Thailand

Thailand, formerly Siam and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, has few Christians. Spiritually there are many opportunities, with a general openness to present the gospel. However, there has not been a great response.

Population
population: 61,230,874 [UK: 59,511,464] density: 119 per sq km [UK: 243 per sq km] The population is unevenly distributed, with the greatest concentration of people in the central region. About 75 per cent of the inhabitants of Thailand are Thai. The largest minority group are the Chinese [14 per cent] and most are Thai nationals. Other minority groups include Malayspeaking Muslims in the south and hill tribes in the north.

there are many distinct tribal languages in the North. English is taught in all schools and colleges and is used in commerce and government.

Geography

Buddhist 93.4% Muslim 3.8% Chinese 1.6% Christian 0.5-1% Hindu 0.1 Other 0.1-0.6% There are 18,000 Buddhist temples and 140,000 Buddhist priests in Thailand. Nearly all Buddhist men enter a wat [monastery] for at least a few days or months. Nearly all Muslims live in South Thailand or metropolitan Bangkok. Islam is the majority religion in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Satun provinces.

Religions

Thailand measures 514,000 square kilometres and contains many contrasts. The north and west are mountainous, the north-east is a huge barren plain, the central region is fertile and exceedingly densely populated and in the south there are narrow coastal plains and high mountains. The country is 7075 per cent rural.

Thailand has a moist, tropical climate influenced by monsoon winds. The hot season [February to May] sees temperatures reach 40C. During the wet season [June to November] temperatures reach 2637C with cooler temperatures of 1333C from December to February. Inland areas are the hottest.

Climate

Thailand emerged as a kingdom in the 13th century and over the next four centuries enlarged its borders through conquest. During the 1800s British influence grew with trade, the country began to modernise, and Thailand kept its independence by ceding land to the colonial powers [Cambodia and Laos to the French; part of Malaysia to the British]. After initially siding with the Japanese during World War II, Thailand turned to the Allies in July 1944 and joined the United Nations in 1946. The present King Rama IX ascended the throne in 1946. Since then the government has changed hands many times, with military coups, political and social unrest and uneasy coalitions. Through it all, the king has remained a stabilising influence, being well respected and loved by the people.

History

Language

Thai, a member of the Tai language family, is the chief language. Four regional dialects are in use. Lao, Chinese, Malay [in the south] and Mon-Khmer are also spoken and

Thailand is unique in South-east Asia in that it has never been a dependency of another nation. The word Thai means free. Thai women, unlike women of some other East Asian countries, are active in business affairs, the professions, and the arts. No single culture has ever dominated the entire area.

The first missionaries came to Bangkok in 1828, but it was 12 years before the first sustained missionary presence was established. After 19 more years, they baptised their first convert. Official antagonism, persecution, and the short life-span of missionaries hampered the growth of the Church. The churches in the north of the country remain the strongest in Thailand, with 75 per cent of the countrys Christians being from this area. OMF came to Thailand in

Christianity in Thailand

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1951. They chose several different fields of work: In the north, OMFers [including Isobel Kuhn] started work with the hill tribes: the Mien [Yao], Hmong [Meo], Akha and Lisu. In 1956 a Bible Training Centre was opened at Phayao for the training of Thai and tribal Christians for the pastoral ministry. They also began outreach to the Pwo Karen and Shan. Some people have responded readily; others remain totally closed to the gospel. OMF is currently mobilising tribal Christians to travel across geographical borders with the gospel, as well as church planting among the Thai in the cities. In Central Thailand, there was no real Christian witness until OMF arrived in 1952. The first priority was to reach as many Thai with the gospel as possible. The areas main communication routes were canals and rivers, so OMFers took to boats. There were no allweather roads. Mission stations were opened in provincial towns, literature and Scripture portions

were widely distributed, films were shown and during the dry season evangelistic projects were possible. Medical clinics were first opened in 1954 and Manorom Christian Hospital in 1956. Today OMF remains committed to pioneer evangelism, working in partnership with the emerging church so that it becomes self-propagating. Other priorities are leadership training and discipleship. In Bangkok, OMF set up its national headquarters, a publishing house, and other centralised ministries. In 1966 OMF began a student ministry, leading on to the founding of the Thai Christian Students [similar to UCCF]. We continue to work with students and recently set up a Christian centre at one university. In 1971 OMF helped start the Bangkok Bible College and Theological Seminary. Since the 1970s church work has been a priority. In the south, there was no sustained Christian work before OMF sent workers in 1952. Medical

work was the main means to gain a foothold, with Saiburi clinic opening in 1956, and village leprosy clinics in 1966. Thai/Chinese work grew [about 200 today are Christians], but the Malay Muslims did not respond. Courageous Christians committed to Gods glory and longterm investment are still desperately needed to go to South Thailand. The Thai Church is slowly growing, but it remains tiny. It is now beginning to send missionaries as well as receiving them.

OMFs Strategic Priorities

Training and motivating Thai Christians in evangelism and leadership Church planting in tribal and other minority groups Urban/rural evangelism and church planting Media work

Opportunities Available

How to Pray

Thailands religious culture is a complex web of spirit appeasement, occult practices and Buddhism, which is closely interwoven with social culture. Pray that Christians may be able to express their faith without losing their cultural identity. The burgeoning economy is changing society. People are drifting to the cities and materialism is growing. Thailand is a Buddhist country but there is freedom to belong to other religions. The growth of the Church has been disappointing. Much of the growth has been among the Thai-speaking Chinese in the cities and the marginalised tribal peoples. Leadership training is vital. There are fine evangelical leaders, but there are few who are adequately trained and spiritually mature. Of the 76 provinces, 14 have fewer than 1000 Christians, three have less than 100, and four have no evangelical congregations. Students [one million] remain largely unevangelised. Most of the 3,000,000 Muslims live in South Thailand and Bangkok. Pray for the opportunity to show Christian love to these peoples. Bible translation is still a vital prayer need. Work is in progress in 21 of the languages, but others remain without the Bible in their mother tongue. Tribal Christians in the north have a vision and calling to reach their people groups in the countries surrounding Thailand. Pray for them as they take the gospel into these areas. Pray for local Thai and tribal churches to take up opportunities for evangelism among their own people.

Church planters [urban, rural, tribal] Church nurturing Support workers: teachers, dorm parents, guest house, host/hostess, administration Student workers Medical personnel Bible translators English teachers Literature production

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