Mission and Strategy

Isaan Teams – Sowing Seed to Plant Indigenous Churches

“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36)

“ … and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18)

The Isaan Teams – Sowing seed to plant indigenous churches Our Mission The purpose of the Isaan Teams is to partner with

the local church to see the Lord initiate an indigenous, culturally authentic, self-sustaining, self-propagating church planting movement among the Isaan people group. Our Vision The Isaan Strategy envisions mobilising for 5 teams to work towards the birthing of local/house churches, through persistent prayer, in neighbourhoods and communities. The Vision is for the birthing to grow to a church planting movement throughout Isaan that includes a diversity of ages and backgrounds. Our Strategy We intend for the 5 Isaan Teams to partner with the local Thai church and other mission organizations throughout the Isaan Region to reach the Isaan people group (21.5 million) for Christ through church planting. Initial work is based from Ubon Ratchathani, where the key mobilising and launching team is located. In the future it is envisaged to have ministry operating from other teams based in provinces of Si Saket, Surin, Kalasin and UdonThani. According to recent data the area of Isaan is one of the most unreached in Thailand and the provinces of Si Saket, Surin and Kalasin are the areas of greatest spiritual need in Isaan. For more information, including data rationale behind this Strategy, please see the Appendix Facts and Figures Isaan at the end of this document. 5 Teams Strategy Team 1: Ubon Ratchathani (refer above map for location)

Functions: (i) Key mobilising, launching and Isaan orientation team, (ii) Training and language learning, (iii) CP through House Churches, (iv) Holistic ministry in partnership with YWAM and others. Key data: Proportion of population who are Christian – 0.12%, Population per 1 Christian – 844, Population per each Christian church – 45,327

Southern Team 1: Si Saket (refer above map for location)

Functions: (i) CPM team based in Si Saket city, (ii) launching work north and south in Si Saket province, (iii) using holistic ministry for relationship building. Key data: Proportion of population who are Christian – 0.09%, Population per 1 Christian – 1,068, Population per each Christian church – 35,426

Southern Team 2: Surin (refer above map for location) Functions: (i) CPM team based in Surin city, (ii) launching work north in Surin province and west into Buriram province, (iii) using holistic ministry for relationship building. Key data: Proportion of population who are Christian – 0.09%, Population per 1 Christian – 1,076, Population per each Christian church – 49,349

Central Team: Kalasin (refer above map for location)

Functions: (i) CPM team based in Kalasin city, (ii) launching work east and south in Kalasin province to Roi Et province, (iii) using holistic ministry for relationship building. Key data: Proportion of population who are Christian – 0.08%, Population per 1 Christian – 1,303, Population per each Christian church – 39,303

Northern Team: Udon Thani (refer above map for location)

Functions: (i) Key northern centre, (ii) CPM team based in Udon Thani city, (iii) launching work west and east along the Lao border, (iv) using holistic ministry for relationship building, (v) mobilising the established Thai church. Key data: Proportion of population who are Christian – 0.42%, Population per 1 Christian – 240, Population per each Christian church – 17,756

Role of Holistic Ministry Depending on the skills God brings to these teams, the 5 Isaan Teams aim to work

with a range of holistic ministries1 (where possible in conjunction with the local Thai church) to sow seed through relationship building. Holistic ministries provide opportunities for building relationships and outreach and evangelism as a forerunner to planting new house churches. Other possibilities in the strategy include, but are not limited to, discipleship and leadership training in the local church, and teaching English in local schools as a bridge to ministry with Isaan children and their families. Rollout of Strategy Our strategy is intended to:

Cover everything firstly in intentional and persistent prayer;

Evangelise by presenting Jesus in a holistic fashion (as meeting spiritual, physical, emotional and mental needs);

Seek out ‘people of peace’ (cf Luke 10:1-9) in a community who are responsive to God’s invitation of salvation; and

Disciple2 new believers, in a church planting context, so they are equipped to reach out (through evangelism, discipleship, leadership training and church planting) to their own people.

1 Holistic ministry in Isaan can include (but is not limited to) care for young mothers raising their kids from

unwanted pregnancies, care for orphans (either in the community or through an existing orphanage), prison

ministry, addiction recovery, help in micro-enterprise startups. 2 Jesus last command to us from Matthew 28 was to go and make DISCIPLES of all nations, which included

baptising them and teaching them.

This strategy is mindful of the need to adopt a learning approach and to offer ourselves as servants of the people – as shown by Jesus’ example and the example of Paul’s ministry3. The 5 Isaan Teams strategy is based on local community settings presenting opportunities for a dynamic ministry for church planting that is re-producible throughout the region. In order for churches to be sustainable and re-producible (like in Acts of the Apostles), they need to be simple, organic gatherings where discipleship is practiced and gatherings that have little need for resources such as a building or paid staff. Therefore the Isaan Teams envisage re-producible

fellowships planted within a community where all believers can use gifts, skills and abilities and provide a place to study the Scriptures, worship together and hold each other accountable. Location of Mobilising and Launching Team The Mobilising and Launching Team is based in the key southern province of Ubon Ratchathani. It is currently undertaking surveying and research with permanent location in this province from the latter part of 2012.

Phil Malone, Team Coordinator Isaan Teams PIONEERS

3 I Corinthians 9:19-23

Crowds gather at a football stadium in one of Isaan’s larger cities – Isaan people love their football

Appendix – Facts and figures, Isaan

Location – the North East Region of Thailand,

divided into 20 provinces. Isaan borders

Cambodia to the south and Laos to the north.

Meaning and history – ‘Isaan’ means

‘invisible power’, derived from its pre-Thai

history. Isaan has a history of being

dominated by various regimes over the last

800 years. In the last 300 years the region was

settled by Lao and Thai migrants. Its history is

a hard and painful story of trying to find

equality with the rest of Thailand. In the 20th

Century the Thai nationalist policy incorporated Isaan as an integral part of Thailand and

de-emphasised the Lao and Khmer ethnicities of the residents.

Population

- 21.5 million, which is around 33 per cent of Thailand’s total population.

Nature

- Only 50 per cent of the people live in urban communities. The three main urban

centres are Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani and Khon Kaen. The region is mainly

made up of poor rural communities and smaller towns.

- Main industry is agriculture. ‘Sticky rice’ is the staple food and is the main

agricultural crop accounting for about 60 per cent of the cultivated land. The Trade

and Services sector has been increasing in importance in recent years.

- Ethnolinguistic groups – Isaan, Lao and Khmer.

- While the main Thai language (central Thai) is widely spoken and taught in schools,

the ‘heart language’ of the Isaan people is a dialect of the Lao language.

- Driest and poorest region in Thailand (materially and spiritually). Seventy per cent of

Isaan’s population is classified as poor. Although it accounts for 33 per cent of

Thailand’s population and land area, it produces only 8.9 per cent of GDP. This is

largely due to its absence of heavier urban industry and high technology industries.

- All of Thailand’s 10 poorest provinces are in Isaan (the poorest province is Si Saket).

Weather – very hot but less humid than coastal areas. Rainfall is unpredictable. The wet

season is from June to October. Temperatures peak in April at around 39-40 deg C.

Belief systems

- 0.16% call themselves Christians (note: that is under 2/10 of 1 percent), compared to

the average for Thailand of almost 1%.

- Predominant belief system is Buddhism/Animism.

Missions – true pioneering field

- Intensely spiritually dark area – not uncommon to see evil manifestations of some

kind or another. The whole Isaan region has clearly been Satan's domain for many

centuries with a history of spiritual oppression – many attempts to set up ministry

have undergone attack, which has often resulted in closing down ministry efforts.

- Statistics in the following 2 Tables give a stark picture of the spiritual need in Isaan

1. Population per 1 Evangelical Christian

Regional Data

Thailand 174

Isaan 634

Bangkok 113

Chiang Mai 20

Chiang Rai 17

Isaan provincial data

Udon Thani 240

Ubon Ratchathani 844

Surin 1,076

Si Saket 1,068

Kalasin 1,303

This means to evangelise their respective regions, each Christian in Chiang Rai only

needs to reach 17 people, while each Christian in Kalasin needs to reach 1,303 people.

2. Church presence within Key Provinces of Isaan – breakdown by Amphurs4

Province Amphurs with no

church

Amphurs with 1

church

Amphurs with greater

than 1 church

Ubon

Ratchathani

4 8 8

Si Saket 12 3 5

Surin 5 7 5

Kalasin 9 4 5

Udon Thani 4 2 14

This means in Kalasin, for example, half of the Amphurs have no church plant and in

Si Saket more than half of the Amphurs have no church plant.

The figures, from the 2 tables above, demonstrate the enormity of the missions task in

the Isaan region and its true nature as a largely unreached area.

- The above data is partly informing the strategic direction by envisaging team ministry

to operate in the following centres of greatest spiritual need – Ubon Ratchathani,

Surin, Si Saket and Kalasin. Also, from a strategic point of view the strategy

envisages team ministry in Udon Thani as a key northern population centre.

Education options for MKs

- There is only one international school in Issan (according to the Association of

International Schools in Thailand) – St Stephen’s International School

(http://www.sis.edu/khaoyai/) – located in the Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) province,

which offers a British curriculum for day or boarding students.

- Homeschooling is the main option for missionary families.

Questions: please feel free to direct any questions to the Pioneers Coordinator for the 5

Isaan Teams – Phil Malone at malone.phil@gmail.com

4 An Amphur refers to the second level administrative sub-division of Thailand after the Province (i.e. State). It

is analogous to the ‘County’ (in the USA and United Kingdom) and the ‘Municipality’ (in Australia).