CHURCH PLANTING in THAILAND

Rev Henry Yeo, Country Director of Thailand.

In 1993, MMS sent our first Missionary, Rev Lim Chong Heng, to Thailand. Since then, the church planting work has continued to today. Currently, there are 16 Methodist Churches and 11 Preaching Points.

Strategies

Our first approach is to plant a new church where there are no other churches within a 5km radius to prevent duplication of evangelistic effort. Secondly, we want to plant churches where there are residential communities within a 5km radius. Obviously, we need people to reach out to. Preferably, the church planting effort should be located in an urban area in order to build a church that can achieve financial selfsustainability and be able to eventually reach out and plant satellite daughter churches in the rural areas.

To survey the demographics, we send a ministry team to study and analyse the area as well as to do a prayer-walk to ask God for guidance. Then, we begin our work by looking for a “man-of-peace” in order to plant our presence. We will try to start a house meeting in this person’s house. To ensure its continuity, we make disciples who can make disciples on their own. There is a need for a coaching system to help them succeed. This involves raising up local leaders as soon as possible who can help to oversee the operations of the church (in terms of administration, management, and ministries). In addition, we rent a place for worship and fellowship. And when the membership is beyond the capacity of the house, we build our own church.

Challenges

We face four challenges. One of the greatest challenges is to find suitable workers for planting churches. Workers are to be culturally tuned-in and who can make disciples who can themselves reproduce more disciples.

Secondly, for various reasons, Thai people are somehow more difficult to convert than other people groups. This is especially so for the native Thai (people who live in the lowlands), but not the case with tribes who mostly dwell in remote mountain villages.

Thirdly, most churches take a long time to achieve full financial self-sustainability.

Lastly, it is difficult to form, educate, and train lay-leadership. This is because of the Thai mind-set. They think that only clergy should be involved in ministries; and that ministries are the responsibilities of the clergy (pastors and ministry staff). Therefore, most lay people stay away from ministry, including that of personal evangelism.

Testimonies

Here are two testimonies that illustrate the positive outcomes of our Church-Planting efforts:

Ps Ping with his family

Rev Piti Santitaweechai (Ps Ping), Pastor-in-charge of Payakkaphumphisai Methodist Church

I came to know about Rangsit Methodist Church in 1996 when I was 17 years old. It was through their football ministry led by Pastor Yala Puributr. I also learnt about God at the church but it was just head knowledge to me. When I started working, I wanted to do something fulfilling in my life, but I did not manage to find anything meaningful. So, I changed from one job to another. During that time, I asked God what I should do with my life or what I should do next, but I did not get an answer. In the many years that I attended church, I did not find any hope in my life.

Later, I decided to quit my job when I went through many challenges in my job. Since I was jobless at that time and there was a mission team from Singapore that came to Nong Bua Lamphu Methodist Church, I took the opportunity to go help them. It was the first time that I left my home to go to another province in Thailand. It was then that I came face-to-face with the reality of life – that there were people out there who were in real difficulty and suffering. It was there that I received God’s calling to help these people. It was only God who could help them to have happiness in the midst of their difficulties. In Thailand, there are many who need the Lord.

I started serving the Lord in Payakkaphumphisai Methodist Church and God guided me in the years after that. I received the answers to the questions that I had often asked God about my life before. In the midst of serving, I found joy in my life. Mission work does not only benefit those who come to know the Lord through it, but it is also useful to everyone and in every way. God has a good plan for every person.

I decided to quit my job to study full-time at the Bangkok Institute of Theology in 2007. And in 2010, I graduated with a Bachelor in Theology. In November 2012, I married Mildred Goh, an MMS Missionary. Together we have two children.

Linjee with a group of children

Phloysuay Thanjay (Linjee), Member of the Thungyao Preaching Point

I am from a family that has no Christian. I came to know about God when I was in Primary 2 when I went to the Paddy Plant Club (PP Club) at the Thungyao community.

My uncle, who was then the village head, was the one who introduced me to the PP Club. At that time, there were only four to five children attending the club activities. It was lots of fun playing games, singing songs, and enjoying snacks. But I was not really interested in God even though we were taught about God every Saturday at the PP Club.

When I was in Primary 5, one of my friends, who was a Christian, told me “in the end, those who are not Christians will have to all go to hell.” I was very offended by that statement as it insinuated that my family and I must go to hell. However, I started to think about what I had learnt. And I began to believe that there was truth in the words of my friend. In the end, I decided to believe and got baptised when I was in Primary 6.

After I became a Christian, I started praying and God answered many of my prayers. One example was my desire to lose some extra weight. When I had to move to another school, and the tuition fee became more expensive. I realised that I need be more careful with my spending because my mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. So I decided to use my 20 Baht daily allowance on lunch alone, and not to spend it on snacks. As a result, I lost weight. I could not believe that I could lose as much as 10 kilograms by not snacking. My friends were also amazed and wondered how I did it. However, I knew this must have been the plan of God.

When I was in Secondary 2, many issues started to arise in my life. Everything looked gloomy and grey. I was often discouraged and depressed, and for about one month, I wanted only to be alone. As I was in a cell group of the church, everyone prayed for me regularly. Thankfully, my outlook on things started to improve and I felt more encouraged without having to seek medical help. God started working in my heart. He changed me from a spoiled child (who was shorttempered, quick to anger, impolite in speech, selfish, and self-seeking all the time) to a person who started to be concerned about others. Being more mature in my thoughts and words, I became more loving and brought smiles to the people around me. All my friends started to nickname me “pastor” because I was able to give advice to others.

This year, I am 17 and studying the Science and Math stream at Grade 11. This is extremely difficult but God is leading me. I hope to be a teacher to teach children in the future. Even if I do not become a teacher, I will try my best and continue to commit myself to God. I go to church regularly and I am teaching at the PP Club where I found God – so that these PP Club children will also come to know about God.

Linjee teaching at the PP Club

To ensure its continuity, we make disciples who can make disciples on their own.

HELP

1. We need financial assistant during the churchplantingstage, which can last a few years.

2. We need Singapore churches that can participate in our ministries (online and/or onsite where possible) to help the churches in evangelism, social concern, training, and equipping of members and leaders.

3. We need pastoral ministry for our pastors and ministry staff. They need regularly spiritual, mental, and emotional rejuvenation (not just ministry training and equipping).

4. We need prayer! Prayer is needed even before we engage in any new work, as well as during the process of growing a church.

BRIEF HISTORY

1993: The first pioneer mission field was launched in Thailand with the sending of our first Missionary, Rev Lim Chong Heng of Gloria Methodist Church (which later became Sengkang Methodist Church).

1995: The first Methodist worship service started in a three-storey shophouse along Rangsit Road, Bangkok.

2005: Formation of the Mettakij Church in Thailand, which is the Thai Mission of the Methodist Church in Singapore.

2021: At its 16th Annual Meeting, the Mettakij Church Association in Thailand was officially declared as a Mission Conference