and communicate the gospel more effectively within their communities.
This approach reflected a vital principle of indigenous Christian education: ministers are most effectively prepared when theological instruction takes their language, culture, location, and ministry context seriously.
Rev. Ngwa’s educational vision therefore reached far beyond a single institution. It represented an inclusive approach in which academic limitations, linguistic differences, and geographical isolation should not unnecessarily prevent genuinely called believers from receiving ministry training.
Connecting Education With Evangelism
For Rev. Ngwa, a Bible school was not an institution separated from the local church. Theological education, evangelism, and church planting belonged together.
Students received biblical and ministerial formation and then served congregations, assisted pastors, taught children and adults, evangelized communities, and entered new mission fields. Local churches, in turn, supported the schools and provided practical environments in which students could grow.
The purpose was not education for personal status or academic recognition. It was education for Christian service.
This remains one of Rev. Ngwa’s most relevant legacies. Pentecostal theological education fulfills its mission most faithfully when sound doctrine, spiritual formation, evangelism, pastoral care, and church planting remain inseparable.
Leadership Marked by Integrity
Administrative positions may provide influence, but they cannot create spiritual authority. Spiritual authority grows from character, faithfulness, humility, and service.
Testimonies concerning Rev. Ngwa consistently describe him as:
- Honest and upright.
- Humble and dependable.
- Steadfast in Christian service.
- Collaborative rather than self-promoting.
- Committed to the unity and welfare of the Church.
- Faithful in both public responsibility and less visible service.
He demonstrated that administration can become a spiritual ministry. Records, meetings, schools, policies, and organizational structures were not ends in themselves. They were instruments through which the Church could serve people, strengthen ministers, and fulfill the Great Commission.
His approximately 21 years of national service reflected the trust placed in both his competence and his character.
A Spiritual Father After National Office
Rev. Ngwa’s ministry did not end when his service as General Secretary concluded.
From 2018 until 2026, he continued serving as a patron and senior adviser of New Creation Assembly Church. In this later season of life, he offered pastoral wisdom, ministerial mentorship, encouragement, and guidance to younger leaders.
His willingness to continue serving without dependence upon an executive title revealed the heart of a spiritual father.
He did not need national office to remain useful to the Kingdom of God. His wisdom, prayers, experience, and presence continued to bless the local church and succeeding generations of ministers.
True Christian leadership is demonstrated not only by accepting authority, but also by preparing others, releasing responsibility, and continuing to encourage those who carry the work forward.
His Place in the Growth of the Myanmar Assemblies of God
Saw Tint Sann Oo’s historical study reported that the Myanmar Assemblies of God had grown to approximately 1,200 congregations and more than 150,000 members by the period reflected in the research.
These figures represent the broader growth of the national fellowship rather than the achievement of any one individual. That growth belongs ultimately to God and reflects the collective labor of missionaries, national executives, pastors, educators, evangelists, church planters, students, congregations, and praying believers.
Nevertheless, Rev. Ngwa’s contribution was substantial. His influence can be traced through:
- More than two decades of national administrative continuity.
- Stronger cooperation among churches and leadership bodies.
- His service to Evangel Bible Institute in Myitkyina.
- Accessible theological training for rural and linguistically diverse workers.
- The establishment and development of Living Water Bible School.
- The integration of theological education with evangelism and church planting.
- His preservation of important historical information.
- His mentorship and counsel to succeeding generations.
His work became part of the framework through which countless others were able to fulfill their callings.
A Devoted Husband, Father, and Grandfather
Behind Rev. Ngwa’s public ministry stood a family that shared the responsibilities and sacrifices of Christian service.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Rev. Sayama Ah Tar; his children, Ko Yaw B and Ma Phyu Phyu Win; and his grandchildren, Joseph Oo, Hnaung Kay, Gail Gail, and Keiji.
The family memorial identifies Ko Yaw B and Ma Phyu Phyu Win with HWC Yangon Church, Zone 10.
Living Water Media joins the Myanmar Assemblies of God, fellow ministers, churches, students, friends, and believers around the world in extending heartfelt condolences to Rev. Ngwa’s wife, children, grandchildren, relatives, and all who were personally touched by his life.
We pray that the God of all comfort will strengthen the family, sustain them in their grief, and surround them with His peace through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Lessons From His Life
Rev. U Ngwa Ye Yaw’s life offers enduring lessons for the Myanmar Assemblies of God and the wider Pentecostal movement.
1. Character is the foundation of Christian leadership
Titles are temporary, but integrity leaves a multigenerational legacy. Rev. Ngwa’s honesty, humility, and steadfastness strengthened every institution he served.
2. Administration is also ministry
Healthy structures do not replace the work of the Holy Spirit. When faithfully governed, they create stability through which evangelism, education, accountability, and church planting can flourish.
3. Pentecostal experience and biblical education belong together
Dependence upon the Holy Spirit should deepen—not diminish—a minister’s commitment to Scripture, sound doctrine, and disciplined preparation.
4. Ministry training must be accessible
Financial limitations, academic qualifications, geographical isolation, and language differences should not unnecessarily prevent called believers from receiving biblical training.
5. Theological education must serve the local church
The purpose is not merely to produce graduates but to prepare pastors, teachers, evangelists, missionaries, and church planters.
6. A calling is greater than an office
Rev. Ngwa continued serving after leaving national leadership, demonstrating that Christian ministry is rooted in calling rather than position.
7. Faithful leaders prepare the next generation
His educational and advisory ministries demonstrated that a leader’s greatest legacy may be found in the people equipped to continue the work.
An Enduring Legacy
Rev. U Ngwa Ye Yaw’s earthly ministry has concluded, but its fruit remains.
It remains in the history he helped preserve.
It remains in Living Water Bible School and the wider tradition of accessible Pentecostal education.
It remains in the pastors, teachers, evangelists, and church planters shaped by the institutions he served.
It remains in the national fellowship to which he devoted approximately 21 years of executive leadership.
It remains with the younger leaders who received his counsel, prayers, and encouragement.
Above all, his life bears witness that faithful service—often quiet, demanding, and unseen by the wider world—is precious in the sight of God.
The Church therefore mourns with hope. For those who belong to Jesus Christ, death is not the end. It is a departure from earthly labor into the presence of the Lord.
Rev. Ngwa Ye Yaw has finished his earthly course. The responsibility now passes to another generation: to preserve the faith, proclaim the gospel, equip workers, plant churches, and serve with the same humility and integrity that characterized his life.
“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
—2 Timothy 4:8, NIV
Well done, faithful servant. Your labor in the Lord was not in vain.
Biographical Timeline
| Year | Ministry milestone |
|---|---|
| 1981 | Living Water Bible School was established in Myitkyina through his leadership while he served as Secretary of the Evangel Bible Institute School Board. |
| 1990 | Began serving as General Secretary of the General Council of the Assemblies of God of Myanmar. |
| 1995 | Living Water Bible School became an extension program of Evangel Bible Institute in Myitkyina. |
| 2000 | Interviewed in Yangon by Saw Tint Sann Oo, providing valuable primary-source information about theological education and church planting within the Myanmar Assemblies of God. |
| 2011 | Concluded approximately 21 years of faithful service as General Secretary. |
| 2018–2026 | Served as patron and senior adviser of New Creation Assembly Church, offering pastoral wisdom and mentorship to succeeding generations. |
| August 21, 2026 | Entered eternal rest in Japan at the age of 85. |
Sources
- Official condolence proclamation of the General Council of the Assemblies of God of Myanmar, August 2026.
- Family and HWC Yangon memorial announcement.
- Saw Tint Sann Oo, “The History of the Assemblies of God Theological Education in Myanmar: Development of the Assemblies of God Bible Schools,” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2014, pp. 187–206.
- Saw Tint Sann Oo’s interview with Rev. Ngwa Ye Yaw, Yangon, September 2, 2000.
- Church and family biographical information supplied for this commemorative article.
Published by Living Water Media
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