GOD IS FAITHFUL AND HIS KINDNESS IS LEADING THAI PEOPLE TO REPENTANCE – A NTIM Update – June 25, 2022

 Dear Family, Friends, Partners in Ministry,

This is a little long but we felt the need to highlight a few of the things that God is doing here in Northern Thailand.

1) Update on “Lighthouse” building and upcoming Dedication on July 3.   Here are a few pictures that we took yesterday of our multi-purpose building.

   

Praise God that we have been using this building for almost 1 year now (move in date was July 17, 2021). We are in the very final stages of construction on this new multi-purpose building we are calling the “Lighthouse Learning Center – LLC.” This multi-purpose building functions as the new home for Baan Athitaan Church, for Grace Language School, and for Channel of Blessing Foundation (NTIM-Thailand).

The construction is almost complete with some additional living quarters for some future English Teachers/Missionaries that God is in the process of calling to come and serve God with us (are you one of those people?). I’ll share more on our need for personnel later. We are also almost finished with our outside kitchen and eating area and children’s playground areas. We are very excited about having a small “church family” dedication this next Sunday at the beginning of our Sunday morning service. We are still doing “live-online” services so if you would like to join us online, we will start our ceremony at 10:30 in the morning Thailand time, which is the same time as 10:30 in the evening on Saturday night, US Central Time Zone. We are planning to have a short 15–30-minute ceremony at the beginning of the service followed with a shortened version of our “worship/singing” time and a “short message” on dedicating not only our “things” to God but dedicating our very lives to God.

2) Update on Youth Welcome Back Party on June 10.  

Two weeks ago today, we had our “Youth Welcome back Party. As most of you know, because we live on the other side of the world from the USA, the “summer time school break” is not June, July, and August like in the USA but it is “March, April, and May” in Thailand. God has blessed us with the opportunity and responsibility to care for, to shepherd, and to teach the Bible to a fairly large group of teenagers and university students. Please remember to pray for us as we seek to join God, join parents, and the leaders of a couple of children’s homes in helping love these young people and helping teach these young people to become more authentic followers of Jesus Christ. We have a special time with these young people every Friday night during what we call “Friday night cell group.” Here are a few pictures of this event a couple of weeks ago.

3) Update on Upcoming Youth Camp Called “Camp Logos” from July 13-15.  

We are in the planning and promotion phase of an upcoming youth came we are calling “Camp Logos.” We believe that this is one of the most important, if not the most important youth camp (7^th grade – university students) we have ever put on. The reason that we say that, is because the name “Camp Logos” is not just a good name but has very significant meaning. Many of you know that the word “logos” is a Greek word used in the Bible to refer to the Bible and to also refer to Jesus as “the WORD that became flesh and dwelt among us.” 

Jesus also said that He was the bread of life. We also know that God’s Word tells us that we are to live not only on bread alone but also on every “word” that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. So, we felt led by the Lord to design a camp around the theme of helping our young people become more active in reading the Bible, studying the Bible, memorizing the Bible, reflecting on the Bible, and obeying the Bible. That is what “Camp Logos” will be all about.

Please put July 13-15 and “Camp Logos” on your prayer calendars and join us in bringing this camp before the throne of grace and remember to pray for not only those who are “campers” but also those who will be teaching, leading, or in some way involved in the equipping of this new generation of young Thai people so that as God’s Word tells us in 2 Timothy 3:17, “so that the man or woman of God may be fully equipped for every good work.” 

4) Update on Grace Language School and our urgent need for native English speakers to come as “English Teachers” with a spiritual purpose of joining God in His great work of redemption of the nations.    

Most of you know that my work permit and visa which is my permission from the government to live and work in Thailand comes through Grace Language School (GLS). GLS is a registered and legitimate English language school owned and operated by NTIM’s sister foundation in Thailand called Channel of Blessing Foundation. God has established GLS in the heart of Northern Thailand and has been very instrumental in seeing dozens and dozens of Thai people become the first person in their entire family to become a follower of Jesus. Do we teach English? Yes, and with integrity and to the best of our abilities.

But every teacher and every staff member at GLS recognizes that GLS exists for a higher purpose of being the salt and light of Jesus. So, we are careful to make sure our classrooms are committed to teaching English and at the same time we try to lead our relationships with our students outside the classroom in the direction of sharing the love and message of Jesus. We consider GLS an “outreach arm” into the community for Baan Athitaan Church.

Now that the danger of the Covid virus is under better control, things in Thailand are getting back to normal and we can now request visas for native English speakers to come and serve with us as we attempt to join God in reaching the lost here in this sea of lostness where less than 1 percent of the 70 million people living in Thailand know Jesus as their personal Savior. Would you be willing to give 1 or 2 years of your life to serving in the platform of GLS as an English Teacher with a very intentional missionary life focus? We are now taking applications. If you are interested and feel led from the Lord to begin the process, please write me at pray4ntim@gmail.com and send me a copy of your resume. Please also remember to pray for GLS and for all our students that they might be drawn closer to our Lord Jesus.  

5) Update on Hope’s work at Chiangrai International School and their need for teachers.

Many of you know that God opened the door very widely for Hope to become the Head of School serving alongside the Thai owner of Chiangrai International School (CRIS) whom we led to Christ when she was a university student at Rajabpat University many, many years ago. One of Hope’s main roles is the hiring and oversight for all of the faculty. She has asked me to share with you about 3 of their openings that they would like to fill with followers of Christ if at all possible. 

Please pray that God would fill these roles with people who will represent him well. If you know of someone who might be interested in any of these three positions, please contact Hope Johnson directly at hope@cris.ac.th

Here are the teachers that are still needed for the 2022-23 school year:

·      Secondary Math Teacher

·      Secondary Social Studies Teacher

·      Special Education Teacher

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Education or related field
• Qualified teacher status
• A minimum of 2 years of successful teaching experience desired
• Model differentiated instruction
• Experience working with children whose first language is not English
• International School experience is desirable
• Knowledge of current teaching practices assessment, and instructional technology
• Good communication skills
• Ability to adapt to new situations

Please remember to pray for Hope and for CRIS and for this school to be used to not only provide a good education but to serve God’s purposes of redemption as well.

6) Update on Baan Athitaan Church.

Please continue to pray for our church family here at Baan Athitaan Church. God is continuing to allow us to grow in our ability as a church family to help our flock to be better equipped to live as more authentic followers of Jesus in their daily life. We just finished up a series of sermons that we called “Surrendering Everything To Jesus,” where we looked at many different issues that we need to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. The two main theme verses were 1 Peter 3:15 and 2 Corinthians 10:5. 1 Peter 3:15 says this, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts….” 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “… taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

One of my main roles God has given me is as a Bible teacher. I love teaching English but I love even better teaching the Bible. It is one of the most significant things I get to do every week in some form or another. As I was preparing this newsletter update, I just felt led to give you a link to where you can both listen to what God’s Word says, as well as see how we use two languages in our church services. All of us struggle with “grudges” from time to time and I just want to encourage you to take a listen to this message I shared a few weeks ago on “Surrendering your grudges to Jesus.” Here is the youtube link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XX4zL4_uPM&t=242s

Please also pray for us as we have started a new series of messages all centered around “Habits that lead us down to path to pleasing God more.”

7) Closing Personal Thoughts from Michael.

I want to close this update today differently than normal by sharing with all of our family, friends, and partners in ministry something I shared on my Facebook page last week. Many of you have chosen to leave Facebook and that is fine but I still see the value of using it to help be a source of encouragement and blessing and to share about all the great things that our God is doing here in Northern Thailand. Here is what I shared on my Facebook page last week and hope that it encourages your heart. Here is what I shared.

“My heart is full today as I have taken some time to reflect over the last 46 years that I have been a follower of Jesus Christ and I just want to say to the Lord in this public setting "Great is thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me. Thank you for letting me be a child of God and letting me be an ambassador for You to this great country of Thailand for the last 23 years of my life. I can truly say from my heart along with the writer of Lamentations that "The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never cease and His mercy never fails. They are new every morning and great is His faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23. I can also affirm what Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 17:7 that "Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him." Here is a short song that reflects my heart this morning and wanted to encourage you with it today as well.” Just click on the link and take 4 minutes and worship the Lord with me before reading the rest of this update. You will be glad you did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7gb8LmiTyg

I hope you took a moment to listen to the awesome song about God’s Faithfulness. He deserves all the praise that we can give to Him. Amen? “The Lord is good.” “All the time.” “The Lord is good.” “His mercies never fail and they are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.”

Please remember to pray for us as we continue in obedience to seek to join God in what He is doing and wants to do here in Northern Thailand.

Today we wanted to update you on God’s work here and we wanted to thank you for your prayers and for your financial support as we together join God in His great work of Redemption of the Nations, especially here in the heart of lostness in Southeast Asia.

May God richly bless you. Thank you for your generosity and for sending us to Thailand. Any gift you would like to make to our normal, everyday ministry, no matter how small or how large, helps us reach and disciple people whom many are the first persons in their entire families to know Jesus Christ.

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.