Pioneer Pastor Churches Outgrow Their Rented Buildings

In most cases, new Pioneer Pastor Churches start out as cell groups in a home of a believer (or someone who is not yet a believer but is a "person of peace".  Then the group grows much larger than what can fit into a home, so another building is rented.  And usually the church will then outgrow any space that can be rented and a church campus must be built.  We have several Pioneer Pastor Churches that are having new church campuses built.

Phato Church in Chumphon Province is one of those churches that have far outgrown their rented commercial building and are now in the process of constructing a new church building.

Pastors Manop and Nikk of Lamae Church have planted four Pioneer Pastor Churches, and the one at Phato has become very strong.  Thailand NOW provided seminary scholarships for two members to graduate with M.Div. degrees and they are now leading this church.

Lamae Church (the mother church) and Phato Church (the daughter church) have had Abundant Life Savings Groups in both churches for many years.  Through the biblical teaching and practical finance management lessons learned in the Abundant Life Financial Training Program, the families in both churches have become financially strong and this has made the churches strong.  

Lamae and Phato Churches bought the land themselves and have raised most of the funds for construction.  And they are providing ALL of the labor.  Thailand Now is helping with funds to get this construction project across the finish line faster, because the church is so overcrowded that it is beyond standing room only and people must stand outside.

Below is an artist's drawing of what the building will look like when completed.

The Abundant Life Financial Training Program is an essential component of planting churches in unreached areas of Thailand through the Pioneer Pastor Program.  When the families in the churches apply biblical principles to the family and small business financial management, they thrive.  They get our of debt and stay out of debt.  They save up emergency funds so they don't have to borrow money.  They save up money and invest to grow their small businesses.  And when the churches are filled with strong families, these churches are "Three-Self Churches" meaning they are  Self-Supporting, Self-Leading, and Self-Multiplying. And when you have Three-Self Churches, you have a movement that advances the gospel of Jesus across the land.

We are grateful for the generous donations that Thailand NOW receives to do the Lord's ministry in Thailand, including construction and expansion of church buildings.  Thailand NOW has also donated to make a new carport and to put a new layer of gravel on the road for Fire of Glory Church.

Please pray for us, as we travel back to Thailand on November 18.  We hit the ground running and have a packed itinerary.  Please pray for safety in travel.

YOUR DONATIONS MAKE THIS MISSION POSSIBLE

If the Lord leads you to support Thailand NOW mission, you can donate by mail, online, or with estate gifts.

Donations by mail:  Checks can be made to Thailand NOW and sent to our treasurer at Thailand NOW, P.O. Box 56, Mannsville, KY 42758

Donations online:  Visit our website at >  https://thailandnow.org/donate

Gifts of stocks, bonds and other estate gifts: Please contact our treasurer, Terri Gabehart via email at terrigabe@windstream.net

Bangkok Flooding and Blessing Home Graduates Answer the Call to Ministry

Bangkok Flooding

There has been terrible floods in Bangkok and other provinces in Thailand and this has had horrible impact on the poorest of the poor, who live in the lowest lying places where flooding hits the hardest.  The poorest of the poor usually have no furniture and no shelving, so there is no way for them to lift their belongings up high above the flood waters.  They have lost everything to the filthy sewage flood water, their bed mats, their clothes, the bags of rice and other foodstuffs.  They have had to huddle in whatever place they can find that is dry.

Blessing Home Minburi in Bangkok had to shut down for 2 weeks because of the flooding.  The church and Blessing Home center was not flooded, but the homes of the Blessing Home kids were flooded and they could not make it to the center.  Now the floods have subsided, and it is time for people to help those in need.  We have sent extra funding to Pastor Wassana, director of Blessing Home Minburi, to help people to get food, blankets, sleeping mats, and clothing.  We thank everyone for your faithful giving that allows us to have emergency funds on hand to respond quickly to crises like these.  

Blessing Home Isan Graduates Answer the Call to Ministry

Blessing Home Isan Teens and Graduates have been working with Pastor Corn to plant Pioneer Pastor churches in three locations: Ban Rat, Satakhian, and Sukpaiboon.  Three of the Blessing Home graduates have been vital in this church planting effort and now the Lord has called them to train for ministry.

Pastor Corn, Director of Blessing Home Isan and Pastor of Grace Church in Nonsomboon contacted us to recommend Kaimook, Red, and Oum to receive seminary scholarships.  Once again, we want to thank you for your faithful giving, that has made it possible for us to have funds on hand to give them an immediate and enthusiastic answer of "YES!".  Kaimook, the young woman in the picture below, will be entering studies in the Bachelor of Ministry degree program.  

Red, the Thai young man in the picture above, and his fiancé Oum, have begun studies in the Master of Divinity degree program.

Matthew 9:37-38
 “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Please pray for many other to answer the call to ministry to plant Pioneer Pastor churches, so that every county in Thailand will have at least one thriving church, because EVERYBODY NEEDS JESUS!!!

YOUR DONATIONS MAKE THIS MISSION POSSIBLE

If the Lord leads you to support Thailand NOW mission, you can donate by mail, online, or with estate gifts.

Donations by mail:  Checks can be made to Thailand NOW and sent to our treasurer at Thailand NOW, P.O. Box 56, Mannsville, KY 42758

Donations online:  Visit our website at >  https://thailandnow.org/donate

Gifts of stocks, bonds and other estate gifts: Please contact our treasurer, Terri Gabehart via email at terrigabe@windstream.net

This past Sunday, my father, Mike Morrissey Sr., passed away.  For the past few years, each time we have travelled to serve overseas, I have been concerned that I may not see my Dad again.  My Dad's health has been in deep decline, and he has had to be admitted to the hospital frequently.  My Dad has taken a few falls in the last few weeks, but this past one on Saturday was real bad.  He had a brain bleed that did severe damage.  Although I am grieving, I praise the Lord that I was in the States at the time to be with him right up until the end.  Even though I grieve, I praise the Lord that my father is not suffering with the pain that he had been bearing for the past few years.

I looked in past blogs, and I found this picture from 2014 when my Dad visited us in Thailand.  In this picture, he is praying blessings on a new Pioneer Pastor Church Plant with Pastors Jennifer, Peter, Apple, Nuch, and a lay member of God is Good Church in Chonburi.  Back then, Dad was strong and robust in body and spirit.

The other blessing that Sherri and I have is that we have a great support system.  We have been humbled by the showering of words of sympathy and prayers of comfort.  God is good and so are His people!  

Dad was a faithful supporter of the Blessing Home Centers, which save and protect children and teens from the child sex and drug trades.  When he first started supporting this ministry, we had one center with ten children.  Now we have expanded to five centers and provide services to over 150 children.  

A Blessing Home scholarship costs $600 annually, and helps provide school uniforms, food, transportation to school, afterschool classes, Bible clubs, and medical and dental care to give these kids a different trajectory in life, a new life of hope built upon Jesus.

If you, or your Sunday School class, or small group would like to support a Blessing Home child, you can designate your donation.

If you are sending a check, put BLESSING HOME in the memo section of the check and mail to: Thailand NOW, P.O. Box 56, Mannsville, KY 42758

If you are giving online, you can select BLESSING HOME has your designation.  You can give online through our website >> https://thailandnow.org/donate-2/

Thank you for your faithful prayers and generous donations that make this mission possible.

Blessings in Christ,

Mike Morrissey Jr.