Thailand Church Planting Internship

Thank you so much for your generosity to this team and the Thai people God calls us to train to share the gospel. Your prayers and sacrificial giving provide scholarships to church planting interns, enabling them to train with experienced church planters and work alongside them to begin and grow new churches.

Meet our new intern. Panii studies at the Baptist Seminary and serves with our Northern Thailand Team, continuing the work begun by last year’s intern doing outreach in a county without a church. Because of your gifts, she will serve through May 2025.

“Twenty years ago, I was living on a mountain with my four siblings far from the city, where most people, including my father, were addicted to drugs. My mother often went without food, so her five children could eat. When I was six, my father sent my sister and me to board at a school about 60 miles away.

“During the 18-hour walk home at the end of each semester, I struggled with questions of fairness. Why don’t we have a house or car or money life others? Why do some people have power while others do not? As I got older, these questions led to others about the meaning of life, and I began to think about life after death.

“While my parents practiced animism and later Catholicism, I was introduced to Jesus in the Christian dormitory where I lived. I was baptized but struggled to follow the Bible because I did not understand what it truly meant to follow Jesus. One day, after experiencing a great injustice, I told God I no longer wanted to live. Despite my despair, Jesus responded with images of my family members: ‘Are you sure you want to leave this world? Look at these people; they haven’t received salvation yet.’ I felt a deep sense of selfishness, realizing my family did not know Jesus.

“I realized that I had encountered God. I began sharing Christ with my parents and oldest sister. Eventually, I had the opportunity to share Jesus with my younger brother, who became a believer. I want others to experience God the same way I did, so they find salvation and hope.”

We count on your partnership in prayer:

• Praise the Lord, Panii continues the mentoring ministry begun by Deer, last year’s intern.
• Pray for clarity and wisdom for Panii as she disciples three new believers.
• Pray for boldness for Panii and other believers as they share the gospel with the lost.

Thank you for joining us in addressing the world’s greatest problem: lostness. Your gifts and prayers for our team enable us to train those throughout the Asian Pacific Rim to share the good news. You are a co-laborer with us in the gospel, and we value your partnership!

“’Love’ is our word for today,” Deer said cheerfully. “Can you say ‘love’?” The class responded in unison, struggling to articulate the final consonant. Deer and Panee explained the meaning of “love” to the class in Thai. They spoke of love among friends, between husband and wife, and from the Heavenly Father. The students in their English class were excited to learn new vocabulary, but they had never heard of a Heavenly Father who loved them.

Because of your generosity, Deer and Panee traveled to an unreached region of Northern Thailand to share Christ’s love with the people there. Deer was completing her last assignment as Church Planting Intern, and Panee was just beginning a new year. Together with two volunteers from the U.S., they taught English in the local school. They also prayer walked throughout the community and shared the gospel with many, many people.

Praise the Lord with us! Two women in the village accepted Jesus as their Savior. Panee will disciple them and train them to share Jesus with others. These new believers are a direct result of your faithful giving and intercession.

Please join us in prayer:

• Pray for these two new believers to grow spiritually. Pray they will be bold in sharing the gospel with others in their village.
• Ask the Lord to give Panee wisdom as she disciples in this village and continues the ministry Deer began last year.

Thank you for joining us in addressing the world’s greatest problem: lostness. Your gifts and prayers for this team enable us to share the good news with the of northeast Thailand. You are a co-laborer with us in the gospel. We value your partnership!

Thank you so much for your generosity to this ministry and the Thai people God calls us to train to share the gospel. Your prayers and sacrificial giving provide scholarships to church planting interns, enabling them to train with experienced church planters and work side-by-side with them to start and grow new church plants.

Meet Your Thailand Church Planting Intern. Deer is a seminary student at the Baptist Seminary, currently serving with our Northern Thailand Team. She is working in a province with a local church to develop their children’s ministry and leading the church to outreach to a nearby county without a church. Because of your gifts, she will serve with our team until May 2024.

Deer’s Testimony. I was not born into a Christian family, and many of my family still do not know Christ. My family life was filled with many family conflicts and lacked any compassion. I grew up amid family troubles and difficulties. My grandparents, who lived with us, do not believe in Christ but worship spirits and became upset when I went to church. My dad was never interested in his family, addicted and drunk most of the time. These family conflicts led me to question whether life was worth living. When I could no longer tolerate my family situation, I became a very rebellious child.

As a young teen, I went to live in a Christian dormitory and began hearing the Bible every morning and evening. I enjoyed learning about God but was afraid to talk to my friends or family and often stayed in my room. Thankfully, the other kids and staff at the dormitory encouraged me and taught me how to pray. I had so much peace as I began to learn more about the Lord and read the Bible.

During school breaks, I went home to help my mother with work. A pastor came to our house in the evening and shared with us. He encouraged us from Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” I cried and felt as if someone was holding me. I saw and experienced the love of Christ because of this pastor’s encouragement, and on that day, I decided to believe in God and be baptized.

My life changed when I became a believer. Because of Jesus Christ, I have become a child of God who always smiles. I have peace and am no longer angry or a bully to others. Soon, I began attending church and became a worship leader, servant, and leader in the dormitory.

More importantly, God transformed my family from one without care or compassion to one full of love. The gospel changed my dad, and he is no longer an addict. He now serves the church as a counselor, advisor, and mentor. These are things that God did in my life. I no longer view my life as worthless, but I see blessings from God throughout my life.

Matthew 9:37-38 is my theme verse: “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”

Join Us in Prayer:

• Pray for boldness for Deer when sharing the gospel in the county where there is no church and only one known believer.
• Pray for faithfulness in working and sharing the gospel with the children in and near the church.
• Pray for Deer’s mentor to have wisdom and discernment in coaching and training her.

Thank you for your generosity and prayers. Your sacrificial gifts and intercession are truly transforming lives as we partner together to solve the world’s greatest problem, lostness.