Bangkok Church Planting: How to Get Started
by David Robinson"Do you have any neighbors?" What a question to ask a Thai friend of mine, a Bangkok flat dweller, living in a block with ninety-nine other flats, the blocks of flats standing in rows as far as the eye could see. Perhaps 200,000 people within a two-mile district. Did I hear the reply correctly?
"Not really. You see, my family is from northeast Thailand, and that's what I think of as home. In the block, we're from all over the country - north, northeast, central, south, as well as from other parts of Bangkok. Our ways are different, our dialects, even our clothing and our music. So though we live close, in our lives we are far apart.
"There are other reasons, too. I leave home at 5:45 in the morning to beat the two-hour traffic jams on my way to work. And I don't get home till 6:45 p.m., so I come and go in the dark, and that's not too good for getting close to neighbors, is it? Sundays, if I'm not working, I tend to sleep a lot and watch TV with the family. I'm too tired to be bothered with socializing.
"Besides, the other flats are always changing hands. People around here seem to come and go constantly. So we Bangkok people have learned to mind our own business so that we don't get hurt. Not like up-country, of course, where every bus journey is a great chance to meet up with folks. No, here we prefer to do our own thing."
"But," I persist, "surely you have friendships to help make life bearable and interesting?"
"That's different," replies my friend. "Friendships I have. But the friends mostly don't live near here. They're scattered all over the city. Mostly they're people who work at the same place or are contacts I've made over the years in my work. And then there are friends and relatives from my home in the northeast. But again, they're scattered all over the city."
"Who do you think you're more committed to, your local neighbors, your relatives, or your friendship 'network' around the city?" I continue.
"Undoubtedly the last group," comes the reply. "Mostly relatives have one aim in mind when they come to see you - borrowing money - and that's money you're unlikely to see again. And apart from an odd game of tagraw [the Thai sport of kicking a six-inch ball made of woven wicker strands, the participants standing in a wide circle] with neighbors, we have little in common. No, it's us in the friendship network who help each other and have fun times together."
"Would all your friends be Buddhists? I change tack a little bit, seeking to discover all I can to help me in my church-planting work.
"Yes, we're all Buddhists and have served a period of time - usually about three months - in the temple as monks when we were young men. It's true that most of us hardly ever go to a temple now. The religious observances don't coincide with our weekend break, and any merit-making (i.e., putting rice into the monk's bowl on his early morning rounds) we leave to the women. But don't try to convert us to another religion! We all feel that to be truly Thai, you have to be a Buddhist - that's what we were born into and brought up in. We all have shrines in our homes and many amulets to give us help in our daily lives. It's true we enjoy your western technology, but for Thai people, Buddhism is the religion of the heart, and that's how we wish it to remain. At least we Buddhists don't spend our time fighting each other like you Christians do! I know, because I see it on my TV news almost every day!"
I guess this final outburst from my friend left me feeling a bit bruised, so I dropped the questioning. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, I went home, pondering the things that my friend had shared and wondering what their implications were for my current church planting activities in the great metropolis of Bangkok, a city of about 8 million people, with barely one in 500 a Christian!
Church Planting
Guidelines
A number of questions raised in this fictitious (but based on many similar
chats) dialogue relate to church planting work by foreign missionaries in this
capital city. In particular, they can help us establish basic guidelines for
the initial stage
of this challenging work.
1. Rent
the right place
Suppose there is no church and no Christians known to us in our target area.
How should we begin? As the missionary plans a move into a new area, it is essential
to ask, what sort of house should I rent? Is it ostentatious, is it accessible?
Are the locals going to feel comfortable visiting me there? What about after
dark? Most Thai won't go easily along dark lanes or ones that are known to have
fierce dogs around. The best way in Thailand to find a house to rent is to walk
the lanes, asking if there is any housing available just now. Not only is this
good for obtaining a firsthand knowledge of what's available, but you also get
to know a lot of the local community personally as you walk around making your
inquiries.
2. Moving
in
As we begin to take up residence in our rented accommodation, invariably all
kinds of things need fixing. So we go around the neighborhood looking for people
to fix the plumbing, the roof, the mosquito screening, and the window bars (against
intruders). We'll need to find places to buy paint and wood, light fittings
and rice. Before long, if the missionary is friendly and open, he's making some
friends in his new home. The locals begin to see that this "peculiar foreigner"
is not so different from them after all.
3. Making
friends
Our initial aim is to build friendship relationships for Christ's
sake. Thus we take every opportunity to make contact and share something of
ourselves, our interests, and maybe our faith and aims. Only a few of those
who become our friends and neighbors will
eventually believe in Christ. But all of them are a potential source of help
and friendship and will probably commend us and "interpret" us to
other members of the community. This will probably mean that not only will we
live more safely, but also those who want to learn English or make friends with
the foreigner or study the Christian religion will begin to hear of us and head
our way.
4. Using
tracts
Some people like to mark every move by giving a tract. I prefer
to let people get used to me before putting a definite label on myself. But
as people meet me the second or third time, I leave with them "something
interesting to look at that they may not have seen yet," and it has my
address stamped on the back. Though this is a gentler approach, it probably
will have a deeper impact because it comes in the context of a friendship relationship.
5. Sowing
the seed
By now I'm ready to make some moves forward with the gospel.
There are broadly two styles - the "broadcast" and the "concentrated'
- both methods being used by the Thai in their rice farming and both valuable
in different ways to move out the gospel. The broadcast way is a good way to
start. I take a box of evangelistic books and tracts and a fold-up table and
head for the local market area, probably in the evening when many stalls spring
up along the roadsides between 4:30 and 7:30. I'll probably have a poster roll
and an easel with me too, if I can persuade someone to carry them! And so we
find a spot next to another seller and put our things out.
The adults are shy to come and buy, but the children come and look at the pictorial books. Then the children begin to finger the posters. "Would you like me to explain them?" I ask, and soon we are looking at the set of the "Gulf Bridged" and working out how the poor man is going to cross (to God) unaided. By now some adults are standing behind the children, enjoying the talk (and fascinated to hear a foreigner speaking their language), and I speak more for their benefit, clearly highlighting the grace of God in Christ. At the close of the talk, I suggest those interested receive an explanatory leaflet from me. We talk person-to-person, friendships made, and I have the address of someone I will visit in the next day or two.
6. Nurturing
the seedlings
Following up contacts is the next stage. And in the relaxed environment of the
home, we talk not only to our new friends, but to his roommates, neighbors and
relatives. Other posters are explained, literature is left, and we agree to
meet again. Eventually we will encourage our friend to take some kind of "inquirer's"
study course. And if one or two want to do it together, we agree for me to come
at a fixed time. Even then the chances of it taking off are small, with the
mobility/lack of commitment of each one involved. But it is out of such groups
that committed believers come and a local church emerges in embryonic form.
In the meantime, such a regular study time provides constant exposure until
the damp firewood of the reluctant heart is dried out and ignited by the warming
fire of the grace
of God in Christ.
7. Working
in teams
If possible, I prefer to work with a national believer, not
only to reduce the "foreignness" of what I am doing but also to train
my fellow believer and to give him an opportunity to plant a local church. As
it grows and develops under his care, so will his commitment to look after it
in the future. As well as continuity, there is the opportunity to teach the
basics of the faith in a culturally applied way. It means too that any ceremonies
(e.g. baptism) can be performed by a national from the beginning. In addition,
the local church with whom we are affiliated will be brought in at the earliest
point to provide family care for the new converts.
8. Ongoing
expansion
As noted above, our new convert may not have many close neighbor
links, but there will certainly be friendship networks. So I say to the new
believer, "Have you shared with your friends about your new faith yet?
Yes, but not too clearly?" I offer to accompany him across the city to
meet his pals, and they too have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.
And the new believer begins to grow further as he has the spiritual welfare
of his friend to care for.
This is merely the beginning. But it is one pattern being followed with varying degrees of success in the tough areas of Huay Kwang in the center of Bangkok. Our prayer need is for those with creative pioneer spirit to come and stand with us in the urban bustle and to see the amazing works of the Lord in people's hearts and lives.
David Robinson, B.S., B.A., has served with Overseas Missionary Fellowship since 1972. A graduate of London Bible College, he served almost two decades in Thailand. In 1988 he moved to the populous Huay Kwang district in Bangkok, described in this case study.
From Urban Mission, published by Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, June 1997. Used by permission.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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