As a predominantly Buddhist nation, Thailand is only 0.69 percent Christian. However, Christian leaders in the country aren’t discouraged with this statistic. They are full of hope.
“They share a fresh unity in the body of Christ. Historically, the church in the country has been very divided,” says Dave, a One Challenge worker. “We know unity is essential for strong evangelism and nationwide church planting.”
Right Time and Place
Thai Christian leaders have been expressive in their thanks to the Lord for sending OC and the OC Global Alliance workers to help them expand the reach of the gospel. “Many are telling us that our coming is a crucial piece in God’s great plan for Thailand now,” Dave says.
At the halfway point with Thai leaders in their first pilot training, the fruit was small but encouraging. “We have 103 Outreach Bible Studies with 528 new believers,” Dave says. Although these are small numbers in comparison to some other Southeast Asian nations, Thailand is a tough area to expand the gospel.
Trainees Become the Trainers
Thai leaders are beginning to train other Thai leaders. “Some of our best Thai trainees in the pilot network are now helping us as trainers in the four following networks. Some areas of training they can already do much better than the foreign trainers as they can do it directly in Thai, without translators,” Dave says.
Pray with One Challenge
Although there are many encouraging results through this ministry in Thailand, there is still much need for prayer.
- Pray God would continue to prepare the hearts of thousands of Thai people to hear the gospel.
- Pray for Dave as he prepares the training materials. This takes a lot of thought, concentration, prayer, and perseverance.
- Pray for the fulfillment of the Thai leaders dream to see the nation become more than 1 percent Christian.
Church Planting & Growth
One Challenge is an international mission sending agency empowering local church ministry in more than 100 countries around the world. We invest in people and opportunities that enable churches to be planted, thrive, grow, and multiply. When invited by local leaders, OC conducts training for church planters and those interested in learning about disciple-making movements.
