Thailand

The Spiritual Need in Thailand

Thailand’s history contributes to its ethnically-diverse landscape and its reputation for religious freedom. Vietnamese, Burmese, Cambodian, and Chinese refugees have found political and religious asylum in Thailand for centuries. With 88% of Thailand’s 70 million people identifying as Buddhist, the Buddhist identity is largely associated with good citizenship. More than 89% of Thai people are considered unreached with the gospel, and those that have heard may be torn between the claims of Christianity and the obligations of the surrounding culture.

Northeast Thailand is one of the most unreached areas of the country. Less than 0.1% of the population in this region profess faith in Christ. These populations thrive on Buddhism, which denies a personal God, promotes benevolent works, and emphasizes reason and enlightenment as a means to salvation. Spirit worship and traditional religion have taken an enormous toll on the spiritual condition of the Thai people, promoting a culture of fear and power.

Training Thai men and women to lead in ministries and churches is slow, arduous work. Some face pressure from family pressure to recant, while others fear societal persecution if they choose to follow Jesus.

Church Planting In Thailand

Working alongside our national partners, ABWE helps train national leaders, teach lay leaders, and build church-planting teams in urban and rural settings in Thailand. Our team has laborers across the country in both the northern and southern regions. The greatest needs for additional workers are in Bangkok, Isaan, or Southern Thailand.

There is also great opportunity for youth ministry and teaching English, as well as reaching out in compassion to the country’s women and children victimized by sex trafficking.

Teaching English in Thailand is an effective tool for missionaries to build relationships with Thai leaders and their communities. In 2015, Thailand became a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, creating an even greater need for locals to master English as they increasingly engage with Western markets.

There is a great need for missionaries to come, master the language, and work with local Thais to do the nuts and bolts of church planting ministry. Additionally, we are looking for workers to engage in evangelism and discipleship alongside Thais and Thai leaders, and to equip them to church plant effectively.

With many opportunities to serve, you could meet a critical need among the Thai people.

Our desire is to flood the nations with the gospel—to see the presence of Christ spread and multiply across the world through faithful men and women sent from local churches. As part of that broad vision, we are eager to reach Thailand with the truth of Christ.

Rather than slipping into a scarcity mindset—casting a narrow vision to send just one more worker or access one more unreached people group—committing ourselves to “flood the nations” means an overabundance of gospel presence in this country. It means asking the Lord to raise up workers in such numbers that it reshapes the landscape of missions in Thailand.

Will you join us in seeing the Lord work in this country of desperate spiritual need?