God is Transforming Lives In Northern Thailand and We Need Your Prayers

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

God is Transforming lives in Northern Thailand and we need your Prayers.

Dear Friends, Family, Supporters, Partners, and Prayer Warriors,

We have an URGENT PRAYER for you. Urgent in the sense that we believe that “the effective prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much” according to James 5:16b.

Because of the better control over the spread of the Corona virus, the government of Thailand has recently announced that church can begin meeting together again as long as those meeting have 49 or less than 49 people in attendance. We have sure missed our church family gathering as a whole church these last few months and we are very happy that we are beginning to see signs of “normalcy” coming back.

We need your prayers for smooth transitions as we begin to have open services here in Northern Thailand beginning this Sunday.

There is another reason we are asking you to pray. God is doing an incredible work reaching into some of the least reached people groups in our world today and changing the lives of people in a major way here in Northern Thailand. God’s Word is alive and sharper than any two-edged sword and penetrates even the coldest of hearts and causes the hearts of Thai people to melt at the truths of God’s love demonstrated by Jesus on the cross but also demonstrated by the changed lives of 1^st generation believers who are taking the message of Jesus and being doers of the Word among their family, friends, neighbors, and villages.

This Sunday is a very, very important Sunday for God’s Work here Northern Thailand. This Sunday we are beginning a new series of sermons/teachings from the book of Ephesians. God has been opening my mind to some truths recently that I believe will lead us to a greater advancement of the gospel than we have seen before. We have seen hundreds of Thai people give their hearts to Jesus and begin the process of learning to live a life as an authentic follower of Jesus but there is still so much to be done to truly expand God’s kingdom here in and around Thailand.

Much like our church at Baan Athitaan here in Northern Thailand, the church in Ephesus was also a church that was filled with what I like to call “First Generation Followers of Jesus.” These are people who are the first or second persons in their entire families to become followers of Jesus. I would guess that about half of our congregation who are Thai nationals are also 1^st generation followers of Jesus. Also, all 6 of our Thai staff are 1^st generation followers of Jesus. Some of them are from some of the least reached people groups in our world today.

As 1^st generation believers, they were not raised in a Judeo-Christian culture but in a culture quite different. It is so different in many ways because of the influence of various different religious and cultural teachings. As such, what we consider core concepts of “love,” “friendship,” “relationships,” “the use of words,” “views of life,” “values of life,” and even “concepts of God” are quite different for these 1^st generation believers in Thailand.

What we call the book of Ephesians is actually not a book at all but a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the 1^st generation followers of Jesus in Ephesus to help them to better know how to live a life with integrity as an authentic follower of Jesus in the midst of people all around them who did not share their beliefs or values. We, here in Northern Thailand, have many of these same tensions and differences that the Ephesians experienced in their life and believe God will grow these 1^st generation followers of Christ in Thailand even to a deeper level of discipleship as we study through this letter that is so applicable to our people.

We are very excited about beginning this new study in Ephesians beginning this Sunday, May 17 at Baan Athitaan Church and ask you to pray for us. Pray for us now. Pray for us later today. Pray for us later tonight. Pray for us often…we need your prayers. God want to hear the prayers of His people on behalf of the 60 million Thai people who still do not know Jesus as their personal Savior.

We are opening our doors this Sunday and need to keep our group time smaller than 50 people. We would love for you to join us online. Our 10:30 Am Sunday morning is the same time as 10:30 PM on Saturday night. Please keep us in your prayers.

Until the People in and around Northern Thailand know Him,

Michael for the team

“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5

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Financial support can be given through NTIM....

Northern Thailand Impact Ministry (NTIM), P.O. Box 26115, Birmingham, AL 35260 USA Main Website: www.gontim.org

NTIM is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization based in the USA. We are committed to connecting people in need with people who care and are focused in the heart of Southeast Asia where poverty is high, education is low, needs are great, unreached people groups (UPGs) are all around us, and the love and message of Jesus is needed to transform lives.

Reaching, Teaching, Caring, Discipling, Equipping, Training, and Serving People in God’s world through acts of love and compassionate is what NTIM and our ministry team is all about.