Thailand NOW celebrates the Grand Opening of the Abundant Life Training Center

 

On October 9, we celebrated the Grand Opening of the Abundant Life Training Center and it was truly a joyous event that was attended by regional Christian pastors and leaders as well as local government officials.  

(Above is a picture of Mike, Pastor Somsri (Mentoring Pastor of the Pioneer Pastor Program), and Sherri cutting the ribbon to enter the large meeting room.)

The Abundant Life Training Center gives our mission the ability to train many more people in the Abundant Life Financial Training Program and the Pioneer Pastor Pastors program and to do this much more economically too.

We give special thanks to our brothers and sisters of Rolling Plains Methodist Church of Zanesville, Ohio for sending a vision team and the funding needed for this Grand Opening celebration.  This vision team of four women travelled with us to many ministries in Thailand, and they served as Prayer Warriors, praying individually with hundreds of Thai people.  The prayers of God's people are the powerhouse of the mission

(Below is a picture of the Rolling Plains Methodist Church Vision Team at the Grand Opening Celebration)

Thailand NOW National Mission Rachada "May" Kuntisa serves as the director of the Abundant Life Training Center and her husband "Teddy" helps her in numerous ways to make things work.  We are blessed to have them serve with us at the Abundant Life Training Center.  (Below are pictures of us and Thai pastors praying for May and Teddy. and also a group picture.)

Our first training event will be a Pastors Training on October 21-24.  We still do not yet have dormitories built so the pastors and their families coming to the training must stay at hotels.  We are now in our final phase of fundraising to build two large dormitory buildings that can accommodate 72 people.  This will allow us to save a lot of money, since we will no longer need to use hotels for trainees to stay at.

For the Final Phase of fundraising for these two large dormitory buildings, we need to raise $242,000, and we just began fundraising in September.

(Below is a graphic showing our progress, which is slow because we have just begun.)

Donations can be given through the mail to:

Thailand NOW

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

Or Online at: hptts://thailandnow.org/donate-2/

Be sure to designate your gift to the Building Fund.

Blessings in the name of JESUS,

Mike and Sherri Morrissey

Executive Directors of Thailand NOW

Final Phase of Construction of the Abundant Life Training Center

 Sherri and I are grateful for the generosity that is making this training center possible. This training center is an absolute necessity for our mission to keep up with the rapid growth and multiplication of the churches. The Abundant Life Training Center will greatly increase the numbers of clergy and laity we can train in the Abundant Life Financial Training Program and the Pioneer Pastor Program. Through your generosity, Phases 1 through 3 have been completed without incurring any debt:

• Land was purchased and was filled up with seven feet of landfill;
• A strong retainer wall was built;
• A house was built for the Director of the Abundant Life Training Center;
• A large meeting room that can seat over 200 people was contructed;
• A kitchen / restroom building was constructed;
• 220v - 3 phase electricity was brought in and a large transformer was installed;
• City water was brought in and a special filtration system with water storage tanks was built.

Now we are in the process of building a security wall and two large front gates and signage.  The funds have already been received for this.  Now we will begin fundraising for the Final Phase of construction, which are 2 large dormitory buildings that can accommodate 36 people in each building. 

Above is the blueprint (I know it is difficult to view).  Each building is made to have women on one side and men on the other with separate restrooms that include showers.  We are using the best of insulation materials so that utility costs will be as low as possible.

The cost to construct each building will be $121,000 each for a total of $242,000.

As funds come in, we will first build the foundation for both buildings.  We must do both foundations at the same time because the foundations must rest upon very long reinforced concrete columns that are hammered into the ground to reach bedrock.  This hammering process shakes the ground, and would risk damaging any nearby building.  So that is why we have the foundation of the buildings in orange above.  

Then we will construct one building and then the next as funds come in.

Sherri and I are asking all supporting churches to take a special Christmas offering for this project.  Please be sure to designate your offering for the BUILDING FUND.

Checks can be mailed to: Thailand NOW, P.O. Box 56, Mannsville, KY 42758

OR give online at https://thailandnow.org/donate-2/

Our 106th New Church Plant (It is the 50th Pioneer Pastor Church, being the first church in an unreached county)

Eighteen years ago, when Sherri and I came to Thailand to serve as missionaries, our mission was to plant churches in unreached parts of Thailand, specifically in counties (sub-districts) that have no Christian churches at all.  Our first church was planted in 2007 in Bowin, a county of 150,000 in population that had no church.  Most of the time, when we plant a church, that church will go on to plant another church (or more) within the first year or two.  Bowin church was no exception, and they went on to plant three more Pioneer Pastor Churches. Grace Church in Nonsomboon (where the Blessing Home Isan Center is located) was one of those three  Now Grace Church has now planted 2 other churches.

Run Now Mission Church is the second Pioneer Pastor church planted by Grace Church and will be led by Pastor Korawit (see his picture below).  Pastor Korawit has moved from the Korat region (where Grace Church is located) to Nakhon Si Thammarat province, far away in Southern Thailand.  Run Now Mission Church is being planted in Tha Ngio.  Tha Ngio is a county of 14,000 people with no Christian church in the county.  

The new church will be named Run Now Mission Church, and we are working in partnership with Think Small organization to start children and youth ministries there.  Pastor Korawit has rented a building that is a quarter mile away from the university.  The left side will be the church building and the right side will be for two businesses so that Pastor Korawit’s family and the church can be self-supporting. 

Pastor Korawit’s business is installing CCTV security systems, remote control gates and doors,  and fiber optic networks.  His wife Pla will operate a food kiosk in front of Pastor Korawit’s business.  Funds from Thailand NOW are being used to rent the building for the next 6-months (to give time for their businesses to set up and become profitable) as well as equipment needed for the church and businesses. 

This church is the 106^th church planted through Thailand NOW and the 50^th Pioneer Pastor Church.

Please pray for Pastor Korawit and Pla that hearts will be open to Jesus as they share the Gospel with people, the vast majority of whom will hear the Good News of Jesus for the first time.  Please pray that their new businesses will thrive so that they can support themselves in ministry. 

Sherri and I thank you for your prayers and generosity which make all of the ministries of Thailand NOW possible.  You are a vital link in this chain of blessing.

If the Lord leads you to donate...

Checks for Thailand NOW can be mailed to:

Thailand NOW

P.O. Box 56

Mannsville, KY 42758

OR Donate Online at our website >> https://thailandnow.org/donate-2/