Prayer needed for two new Pioneer Pastor Churches

1 Corinthians 3:5-9

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.  For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

We need your prayers for two pastors who are planting new Pioneer Pastor Churches.  The Pioneer Pastors are doing their part, sacrificially working in the fields, planting and watering for the Kingdom of God.  But only God can make things grow and flourish.  Your prayers help to make the new Pioneer Pastor churches to make disciples who are strong and to also plant new churches themselves.  Thank you for being co-workers together with us in the fields of Thailand.  75% of the counties (sub-districts) in Thailand are unreached, having no Christian churches.  It is these unreached counties that are our strategic focus for planting new churches, so that people can be transformed by the love of Jesus.

When a Pioneer Pastor Church is planted, the pastor and new believers at that church always have a great burden on their hearts for reaching others with the Gospel of Jesus.  They have new life in Jesus Christ, and they want to see others have the same joy that they have experienced.  Many Pioneer Pastor Churches go on to plant other churches.  This is the case with Pastor Awee (who graduated this year, receiving a Master of Divinity degree) and the God is Good Bueng Khan Church.  For the last three years, they have been evangelizing and leading a cell group in Rattana Wapi, an unreached county in Nong Khai province (see the map below) right up on the border with Laos, on the Mekong River. 

Rattana Wapi has a population of 11,000 people, most of Pastor Awee and his members have planted the first church in this county.  They meet every week for worship and prayer, and more and more people are receiving Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

Pioneer Pastor Churches many times plant new daughter churches, because church planting, evangelism, and disciple-making are baked into their DNA.  It is just what we do as Christians who have experienced the power of the Father, love of Jesus and transformation and in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit.  We want others to have this too.  

Another new Pioneer Pastor Church that needs your prayers is Hat Kham Church, which is located just a mile or so from the border of Myanmar in Prachuap Khiri Khan province (see the map below).

Hat Kham is a county with a population of 9,000 people and Pastors Wichien and Puangtaun of Kuiburi Church have been evangelizing and leading a cell group here for several years.  They have developed leaders at Hat Kham, and one of those leaders has been called by God to train for ministry to become the pastor of this new church.

Pastor Jaeng (seen in the white shirt and the center of the picture) is a widow who returned to her home village in Hat Kham after her husband died, to care for her mother who opened her home to be the base for a new church.  Pastor Jaeng is in the midst of divinity studies at Bangkok Bible Seminary, and is also leading this new church in her hometown.  All of the members of Hat Kham Church have specifically asked for prayer because there is great resistance to the Gospel, and God's intervention is needed to open hearts.  We told them that there will be many people praying for them, that they are not alone.  This made them very happy.  

Thank you for being co-workers in the mission through your prayers and support.  You make this mission possible.

https://thailandnow.org

Thailand NOW
P.O. Box 56
Mannsville, KY 42758

A New School Year Begins for our Blessing Home Kids

(Left: Maria tries out her new school uniform)

Now that the Omicron Covid Spike is over in Thailand, most Thai children are going back to in-person instruction in school for the first time in two years.  It has been a great challenge to keep the Blessing Home teens motivated to do their online studies.  They do much better with in-person instruction, so we are thrilled that the schools are opening up. 

On the left is Maria (formerly called Naet) who is in Christian foster care through the Blessing Home program.  Through your generosity, she is able to go to a private school and to receive the love of her foster parents, Dr. Somsri and Mr. Samai.   This is possible because of you and we are grateful.  Thank you.

Every time we see our Blessing Home kids in their school uniforms, we just burst with praise for God that He has changed the trajectory of the lives of these children, giving them hope in Christ and a wonderful future of good opportunities.  God is Great!  God is Wonderful!  Amen!

Another wonderful thing about the new school year of in-person instruction is that our Pioneer Pastors can once again share the Good News of Jesus Christ with school children through special events at the schools.

Although Thailand is a Buddhist majority country, many public schools allow our pastors to teach about Jesus at special events.  Pastors Dr. Wassana and her husband, Rev. Sila, of the Prasiri Wesleyan Church in Bangkok went to an Elementary School where Wassana attended as a child in Chaiyaphum Province.  

Wassana grew up in a county that had no Christian church and it is still unreached to this day.  This does not surprise us, because 75% of the counties in Thailand are unreached and have never had a Christian church.  

Dr. Wassana has a heart for reaching the people in the county where she grew up as a child, so she has formed an Evangelism Team to go to two unreached locations to begin the work of bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people.  This past week, they were able to tell stories of Jesus to the school children at the Elementary school and they also gave out Christmas Child boxes (yes, this is a little bit late, but the boxes arrived in Thailand long after Christmas had passed).

Above is a picture of Dr. Wassana and the school children who received Christmas Child boxes.

One final word of PRAISE!

Since last month, we have received generous donations towards the Building Fund for Phase 2 of the Abundant Life Training Center.  We have now received $102,000, which is enough to construct a church building (which will also be used for training and seminars for the Abundant Life Financial Training Program) and to build a house for May and Teddy, who serve as staff with us.  We will begin construction on the church in the next few months.  We are waiting for a few months to let the rain pack down the dirt that was used to fill up the land above flood levels.  This is necessary so that the foundation will not settle and crack.  

Now we are only $38,000 from our goal, which will help to construct an Kitchen and Restrooms Building as well as a small Office building.

If you would like to donate to this construction project, be sure to designate your gift to the Building Fund.

All donations can be done by check or online.

Checks may be sent by mail to:

Thailand NOW

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

Online donations can be given through our website at: https://thailandnow.org/donate/

 

One Outstanding Day of Amazing Blessings

Last week, we traveled to Phetchabun province for the graduation ceremony of the Thailand Theological Seminary (TTS).  TTS is one of the four seminaries (Global Theological Institute, Phayao Bible Seminary, and Bangkok Bible Seminary are the other three) that we send Pioneer Pastors for ministerial studies.  Over the past 16 years, we have had the great privilege of sponsoring the theological education of 123 full-time pastors and Christian workers.  And we have attended and participated in many graduation ceremonies.  But this one was truly amazing.

First, it was amazing because five Pioneer Pastors earned their Doctor of Ministry degrees, which is the first time any of the pastors who serve alongside us have reached this level of education.  We have seen a trend across many seminaries in Thailand.  For a long time, Thai seminaries have relied on professors from the United States and South Korea to come to teach one or two week block classes because there were not enough qualified Thai professors to teach all of the classes needed.  But now that more and more Thai pastors are earning their doctorate degrees, these seminaries are able to employ Thai professors.  

Second, there was a total of 11 Pioneer Pastors who graduated on this day, 5 Doctor of Ministry degrees, 4 earned Master of Divinity degrees, and 2 earned Bachelor of Ministry degrees.

Here are some of the Pioneer Pastors who graduated on this wonderful day:

(ABOVE: From left to right) Dr. Warin (D.Min.) of Fire of Glory Church, Rev. Santi (B.Min.) of Sukhothai Church, Dr. Somsri (D. Min.) of Fire of Glory Church, Rev. Moss of Fire of Glory Church.

(ABOVE: From left to right) Rev. Nuch of God is Good Church, Dr. Sherri Morrissey, Dr. Narayuth (Peter) of God is Good Church, Rev. Mike Morrissey, Rev. Awee of Buengkan Church.

 

(ABOVE: From left to right) Rev. Mike Morrissey, Rev. Sila (M.Div.) of Prasiri Wesleyan Church, Dr. Wassana (D. Min.) of Prasiri Wesleyan Church, and Dr. Sherri Morrissey.

Third, what made this day to be truly outstanding was the large scale of the graduation ceremony.  Over 280 people graduated on this day, making it by far the largest graduation ceremony of any Thai seminary that we have experienced.  With these many graduates, we can feel the momentum of rapid growth of Christianity in Thailand.  We extend our applause and admiration to Dr. Wallapa who is president of the Thailand Theological Seminary for her fruitful ministry and tireless labor for the Kingdom of God.  She is an anointed servant of the Lord!

Finally, Sherri and I would like to wish all of you a Blessed Easter!  Jesus is Risen! Hallelujah!