In this post I hope to highlight the current posture of the gospel in Thailand and connect you to a few resources that take a deeper dive. The articles I will summarize go in depth on the obstacles to making disciples of Jesus in Thailand and outline one successful church planting movement in part of the country. By no means does this paint the full picture but rather is a sum of my extremely limited perspective at this point.
Thailand is a country of almost 68 million people. Christianity has been here for over 200 years yet only 1.3% have any Christian affiliation while only .68% report to be evangelicals (see Joshua Project: Thailand). Why has the gospel not transformed more hearts after so many years?
One explanation is that Buddhism is woven into the fabric of being Thai. To be Thai is to be Buddhist. Conversion can create massive divides between communities in a culture where the family is at the center. Though there has been little to no violence surrounding the clash of beliefs in families and communities, there is isolation for the believer.
Another explanation is that there lacks a redeemed cultural expression of what it means to be a Thai Christian. It seems that many Thai Christians live and evangelize from a more western-centric perspective – this after all is how many have been discipled. The question remains: what are Thai ways of following Jesus? This article from William Kenneth Nelson goes more in depth on these two explanations and highlights several other challenges to the growth of Christianity in Thailand.
There has been a recent explosion of gospel activity, church planting, and decisions of faith in the last few years. From 2016-2019 over 16,000 people decided to follow Jesus and over 650 house churches have been started in the central and northeast regions of Thailand. This movement is known as the Free in Jesus Christ Church Association (FJCCA). It was started by a Thai man named Pastor Somsak who after planting 13 churches from 1987-2016 received a vision to start 1,000 churches by 2020.
The FJCCA is one of the first EVER church planting movements among Buddhists. It is composed completely of Thai nationals without any western influence. Pastor Somsak and his team of local lay volunteer Christians have been able to contextualize and communicate the gospel in a way that is digestible for Thai villagers. This has been one of the major proponents to the movement’s effectiveness.
Stephen Bailey and Dwight Martin at MissionFrontiers.org write that the Thai contextualization of the gospel cognitively and socially has been vital to eliminating barriers to receive it. For example, they have found that speaking only of Jesus (PhraYesu) has eliminated confusion over the term God (Prachao) which is also associated with a number of Hindu deities, spirits, and even the king.
Another successful practice has been enabling space for new converts to decide how and when to turn over their family obligations at the local Buddhist temple. This allows the new Christian remain intact in supporting their family and assure them of the continued love and respect for them. Baptism marks this next step in their transition and is an outward sign that they have abandoned all formal objects of worship and spiritual allegiance and follow only Jesus.
Bailey and Martin summarize the conversion process for believers through the FJCCA movement as follows:
- praying that Jesus will take away their bad karma and come into the new believer’s life
- being discipled
- becoming a member of a house church
- learning to only follow and pray to Jesus
- turning over household temple duties to family members
- and, when ready, public baptism.
Finally, they noted the importance of “Pastor Somsak and the FJCCA clearly bring entrepreneurial experience, practicality and flexibility to their ministry.”
At first glance some of the FJCAA movement’s techniques come across as out of the norm and perhaps even controversial. These articles have challenged me to ask several questions:
- What western perspectives, biases, and narratives are influencing how I communicate the gospel?
- Could there be times I shy away from “controversial” opportunities to share the gospel simply to remain comfortable?
- What does it look like to redeem elements of Thai culture such that to be Christian and to be Thai are not seemingly mutually exclusive?
The challenges abound in seeing a gospel movement take root across Thailand. The FJCAA movement has proven the challenges are not impossible. We know that with Christ all things are ultimately possible. Would you join us in praying for a revival in Thailand?