Dear Co-laborer in Christ,
To understand where the church is growing numerically in Thailand we recently compared membership information collected in 2007 with membership information from May 2015 (8 years of church growth).
Here is what we discovered: (refer to the graph)
|
Blue Group - 62% of total church growth
|
| Province |
New members/month |
| Chiang Mai |
302 |
| Bangkok |
131 |
| Chiang Rai |
115 |
| Mae Hong Son |
82 |
|
Green Group - 19% of total church growth
|
| Province |
New members/month |
| Tak |
39 |
| Phuket |
32 |
| Chonburi |
27 |
| Samut Prakan |
26 |
| Nan |
22 |
| Burriram |
18 |
| Khon Kaen |
16 |
| Udon Thai |
16 |
|
Yellow Group - 14% of total church growth
|
| 16 Provinces |
Averaged 8 new members/month |
|
Red Group - 4% of total church growth
|
| 49 Provinces |
Averaged 1 new member/month |
Many may ask why, why is most of the growth of the Thai church happening in only 4 provinces? Why does Chiang Mai have 302 new members a month when most provinces average only 1 new member?
There are several reasons:
- Time: The gospel came to the four provinces in the blue group 100 years before it spread to the other provinces. Thailand celebrated 100 years of the Thailand Protestant church in 1928. The first missionary to arrive in Northeast Thailand was in 1929. The gospel entered other provinces much later
- Churches: The four blue group provinces have 50% of the churches in Thailand. The other 50% of churches are spread around the 73 other provinces.
- Access: 75% of all sub-districts in Thailand still don't have a church. The gospel still has not reached them.
- Generations: One third of new church members in the blue group provinces are 2nd and 3rd generation Christians. Church growth in the other provinces is mainly through new conversions.
- Tribal: 65% of all Christians in the three northern blue group provinces are tribal. Tribal people acceot the gospel much faster than non-tribal people.
- Missionaries: The ratio of missionaries to Thai citizens is much greater in the three northern blue group provinces. Areas with very low growth have very few, if any missionary presence.
Please continue to pray for Thailand. Pray especially that God would send both national and expat missionaries to the least reached parts of Thailand.
May God richly bless you as you Glorify Him in all that you do.
Dwight Martin
Research Coordinator
Thailand Evangelism & Church Growth Committee