Have you ever stopped to consider just how many of the people you encounter during your daily routines are lost, or perhaps have never heard the gospel at all?
Contemplating this question motivated two ABWE missionaries to begin a creative ministry venture that God is using in extraordinary ways.
Tim and Laura Compton arrived in Thailand with one driving passion: to start Bible studies among an unreached people group. But first, they had to find people’s areas of interest and join them. “Wherever people are, we’re going to show up consistently and build relationships and see how God works,” explained Tim.
When a Thai friend invited Tim to work out at a CrossFit gym, Tim reluctantly agreed. Between sets of intense weight training and burpees, he got to know the community of members and quickly discovered that they—like many middle-class Thais—lived immersed in the oppressive darkness of Buddhism, spiritism, and ancestor worship.
As their new friends began sharing struggles in their marriages and personal lives, Tim and Laura began a weekly Bible study at the gym—which rapidly grew into a church plant.
“God is really moving in the gym,” Tim shared. “Wednesday nights we’re diving into the Word, people are learning, and they’re getting saved.”
One woman told Laura that the gym was the only place she felt at peace, declaring, “I am ready to follow God.”
Still burdened for the unreached, Tim and Laura then began to pray for a way to reach the scattered mountain villages of northern Thailand. Through a contact in one village, they learned that much of the population suffered from medical conditions that could be alleviated through increased exercise. Now, a team of coaches and believers from the gym lead weekly fitness activities in the village, each including a time of gospel-centered Bible storytelling.
But the Comptons—and others like them who are answering God’s call to the unreached—cannot go alone. New missionaries need people willing to “hold the rope,” providing the support that equips them to take the gospel into the darkest places.
Through ABWE’s Global Gospel Fund, you can help send and equip new missionaries like the Comptons with the training, resources, and guidance they need to thrive on the field.
This Christmas, ABWE is trusting the Lord to provide another $300,000 to continue our Great Commission work and mobilize, Lord willing, 90 new missionaries.
To that end, we humbly invite you to partner with us financially this Christmas season. Your support not only makes ministry possible among people groups like the Thai but also paves the way for new laborers to join our global mission force.
Watch the video below to see more of the Comptons’ story:
