True Enlightenment in Christ: Praying for Buddhists

Suzanne Pearson • Apr 01, 2022

There is a Japanese adage that says, “The nail that sticks out gets hit!” This mindset of not wanting to stand out or be different from others is a pervasive way of thinking among Buddhist cultures. The cost for Buddhists to follow Christ is often great as they attract the attention of their family and friends in a way that may not be pleasant.

Over 500 million people ascribe to Buddhism worldwide , and most of those are concentrated in Asia . Countries such as China, Japan, Thailand and Myanmar have deeply rooted Buddhist traditions and beliefs, accounting for hundreds of people groups in need of the Gospel.

Over the last several months, we’ve been focusing on specific ways to pray for followers of major world religions (Get up to speed on those posts here for Hinduism , Islam and Atheism ). In this post, we focus on how to pray for Buddhists.

Buddhism holds that humanity is marked by suffering and that the ultimate goal is to achieve enlightenment (“Nirvana”) through meditation and other spiritual disciplines. Buddhism presents its own set of challenges as people need courage and conviction to bring their thinking in line with biblical truth. Here are 3 specific ways you can pray for Buddhists.


1. Pray for an understanding of the EXCLUSIVITY of the Gospel.

Jeff M., a TEAM worker in Thailand , says that many Buddhists don’t practice a “pure” form of Buddhism, but rather a mixture of Buddhist ideology along with other religious traditions and animism. Because of this pluralistic worldview, Buddhists are often open to Christian ideas but want to add them to their existing theology.

Jeff notes that it’s been said that “sharing the gospel with a Buddhist is like cutting through water with a knife – it is easy, no friction, no sparks, no conflict, but also no results after you’re done…it just goes right back to how it was.” He adds that it is difficult for Buddhists to understand the idea of absolute truth and that contradictory worldviews present a problem.

Pray for Buddhist people to comprehend the truth of Acts 4:12 , that salvation comes through Christ alone.


Group of people burning incense in the temple

For a Buddhist, the ultimate goal is to achieve enlightenment (“Nirvana”) through meditation and other spiritual disciplines. Pray for Buddhist people to find instead the light of the Gospel.


2. Pray for BOLDNESS to be counter-cultural for Christ.

Stella C. served as a TEAM missionary in Japan for 65 years, so she is no stranger to the challenges of reaching Buddhist people. ( Read more about Stella here .) She speaks of the strong family ties which govern their everyday lives. Buddhists are often afraid to speak out or go against the traditions kept by generations before them. “They think they must worship the dead and go to shrines and graveyards at various times of the year,” Stella says.

Jeff agrees. He shares a specific example of the challenges a Buddhist-turned-Christian might face:

“Young Thai men are expected to become a monk for a few weeks to a few months as repayment [to their mothers] for raising them, without which Thai mothers feel very little hope for a better reincarnation. So, if a young Thai man becomes a Christian, and refuses to enter the monkhood, you can imagine how rejected and abandoned their family (especially their mother) feels. We have a former Buddhist friend who became a Christian and thus never entered the monkhood, and he still feels guilty that he never was able to do that for his mother, even though he knows the entire system to be false!”

Pray for new believers in Christ as well as those contemplating the Gospel to have courage and boldness to follow Jesus despite the cost.



3. Pray for Buddhists to find HOPE in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

“A lot of Buddhists here don’t feel much hope for a better next life,” notes Jeff. “They believe they must ‘make merit’ to get good karma and hopefully a better reincarnation, but they often are content to settle just for better things in this life.”

Stella sees this play out in the increasing role of materialism and busyness in Japanese and Buddhist culture. “[People] are so involved with their jobs, sports, etc. that they don’t have time to think about the existence of the true God.”

Often it is only when hardships come – such as sickness or difficulties within the family – that Buddhists can begin to seek the hope that is found only in Christ. “That is an opening for the Gospel,” says Jeff. “Jesus came for the sick, not the healthy, and we don’t need to make our own merit. He is our righteousness. He covers our shame. We don’t need to make ourselves fit for him, but He has come down to our level to save us from the cycle of pain and death.”

Pray for Buddhist people to “have the eyes of their hearts enlightened, that they may know the hope to which he has called them.” ( Ephesians 1:18, ESV )


Click here to download a printable copy of this month’s Prayer Focus, with additional prayer requests from the field!

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
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By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. 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