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(This is the version of our vision updated last in 2017. Please contact the OMF ST Regional Leader at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more recent updates to the vision statement.) 
 
OMF South Thailand and TEAM South Thailand are committed to starting church planting movements throughout South Thailand among the southern Thai people. 
 
We value:
  • Teamwork - especially multi-cultural and multi-gifted teams
  • Incarnational ministry
  • Pioneering in areas without churches
  • Partnering with local Christians where possible
Last year, we developed our vision further based on the acronym VIBRANT. Our team is growing and moving ahead with evangelism in places that have never heard the gospel before. Will you join us? Will you work with us to see this vision achieved? 
team jan2017

The current situation in South Thailand:

  • Population: 9,290,708 (June 2018 statistics)
  • Religious situation: Majority Buddhist with some local Muslim communities except the three Southern most provinces which are majority Muslim.
  • 381 churches
  • 25,218 Christians or  0.27% of the population
  • 48 districts with no church (of a total of 159 districts)
  • 680 sub-districts without a church
  • We understand that it is 700 times more likely that someone will come to Christ if they have a relative who is a believer. The presence of a local church in a village makes it 100 times more likely for someone to believe.

Our focus as a regional team is on reaching Thai Buddhists for Christ. We aim to follow family lines and social networks to start new work in strategic areas where there is either no existing, local church or in a central location surrounded by areas with very few churches.

 Our vision:

A movement of Vibrant,
  Indigenous,
  Biblical,
  Reproducing disciples and
  ACTS churches
  Networking
  Together with the body of Christ
                                                   

to proclaim the Gospel to all Thai Buddhists in South Thailand
and to all the peoples of the earth.

How we want to get there:

Vibrant - Listening, obeying and being responsive to the Spirit of God, we seek to show the light and life in our churches and cell groups. We want to see Thai believer’s lives reflecting a real sense of vibrancy, of “life in all its fullness”. We want to see vibrant churches that worship God with their whole lives and thus bring life and light to the whole community.

Indigenous - We desire to see churches that are fully Thai in their style of worship, use of language and ways of communicating the Gospel. We also want to see full ownership of the local churches taken by the local Thai Christians in terms of leadership, financial responsibility and reaching out to other Thais.

Biblical churches – We believe the Bible is God's Word and is the sole authority for Godly living and for all matters related to the Church. We seek to live in a way that is consistent with Biblical teaching. We continually teach and train local Christians in reading, understanding and obeying the Bible for themselves.

Reproducing – We desire to build churches that will reproduce themselves in multiplying church movements. We would prefer to see many small to medium size churches throughout South Thailand rather than just a few mega-churches. As such, we seek to teach and use methods that are easily copied by local Christians, while we model and assist the local Christians to start new churches in other areas. We also see that mission is vital to every church and we desire to build mission mindedness into local Christians. We long to see Southern Thai Christians working as missionaries to other parts of Thailand and beyond and will work to foster this.

ACTS – We are committed to the ACTS church network as we have a good relationship with these churches and enjoy the ACTS churches' trust, doctrine and humility.

Networking together – We seek to build relationships with other churches in South Thailand in order to promote the unity of the body of Christ. This requires us to take time to build relationships and trust with Christians of other churches in our local area. We do this as far as is possible without compromising on doctrinal purity or unethical practices such as “sheep-stealing”. We will only work alongside other churches that share the same vision and values as ourselves. 

Mission Statement:

We dedicate ourselves by prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit:

1. to evangelize continually, widely and frequently, make disciples for Christ, teach and train Thai people to plant new churches and strengthen existing churches in South Thailand, and

2. to support, cooperate and assist each other in the pursuit of our vision. 

Our Goal:

Our job as cross-cultural church planters is complete when the Church in South Thailand is 5% of the ethnic Thai (Buddhist background) population (25 times current percentage) and is vibrant, indigenous, Biblical and reproducing.

 

 

Details
Category: Vision, Mission & Strategy
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