Christian Ministries Rush Aid to Myanmar and Thailand after Deadly Earthquake

Samaritan’s Purse and the Southern Baptist Convention are among the Christian ministries sending relief to Myanmar and Thailand in the aftermath of an earthquake that ravaged both countries and left at least 2,700 dead. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay on Friday and was followed 12 minutes later by a 6.4 magnitude aftershock that served as a 1-2 punch to the region’s houses, businesses and skyscrapers. 

Most of the dead have been reported in Myanmar, where collapsed buildings and overwhelmed hospitals have left communities reeling and survivors desperate for aid. Viral videos recorded in nearby Bangkok, Thailand, showed a 33-story high-rise under construction collapsing to the ground with workers running for their lives. 

A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. pic.twitter.com/wOb65quagE

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 28, 2025

Bodies are still being pulled from the rubble in Myanmar, where the country’s tightly controlled information environment has limited the flow of updates. It operates under a repressive military regime that enforces strict censorship, suppresses free speech and controls the media. 

Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief ministry headed by Franklin Graham, is sending relief to the region. 

.@SamaritansPurse is responding to help in Myanmar after the tragic #earthquake there. #PRAY pic.twitter.com/5o7yxC1SB7

— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) April 1, 2025

“Samaritan’s Purse has over 30 years of history working in Myanmar, and I was able to preach there in 2016,” Graham said. “Pray for these suffering people and for our teams as we respond to bring help in Jesus’ Name.”

The ministry is sending a DC-8 cargo plane loaded with supplies. Samaritan’s Purse will set up a “tier 3 hospital” with two operating rooms, an emergency room, in-patient wards, a pharmacy, a laboratory and a “staff of 80-130 with the necessary supplies,” Graham said.

“This includes doctors, nurses, water specialists, technicians, and other Disaster Assistance Response Team members to help in this crisis,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We will be sending multiple flights as we take in more equipment and supplies to sustain the hospital and provide relief, including blankets, emergency shelter material, hygiene kits, and other items.”

Meanwhile, Send Relief, the compassion ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention, also is mobilizing. Baptist Press reported that the convention is responding through local partners and churches to provide food, water, emergency shelter, clothing, blankets, sanitation items, and flashlights.

“Our partners on the ground and local church leaders are already hard at work, serving their neighbors in the midst of this devastation,” said Jason Cox, Send Relief’s international vice president. “As rescue workers scramble to save people buried under collapsed homes and buildings, Send Relief is providing resources to our local ministry partners who are urgently meeting survivors’ needs.”

John Williams, co-director of Hawaii Pacific Baptist Disaster Relief -- which partners with the SBC -- said his ministry has “received word from local churches already taking action, meeting urgent needs, and sharing the love of Jesus.”

Related Article: Myanmar Devastated by Strongest Earthquake in over a Century as Death Toll Climbs Past 1,600

Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Franklin Graham 

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. 

Originally published April 01, 2025.