Lausanne World Pulse – Perspectives Articles – Hope Has a Name: Creative Outreach Transforms Asia
August 2011
Thailand is one of the most resistant countries to the gospel in the world. After more than 180 years of missionary activity, the Christian population is less than half a percent. However, that resistance has begun to change as God’s word breaks up the hardened hearts and minds of the Thai people. Creative outreach methods have prompted them to examine the reality of Christianity.
A growing spiritual hunger sprouts to find hope in hopelessness. When presented in a relevant way, the Thai people consider the good news offered by Jesus with great interest. Personal testimonies offering evidence of the gospel’s changing power has forced many to contemplate the possibility that Christianity is more than just another religion.
Unprecedented doors and opportunities to share Christ have flung open in all levels of society, making it essential for Thai believers to respond to their country’s spiritual hunger with creative evangelism and new church plants.
A New Generation of Believers
Disillusionment with established religion and a rapid moral and spiritual downward spiral have dramatically changed Thai society. Youth are not interested in the old mediums of storytelling through puppetry, mime, and traditional music since modern pop culture has captured their attention. Previous generations were deeply ensconced in the customs associated with the national religion, but this generation demands the right to make independent choices.
At the same time, Thai youth are very nationalistic and protective of their heritage. They prefer acting as a group, challenging the Western mentality to succeed as individuals. They are very proud that Thailand is an independent nation.
A New Approach
This interest in modern music and drama, coupled with their proud Thai heritage, requires a relevant presentation of the gospel by their own people. The message has not changed, but the methods have in order to be effective in presenting Christ to those skeptical of shallow religion and opposed to dominating foreign cultures.
A major factor in speaking to the heart of the individual Thai is through the relevant medium of their own people in their native tongue. No one knows the Thai heart, mind, culture, and language better than a Thai. This makes a Thai person the obvious choice to church plant and preach. This approach eliminates many of the barriers for effective Christian witness in Thai society.
Breaking Down Barriers
Establishing a team of young professional Thai Christians with a passion for sharing Christ with their own people is a lofty goal. Yet a grassroots movement is doing exactly that. A team of young professionals in Bangkok is experiencing the power of God in unprecedented ways while evangelizing and planting churches. This team approach appears more acceptable and effective than the alternative of sending out a lone ranger.
Hundreds of thousands of young people have heard the gospel through the creative methodology of this team. The team fields hundreds of responses from youth who want to know more about Christianity.
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Jake Janzen (left) was involved in the tsunami relief effort in Thailand in early 2005, and is the founder of Vision Thailand. He has helped mobilize Vision Thailand churches to share Christ in relevant and creative ways within Thai communities, using an indigenous approach. He and his wife, Margaret, live in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. Stacey Weeks (right) is freelance writer from the Ontario region. |