TRIPARTITE Relationship

Servant of the Lord in the Missions Committee of Grace Methodist Church.

God has called his Church to participate in the Missio Dei – God’s mission to establish His kingdom on earth. To do so, it is necessary for the local church to look beyond its walls and examine how it could serve the community through acts of witnessing, justice, and mercy. This includes the realm of cross-cultural missions, in support of missionaries who often serve in places where Christian witness is scarce and people have not experienced the love of Christ.

Grace Methodist Church (GMC) is a mid-sized church in the Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) which recently celebrated its 50th birthday (Jubilee year) in November 2020. GMC prides itself on being a missions-minded church which has sent out many long-term missionaries in the past. We are also the home church of Rev Cassandra Lee, who has been serving in full-time ministry in Chiang Mai under the auspices of MMS since 2011. Rev Cassandra’s ministry areas include supporting the Pastor-in-Charge of Thung Yao Preaching Point, as well as outreach ministries to children and youth.

GMC strives to achieve a mutually beneficial tripartite relationship among the missionary, the missions agency, and our own church.

GMC has partnered Cassandra and MMS in various ways, including the following:

Short-term mission teams

Regular teams have been sent to support the running of educational workshops for Thai students during their school breaks. In addition to conversational English lessons, Cassandra has taken the opportunity to share the Christian worldview and present the message of the Gospel to the children (with the approval of the school authorities). These teams have also encouraged church members and provided manpower to support the church’s activities, especially during the Christmas season.

Mission projects

With the growth of the ministry in Thung Yao Preaching Point, plans have been made for the church to have its own building. Following the sharing of the church’s needs by MMS, GMC agreed to fund the landfill cost of converting an existing rice field into land suitable for constructing a new church building.

In doing all of the above, GMC strives to achieve a mutually beneficial tripartite relationship among the missionary, the missions agency, and our own church. We hope to encourage and support Cassandra’s ministry in tangible ways; partner the missions agency in vital field projects; and provide opportunities for church members to see the mission field, deepen prayer for the needs of the field, and progress in the discipleship journey of all those involved. In all of these, we work for the extension of God’s Kingdom both within our church community and abroad.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought traditional missions involvement models to a halt; nonetheless, we believe God is directing our church to explore new ways through which we are to participate in the Missio Dei. We look forward to further partnerships with Rev Cassandra and the ministry in Thung Yao Preaching Point, as well as with MMS.