DAY 29 - "Worship – Baan Athitaan Church Style” – Tue, Dec 31, 2013

Thank you for joining us for this great time of seeking the face of God on behalf of millions who have never heard the message of our Lord Jesus. Today is Day 29 of our Season of Prayer. We originally planned to have 35 Days and close out our time with our last day being on January 1. Due to several sets of circumstance, we will be closing out this Season of Prayer tomorrow and making our time together with actually 30 Days of Updates.  We trust that this has been a good time for you to draw nearer to God and be better informed about what God is doing in and around Northern Thailand. We will share one more update tomorrow to start the year off with you praying for missions in and around Northern Thailand.

DAY 29 - "Worship – Baan Athitaan Church Style” – Tue, Dec 31, 2013

 

Today I want to simply share some of our thoughts with you about the way we worship here in this neck of the woods. God has gifted us with a very unique style and flavor of worship that is a blend of many different cultures and is what I would call very “uplifting” and “welcoming” to those who do not know Jesus but are at the seeker level and want to know more about our awesome Lord Jesus.

The term worship as I am using it here is related to describing the time in our “church service/meeting” where those who are musically talented serve together to call on the whole church body to seek the Lord together and sing praises to His Holy name.

We are very grateful that God sent us a very talented and godly young man to serve along side of us and help fill several leadership roles related to working with our young people and leading our whole worship ministry. This is a picture of Garn. He is actually not from Northern Thailand but is what we would call a “Bangkokian.” He is from the Central Thai people group. He has been serving with us for a little over a year now and is a great blessing to the work of NTIM, Baan Athitaan Church, and Grace Language School.

Like all of the other full time Thai staff folks, Garn is a first generation believer. In his “former” life, he was the singer/leader of a rock band and grew to love music and enjoy singing. Now God has taken this love for music and given Garn the opportunity to use his gifts and talents for the expansion of the kingdom of God and for the building up of His body. Today we want to ask you to join us in praying for Garn in a special way. 

Prayer Example: “Lord, thank You for loving us enough to send someone i nto our lives to tell us about the gospel. We thank You for loving Garn enough to send someone into his life to tell him about the gospel. We thank You for loving others enough to send people like Garn into the lives of others to tell them about the gospel. We want to take this moment and ask You to bless Garn in a very special way. Help him to be salt and light in all that he does. Help him as he serves You faithfully at Grace Language School and at Baan Athitaan Church. We ask that You would be pleased to use him to help reach his family, his friends, his neighbors, and many others from many different people groups in Northern Thailand. Thank You for his work with NTIM and how he faithfully serves You each and every day. We pray that You would give him great love and wisdom as he pours his life into discipling young people in Northern Thailand and as he leads out in worship and helping others use their gifts to serve You. We pray this in Jesus name.”

DAY 28 - Reaching The Unreached – Hmong Daw of Thailand – Sun, Dec 29, 2013

One of the great joys that God has graciously allowed me to experience on a regular basis is the joy of seeing 1^st generation believers grow in their relationship with God and become true fishers of men and mentors for other 1^st generation believers. Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”

As I write this update, I am sitting at my desk thinking about all of the discipleship and mentoring that happens through the awesome Thai staff that God has surrounded our work with. All of our 4 full time staff are 1^st generation believers and committed to evangelism and discipleship.

 

This is a picture of Jay. Jay one of our key leaders who has been serving along side of us for many years now in several different roles. Jay serves as our Thai Administrator for Grace Language School. He serves as one of our key translators for Baan Athitaan Church. He serves as one of our key Youth mentors and he serves as our key leader for a new soccer outreach ministry that is developing between Baan Athitaan Church and ABWE.

Jay came to know Jesus when he was a student at Rajabhat University shortly after he began attending Baan Athitaan Church services. What a great joy it was for me to baptize Jay on Oct 21, 2007 along with Nong Wan – another 1^st generation believer from the Karan PWO unreached people group. Here is a short 5 minute video clip of their baptismal service.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7c6R_dYflI

God has given NTIM great access to many different people groups and one of those people groups is the Hmong Dao of Thailand. Jay is from this people group. In the last 10 years we have taken several 3 hour trips to Jay’s home village and partnered with a small church there to help them reach out to the entire village at Christmas time. Here is another short 4 minute video clip of our trip to Huay Khu Village 4 years ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9-XXDOWMFE

There are 37,000 Hmong Dao living in Northern Thailand but there is a total world population of this people group of over 1 million people. According to Joshua Project statistics there are some 1,422,000 living today primarily in China, Laos, and Vietnam but also a large number living in the USA.

Jay deeply loves the Lord and wants to serve Him with all his heart. Today we would ask that you join us in praying for Jay and for NTIM’s work among the Hmong people group. Let us join together in prayer. 

Prayer Example: “Lord, thank You for loving us enough to send someone into our lives to tell us about the gospel. We thank You for loving Jay enough to send someone into his life to tell him about the gospel. We thank You for loving others enough to send people like Jay into the lives of others to tell them about the gospel. We want to take this moment and ask You to bless Jay in a very special way. Help him to be salt and light in all that he does. Help him as he serves You faithfully at Grace Language School and at Baan Athitaan Church. We ask You to use him to reach out to the lost through this new soccer ministry. We ask that You would be pleased to use him to help reach his family, his friends, his neighbors, his own people group, and even other people groups. Thank You for his work with NTIM and how he faithfully serves You each and every day. We pray that You would give him great love and wisdom as he pours his life into discipling young university students there in Northern Thailand. We pray this in Jesus name.”

“Changing Lives In Thailand Through God’s Word” - Day 27, Sat, Dec 28, 2013

Thank you for joining us for this great time of seeking the face of God on behalf of millions who have never heard the message of our Lord Jesus. Today is Day 28 of our 32 Day Spiritual Adventure of getting to know and then actively praying for Northern Thailand Impact Ministry (NTIM) and all of the various unreached people groups in and around Northern Thailand.

Our family got back to Chiang Rai today after a couple of nights away in the city of Chiang Mai. It was a great time to get a short break, to go ice skating at the new mall in Chiang Mai, and spend a little time with some good friends, the Boston family. After we got back today, I began going through some old files and wanted to share this picture with you. It was taken about 10 years ago. This was the first baptism we ever had at Baan Athitaan Church. You have already seen Peat’s picture. But on the day they were baptized, there were two others baptized that day in the Mae Gog river, Nong Mint and my oldest son Joshua. 

You have heard me say on many occasions, one of the most significant things that I do while serving as God has shaped and gifted me is to faithfully, boldly, gently, and clearly teach God’s truth every Sunday morning to our church family that is made up of over 23 different people groups from all over the 10-40 Window and is also a mix of several international groups.

Our desire is to join God is establishing a strong church that welcomes every ethnic group of people that live in our community and who comes through our doors. We are careful not to segregate ability to serve the Lord based on ethnicity or nationality but based upon gifting, calling, and heart. We are truly becoming a vibrant and active community church full of 1^st generation believers and I really believe we have the blessing of God upon us …… at this time …… in this place ….. and for His purposes and His glory.

Tomorrow we will be looking at a passage in the book of James that give us some clear guidelines on how to plan for the future. Please pray for me as I share God’s Word in English and pray for Phet as she translates this message into Central Thai. I would also ask that you pray for Ja in a special way as she leads worship tomorrow.

 

Prayer Example: “Lord, we thank You that You are at work in Northern  Thailand and establishing a church that has a community focus and wants to be used of you to reach into all areas of their community with the Word of God. We pray for them as they gather for worship and a time of teaching this Sunday. May You bless Ja in a special way as she leads worship and May You help Pastor Michael speak the Word of God boldly. May You also bless Phet as she translates this message into Central Thai. We pray for Your Word to change the hearts and lives of people and help them to love You with all of their heart and to reach out and love their neighbors and be the salt and light of Jesus in and around Northern Thailand. We pray this in Jesus name and for His sake. Amen.”

DAY 26 – “Lighting Up the Darkness BEACH HEAD Vision - December 26, 2013

We are seeing God’s hand at work in the heart of South East Asia changing peoples lives. As you have joined us in this season of prayer these last 25 days you have seen God responding to those prayers. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church.” One of the places God is building his church is in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

God has chosen to use a small group of people living in Chiang Rai to make disciples of hundreds of people, most of whom are 1st generation believers. 1st generation believers are normally the first people in their entire families to become followers of Jesus. What started as a small group of 8 believers in the Johnson home some 12 years ago has blossomed into a growing, thriving, community focused church made up of people from over 23 identifiable people groups and involved in outreach/evangelistic ministries related to teaching English, caring for those affected by HIV/AIDS, caring and ministering to various children’s homes, reaching out to the community and neighboring countries, and most importantly very committed to making disciples of all the nations God brings across our path.

We are very grateful for the partners and friends that God has surrounded us with including our partnership with various churches, and individuals all over the world who support the Johnson family and their team of Thai partners in God’s work here in Northern Thailand.

 

Several months ago I shared with a group of volunteers from Mississippi from another awesome partner church (FBC Florence) about our focus for the last 12 years we have lived in Chiang Rai. This is what I said to them, “God loves these people in this part of God’s world very deeply and we are glad that God has called our family to serve here long term making disciples and trying to plant a strong community focused church that allows people to serve not based on ‘ethnic background’ but upon gifting and callings as God has shaped people. We have spent the last 12 years investing our people and resources in making disciples, building a flock and creating various outreach platforms and ministries. Now we sense that it is God’s timing to now say to the darkness that ‘we are here to stay’ through the purchase of land and then by building a multi-purpose facility that will facilitate a greater ability to reach the nations for Jesus and will strengthen the integrity of the outreach platforms we have created already and will create in the days ahead as God leads.”

We have been using rented property for the last 12 years and we sense that it is time to tell the darkness we are here to stay by raising enough funds to purchase land and complete phase 1. 

God has planted the “church body” in a place in Northern Thailand that is strategically located between two major universities in Chiang Rai – Mae Fah Luang University and Rajabhat University where there are approximately 30,000 students between the two campuses. We are anticipating the need to purchase between 2-3 rai of land (2.5 rai = 1 acre) for this specific project and estimate the cost of land to be somewhere around $166,666 U.S. dollars. We also anticipate partnering with good friends from another mission agency (ABWE) to purchase additional connecting land for them to build a “sports complex/student Center” they will call the “CLAY CENTER (Changing Lives Among Youth) as a ministry outreach that will partner with our ministry and we will share our facilities and resources for the expansion of God’s kingdom in this part of God’s world.

PROJECT NEEDS – The first phase (PHASE 1) of this project is related to the purchase of land.

The second phase (PHASE 2) of this project is related to partnering with construction type teams from the U.S. and Australia and wherever God raises up partners to build a multi -purpose facility that will house Grace Language School, Baan Athitaan Church, NTIM/Channel of Blessing Foundation Office, and partner offices like Hearts & Hands Foundation. This will tremendously cut our overhead expenses and move us greatly down the path to more self sufficiency.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT– WE WANT YOUR HELP. WE NEED YOUR HELP. WE CANNOT DO THIS ALONE. We are asking all of our friends and partners to please pray about giving to this very strategic cause. We are requesting that all funding from the U.S.A. or other countries outside of Thailand for this specific project be routed through NTIM. All of your donations to NTIM are tax deductible. Checks can be made out to NTIM, P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 or you may donate online at www.gontim.org

 

Prayer Example: “Lord, we have been reminded today of how You are at work building Your church in Northern Thailand. We thank You for allowing us who have been praying to be a part of seeing young people give their heart to Jesus. We thank You for allowing us to see how You are using 1^st generation believers to reach and disciple other 1^st generation believers. We thank You for Grace Language School and how you are using them to reach out not only to Thai people but to Chinese people and Laotian people, and Burmese people and many others.  We do sense that it is Your time for them to establish a more permanent beach head and to say to the forces of darkness that God’s work through NTIM is there to stay. We ask that You would open the storehouses of heaven and provide NTIM with the needed resources in money and personnel to do all that You have put in their hearts to do. And Lord, start with me. Please let me know how much You want me to send today. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.”