Annual Meeting

Thai United Methodist Church's First Annual Meeting (Conference)

The United Methodist Church in Thailand is the newest Methodist Churches in South East Asia. The first missionary couple of all United Methodist Church began their works around 2006. We have now established eight churches and one is being formed in Thailand. Our works in Thailand begin with the missionary engagement with local pastors and preachers to establish a preaching point and later the preaching point become a congregation and a local church. After five years of mission works in Thailand we finally have our first annual meeting (annual conference). On September 29, 2011 Bishop Bruce Ough who is the bishop for Southeast Asia was accompanied by Dr. John Nuessle of GBGM and Rev. Joyce Frye the Bishop's assistant to preside over his first annual meeting with the United Methodist Church in Thailand. At the meeting the Bishop certified nine pastors and appointed them to nine churches and preaching points in Thailand for the year 2011-2012. We also have the opportunity to recruit some fine pastors to serve our United Methodist Churches here in Thailand and also equipped some lay members to establish a National Committee who will work side by side with our missionaries for the work of the Lord here in Thailand. The United Methodists here in Thailand were very excited to have their first Annual Meeting as well.  Most of them do not know what to expect, when we told them we are going to have an Annual Meeting (Conference) with the Bishop, but during the meeting and afterward the pastors and members who participated were very happy they have this opportunity to participate in this historical event. At this Conference our bishop shared with our sisters and brothers Methodists here in Thailand  that they are a part of the Global United Methodist Churches and that we are here to assure our support to the Methodist Church here in Thailand that we will be praying for their work and the Methodist Church in Thailand.

Pig Project

It was a Sunday when we visit Noon Someboun, Nakhon Ratchasimas. This was the second congregations we visit when we first got to Thailand.  The congregation is a small one, but the worship was lively and the people were excited to see us the same way we were excited to be there with them.

The service was really different from where we were from.  One of the young lay leaders of the congregation sitting in the front row hogging a wooden box (about two by three feet).  At first I was not sure what the box was for.  I thought it was an offering box, but as the service began, I know what the box was for.  It was their Percussion and Bass combine.  With that box she really brings the congregation to a very lively worship in praise and worship songs.

                We are currently support their pastor with a full minimum salary. But our intention is to have most of our local churches here in Thailand to become self-support with five to ten years. Looking at the congregation and its members, I say to myself there is no way this congregation will become self-support in ten years.  All of the members are poor farmers who could not even know for sure they can earn enough for the family.  Yet we still encourage then to offer their 1/10 to the Lord I am not sure if all will be giving faithfully to the fullest they would not make the salary of their pastor forget about program and other ministries of the congregation to the community.

                Then I got a Phone Call from the president of the Association of Hmong United Methodist Women that they have some funds to do a project in Thailand and a group of them will be coming to Thailand.  They want to know where and how they can use this fund from all Hmong women’s groups to benefit our church here in Thailand.  God’s timing could not have been perfect to have a pilot economic project for our local church here in Thailand.  This is when the “Pig Project” originated.  Income from this project will benefit the families who operate the project and the local church.

                Now the first “pig Project” in Thailand is up and running with one pen with first fifteen pigs.  The  pen is capable of raising up to 60 pigs, but we do not have fund to buy pigs so the project will expand as we go.

Thanks to the Hmong Association Women,  next time you visit Thailand again we promise you a “Roast Pig”

Refugee with No Place for Refuge

The Vietnam era refugees are long gone, and all displace people are not resettled.  That is what we think, that what we assumed.  I have an opportunity to visit a couple of little village in Southern portion of Northern Thailand and found out that all the people in these two villages are refugees with “No Place to Refuge”.  They felt through the cracks of many resettle countries who received and resettle refugee during the Vietnam War era.  Even though many of these people and their parents are considered to be “American Allied” during the war, their cry could not be heard and their case could not be considered, they were literally stocked where they are not with no documents, no right, no employment opportunities no good education for their children.   I passed by a group of young kids playing on the road because there is no other place in the village would offer them an area like jumping their one rope share with six or seven kids.

I look into their eyes and there is not future, no dreams, and no hope for anything beyond the boundary of their village. Their parent are leasing some of the Thai farmers farm to grow something to help the family,  but the price of the farm are getting high, due to the fact that these people have no right to do that either. They are doing this with the mercy of their Thai farmers.  Some did gain some “illegal” Employment with local people. But you know what that would be too, when they have no right, nor voices even if their pay were not rendered after the job is done, they cannot say anything. These open for a lots of abused and the suffering of the people continued, front generation to the next. The do not have a legal refugees status so that international organization could provide assistance, and yet they are refugees with no place for refuge.

            When I walked the street of these two villages, make me think about our effort in reaching out to the unreachable, taking the task that the father has given to Jesus to do and He now wanting us who are his disciples to do on earth as He said “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”.  (Luke 4:18-19).

if Jesus’ commission in Mathew 28^th including this authority then we Methodist Missionaries are to carry on Jesus’ ministry to all the people in the World including these thirty some years refugees who do not know that to call themselves any more if they are refugees of illegal aliens.

We are looking for a partner church who would have a heard for these people, so that we can bring some good news to these people and that include the Good News of Jesus Christ, their salvation and relation with our Lord for the life together with Christ in His Kingdom, and good news and hope to especially the children for their education and a future that give them hope to get out of this no line no wall boundary “refugees villages”.

Thailand United Methodist Churches Leadership Training

 We have been through a storm in the short life of our United Methodist churches, pastors, leaders and members of the Thailand. However, we thanks God that the “Eye of the Storm” has passed and we are not concentrate on our mission and ministry of the Church now.  We have now re-grouping after our split, and have our first leadership training for pastors and lay leaders of our church on April 25th to 27^th.

There are 18 pastors, pastor’s spouses and lay leaders from our eight congregations gathered in the Mission Center in Chiang Mai for this training. Thailand Methodist Church is very new and therefore with this training we have learned the basic structure of the United Methodist Church and the concept of the local church, the ministries of the local church and plans for growth in their churches. This is a good gathering for our Thailand Leaders, because besides the training we also have the opportunity to regroup and building a supporting community to support each other through prayer and ideas for ministries. We have committed ourselves to this kind or gather at least twice a years and possible an annual revival for all our United Methodists in Thailand.   We are also expecting our first annual meeting with our area Bishop this coming September, when we will have the opportunity to meet our bishop for the first time and for our pastor receive their appointment from the bishop to serve their local churches they are now serving. All of our local pastor who are now serving in our Thailand United Methodist church has finished their Bachelor from either a secular college or for most a bible college.  We are now working to get all of them to a Course of Study so that they can work their way to become ordain in the United Methodist Church.

Presenting Prasiri United Methodist Church

Phrasiri UMC Bangkok

Phrasiri United Methodist Church in Bangkok formally known as “Phradumri” UMC was started by Pastor Sila Janthanava and his wife Vassana Janthanava in 2008. In its infancy, the congregation started to gather for Bible study and Christian fellowship. Later, Sila saw the need and opportunity to bring this group of Christians into a formal gathering and opened the opportunity to grow in Faith and numbers for the Glory of God. Their first meeting was in the 430 square feet living room of the Janthanava’s family.  Their first meeting gathered eight people on November 16^th 2008. One year later the numbers grew from eight to 30 and the living room was too small for the gathering.  They decided to move to a four story store front.  With the limited resources they had, they helped to clean and rearranged the first floor to be their Sanctuary. There is a little outdoor kitchen on the second floor for the fellowship meals which they offer every Sunday.  The rent is 12,000 Baht ($400.00) per month for the first year, 14,000 Baht ($460.00) for the second year and 16,000 Baht ($530.00) for the third year.  They have yet to reach the end of the first anniversary in the space.  The average attendance is around 45, which is after a recent split about a month ago.  The congregation is counting that as a blessing to them because they see the need and are motivated to work harder to
bring the Gospel into their community. The goal for 2011 is to have 150 persons in attendances before the year end.

                The Thailand Initiative is supporting this congregation by paying the pastor’s salary and recently, is supporting 10,000 Baht ($330.00) towards the renting of their space of worship. We also are actively looking for programs and volunteers to help this congregation with their outreach. This is our first United Methodist Church in the Capital of Thailand.  I am currently preaching at this church twice a month and teaching Bible Study every Monday.  We are looking for funds to renovate the top three floors so that we can use them as meeting rooms and classrooms. We will also use this space for our Outreach program where we will have English Classes and tutoring sessions for children in the housing units that surround the Church.  The plan is to provide English classes and tutoring to the children, which provide a witness opportunity and allows us to follow up with their parents and family members.  Less than a mile from our Church is also a major University where we plan to extend our ministry in the future.

                We are currently looking for a Church in the US, who would see the potential fruit of this Ministry and be a partner in prayer and financial support.  The current need is $3,000.00 per year to ensure that this congregation can support their outreach programs and serve the church
and the local community by spreading the love of Christ to this predominantly
Buddhist city and country.

We are also looking for volunteer mission teams with the resources
to renovate the upstairs spaces to be used for ministry.  A onetime grant of $3,000.00 to $3,500.00
would help with the renovating and painting of the upper floor spaces and furnish
the rooms for Sunday School, group meetings and outreach projects.

New Ministry

Everything is alright in the world until you get to the rural areas of Northern Thailand. Especially, when you get to the hillsides in Northern of Thailand. There are a few villages we visited but this one catch our heart more than others.  We found ourselves in about six kilometers on a dirt road from the main Road. We have rent a van and because the van is pretty low at some portion of
the road we were almost not able to pass. But thanks the Lord we have good driver and he was certainly experienced driving in such condition too, so we made to the village. There we met with the
chief of the village who is a Christian too. We found out that the village has a little church building and a few Christian families, but they since has been abundant, some of the believers who have transportation are attending services about 25 kilometers away in other town. The rest were just really being “abundant”.  The commandment of Christ is for us to “go and make disciple of all nations”.  We felt the obligation to keep this commandment, and so we made commitment to send
a young couple whom the young man is graduating from Phayao Bible College in a month to the village to make disciples of these Christians and reach the rest of the village for Christ.

 The little old church building can be used for a couple three months, but I don’t think it will last
over the Raining Season which will begin in June and last till the end of September.  We are Pray that our sister church in the US would partner with this village and this young pastor to minister to this villagers.  A piece of land has been promised from the chief of the village to build a church building for them if we can find a partner church who can bear the cost for them. A simple building structure for them to have a place to worship would be around $5,000.00 to $7,000.00.  We will go back to the village again with our new pastor in the beginning of April to rebuild this community of faith for the Kingdom of God and His Glory.

Global Praise and Academy

The youngest to host the rest

As far as United Methodist Church in South East Asia,
Thailand would consider to be the Youngest of all. Yet this past January we
have the opportunity to host our brothers and sisters from Laos for the Praise
and Worship Training and later, from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam for the
Academy.

                A group of Pastors and Lay from Laos and Thailand gathered in Chiang Mai for the Global
Praise and Worship training. They spent two weeks to learn how teach Sunday school, Music and preaching. This is a first time ever that an international training like this has ever been introduced our New United Methodists in these two countries.  They have learned from the basic like leading the congregation to sing to officiating the Sacrament of Baptism and Communion.

                After the Global Praise there were six pastors for each of the Indochinese countries
Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand gather for the Academy where they were
also train in church growth and strategies to reach their people for Christ.

Connectional

Is the connectional really Works?

I’ve been sent here to Thailand to reach, teach and making
disciples with the Thai people, but who know I will have the opportunity to
serve a missionary colleague who is half a world away?  I am not sure how Rev. Alex Awad gets my
contact information from.  But not even a
month since wet got to Thailand, Rev. Awad call me and asked to see if I could officiate a wedding for his son and
future daughter in-Law.  He introduced
himself as GBGM missionary in Jerusalem. We have a few e-mail exchanged after that and on January 9^th
2011 I had the opportunity to officiate this beautiful wedding where a young
man and woman from two different worlds ,cultures and traditions joint their
hands and made their wows to be together in Bangkok. The wedding was as lovely
as both the bride and groom. Congratulation!