“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea,” (Habakkuk 2:14 ESV).
Generations of missionaries have taken the gospel to places where Christianity does not yet have strong roots—if any.
One of those nations is Thailand, where, despite more than a century of missionary presence, the population remains less than one percent Christian. A long history of Buddhism, spirit worship, and cultural opposition have created barriers that prevent Thais from accepting the gospel. Yet Thailand holds a strategic importance for missions that extends even beyond its own borders. As ABWE missionary Ben Collins explains, Thailand’s unique position could make it an influential hub for reaching all of Southeast Asia.
The Strategic Significance
“I think many countries in Southeast Asia look up to Thailand in a lot of ways,” Ben shared. “There is definitely an opportunity to reach Thailand and jump over into other countries or have people or conferences come [to Thailand].”
Geographically, Thailand is surrounded by countries where missionary access is far more restricted. While believers can openly evangelize, train leaders, and plant churches in Thailand, long-term gospel ministry is often prohibited in neighboring nations. That reality has made Thailand a central location for Christians from across the region to gather, receive training, build relationships, and return home equipped to serve in difficult contexts.
Accomplishing this plan involves missions work still to be done within Thailand. While Thai churches are often passionate about evangelism, they are small in number, and many communities still have little or no gospel witness. To illustrate this, Ben points to an online church-access map that highlights large portions of the country where churches are nonexistent. Even a region of 200,000 people located only a few hours from Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, has only one registered church with about 30 members.
Disciple-making is an urgent priority as churches work to establish deeper roots that will sustain future generations. In addition to the needs in evangelism, churches face the challenge of discipling and training new believers—usually first-generation Christians—to navigate cultural and spiritual questions.
Yet, even amid the challenges, Ben remains hopeful because he sees God at work.
A Light Shines on Thailand
One promising development is the cooperation among Bible-based churches across denominational lines. Through initiatives like the Christian Congress, believers are working together to coordinate church-planting efforts and expand gospel outreach. Rather than competing, many ministries are embracing a shared vision of reaching Thailand.
“One thing that’s most encouraging to me,” Ben said, “is that people are responding to the message. There are many who are desperate and thirsty for the message of the gospel.”
Bangkok alone is home to well over 10 million people. Alongside its rapid growth are heartbreaking realities, including vulnerable children and communities affected by the sex trade. Some of the new ministry initiatives, Ben explained, are serving at-risk children left without supervision or support while their parents find work. They have developed children’s ministries to provide safe places where kids can learn they are valued and deeply loved. Even simple acts of love can be powerful testimonies of God’s grace.
How Do We Best Reach People in Thailand?
Importantly, sharing the gospel requires cultural understanding. Ben explained that Thai culture, like many Southeast Asian cultures, is shaped by shame and fear. Because of that, presenting the gospel isn’t merely about translating words but communicating God’s story in ways that genuinely increase an accurate understanding of him and humanity. But even while certain concepts require deeper explanations for a Thai audience, the simple but powerful message remains central: God created people for relationship with himself. Humanity turned away from him through sin. Yet in his grace, the Lord is redeeming people through Jesus Christ.
Helping people recognize this truth takes time. It requires learning the language, understanding the culture, and building relationships that endure through life’s joys and hardships.
“When you’re there long-term walking with people through one, two, or three crises in their lives,” Ben reflected, “you really get a chance to show them, over a long period of time, God’s grace, his faithfulness, and his love.”
Learning the Thai language also communicates respect. When missionaries invest the effort to speak the language of the people they serve, they demonstrate genuine care for them. That investment opens doors for deeper friendships, stronger ministry partnerships, and opportunities to connect churches, schools, and leaders who might never have met otherwise. Those long-term relationships ultimately strengthen the church in Thailand, and that strengthened church can influence an entire region.
What Does This Strategy Mean for Thailand?
As healthy churches are established in Thailand, they will encourage believers, equip leaders, and help spread the gospel into places where missionaries cannot easily go.
As pastors, church planters, and ministry leaders from neighboring countries gather in Thailand for conferences and training events, Thailand will become not just a destination but a turning point in Southeast Asia.
Reaching Thailand, then, is not simply about one nation. It is about investing in a location strategically positioned to impact all the people groups in Southeast Asia. As God continues building his church, every new believer, every healthy church plant, every trained leader, and every long-term relationship has the potential to extend far beyond Thailand.
