Should Missionaries be Serving in North Thailand?

Recently I came across a map of Thai churches in Thailand. (link to the post) It paints a realistic overview of the numerical presence of churches in Thailand. On the map, the green indicates the presence of at least 1 church in that sub-district and red depicts the absence of a church in a sub-district. One look at the map, one can tell that the North is largely coloured in green. “The three northernmost provinces have only 5% of the population in Thailand yet 51% of the Christians.”

I believe statistical maps are helpful but only if we understand the definitions used for collecting results and the statistical intent of the author. While this is not why I am writing although I have my fair share of questions.

I want to actually paint a more holistic picture to help us understand Christianity in the North because reading a map like this without context, can develop quite a negative sentiment for missionaries who are called and choose to serve in North Thailand.

Which begs the question, “Should missionaries be serving in North Thailand?”

Let us start by learning what does the map not tell us about North Thailand?

RICH DIVERSITY OF ETHNICITY,  LANGUAGE & CULTURE

North Thailand (as can be seen in the attached map) is the richest place for ethnic diversity in Thailand. In some government-sponsored celebrations in

Ethnolinguistic groups of Thailand in 1974. Source: Wikipedia

the northern province of Chiang Rai, there were about 13 distinct ethnic people group being represented. Every ethnic group has their own unique culture and language. Within some of these broader ethnic group, they divide further into sub-groups. And if we also include the increasingly growing cross-border ethnic migrants into North Thailand, the diversity increases.

We should not be surprised to see a higher numerical number for churches in the North because this coincides with the rich diversity of ethnic, language and culture present. Especially so if we believe the Gospel of the Kingdom should be proclaimed to every ethnicity. This then is a picture of indigenous Christianity where every ethnic group can gather to worship in their own heart language.

With the backdrop of understanding the North being a bowl of ethnic diversity. 1 church in every sub-district does not mean a lot. An indigenous ethnic Akha church in a sub-district will not be able to reach out to their ethnic Northern Thai neighbours because of the differences in language and culture. And with ethnic diversity, comes the reality of ethnic social hierarchy. Ethnic groups from the ‘mountains’ are lower in the social hierarchy than lowland ethnic Northern Thais. With such social dynamics in play, 1 church in 1 sub-district in the diversity of North Thailand does not necessarily mean that the 1 church is enough or can effectively reach out to the whole sub-district. Overlooking this fact may mean bypassing thousands of other unengaged ethnic groups in the same sub-district.

WHAT LENS ARE YOU WEARING?

The lens you wear determines how you read the first map. If you put on the lens of Gospel proclamation to people who have not heard the Gospel, then the possibility for such opportunities are higher outside the North and there are indeed many more provinces and sub-districts in Thailand that should be prioritised over those in the North.

But if you are putting on the lens of Christian discipleship and mobilisation, then this is where the needs in the North stands out. In an interview with influential Thai Christian leaders about what they saw as the greatest need of Thai Churches, majority of them responded with the Thai Church’s ineffectiveness in making active and mature disciples after evangelising people (EMQ, Jan 2011). The need of the Thai church is the same everywhere but it also means that the need for discipleship is greater in the North with the highest percentage of churches and Christians. We want to be in the business of making disciples, not converts.

In terms of mobilisation, there is a huge potential for Christians in the North to be strategic gateway people to neighbouring countries. The rich diversity in ethnicity, language and culture means that a lot of them have the potential to be excellent cross-cultural missionaries if trained and discipled well. They also have easier access to places inaccessible by foreigners. Do you know that the language of the Northern Thais (Kham Mueang) is closely related to the language of the Zhuang people in Guangxi China? The need then is greater for the local churches in the North to be trained to have a global perspective for missions, to take the Gospel across provinces and borders.

RICH IN YEARS BUT POOR IN RELEVANCE

It is not difficult to find churches in North Thailand that are more than 20 years old. But sadly the length of existence of churches in North Thailand does not equate to the authority and influence Christianity should have in societal engagements in the North.

A lot of Christians in the North are nominal generational Christians. A Northern Thai pastor once observed that the growth of churches in the North is largely down to child birth, marriages and movement of Christians from other parts of Thailand. Christian communities are formed and separated from their Buddhist neighbours. An inward looking theology amongst most churches mean that a sort of “Christian” culture is birthed and walled up in Christian communities that have no influence outside the church. Many churches don’t know how to effectively reach out to their Buddhist neighbours or respond biblically to societal trends. A pastor once told me that his evangelistic gospel proclamation has become like an old village speaker that gives announcements every day. He said, “People hear but they don’t listen anymore.” He needs help with creativity and resources to open doors to engage these neighbouring Buddhist communities again.

With such high percentage of Church presence in the North, the following statistics are shocking to anyone. The numbers for human trafficking and child sex trade is the highest in the North amongst the whole of Thailand (link). Percentage of educational inequality and dismal educational standards is also the highest in North Thailand (link). There is a dire need for integral Gospel work in North Thailand because the local churches in North Thailand are still glaringly inadequate and in need of partnerships to respond biblically to these social injustice and worrying societal trends.

THE WAY FORWARD FOR NORTH THAILAND

Back to the big question. Should missionaries be serving in North Thailand? 

Yes and No.

One thing I’m sure is that missionaries to the North cannot be ignorant. I must admit that there is an existing impression that there are too many missionaries in the North. But this is only because missionaries are usually all clustered in the same few areas.

It is important that missionaries do not just add to the numbers up North, missionaries have to make a difference. To do that, missionaries need to be…

CRITICAL WITHOUT BEING CYNICAL

• Instead of saying “Don’t go to the North!”
  Ask “What needs to be done in the North?”

• Instead of saying “Why is the church not doing what it is supposed to do!”
  Ask “What is the church not doing and how can I partner with them to do what needs to be done?”

• Instead of saying “With so many churches in the North, we don’t need another missionary!”
  Ask “What are the limitations of these churches and which segments of society are left unengaged as a result?”

RUTHLESS IN SELF-EVALUATION

• Don’t do the same things in the same few communities.
• Don’t simply translate. Invest time to learn the culture and language so as to develop relevant and appropriate training and discipleship materials.
• Partnerships, mutual sharing and learning are needed as part of evaluating effectiveness.
• Don’t start another children’s home please. (Read why)
• Have the humility to acknowledge that we may no longer be needed.

RETHINK MISSION STRATEGIES

• Focus on building up the local indigenous churches.
  The spiritual vitality of the local indigenous churches in the North and their desire for evangelism are closely connected. Until they are built up, they won’t reach out.

• Partner to pioneer whenever possible.
  Don’t rush to doing your own church-planting ministry until you have considered and studied all possible options and made every effort towards partnership.

• Make disciples who will make disciples.
  Invest in discipleship strategies that will make relevant followers of Jesus Christ who will faithfully disciple others within or across borders.

• Be concerned with community development.
  Undertake projects that will address the injustice in society by engaging whole communities instead of extracting individuals from communities. “Our proclamation has social consequences… our involvement has evangelistic consequences.” (Vinoth Ramachandra)