Newsletter from John & Nok

Recent Events

Vision Still Waiting to Be Fulfilled

Which is easier, making disciples via social media, or by preaching where people respond by walking to the front to show personal faith? When we both served with the Good News Team about 20 years ago we drew a picture of our vision as a map of Thailand, and every place on that map, North, South, East, West and Central Thailand, had an image of a TV with fire/light on it.

On 16th April 2013 God spoke to us by the Holy Spirit saying,”Time is mine and my time is never late nor slow. I don’t need to hurry to do anything because when I start, it will be completed in an instant. I don’t need time to complete some things. I am not man but I am the Creator of man. I don’t need a lot of time to do anything."

Because our work begins by trusting in the things that God told us would be possible, we start by doing what God has placed in our hearts. Today our work focuses on preaching and raising disciples via social media.

If you ask, ”Has your vision changed?” we would reply, “No, our vision is still the same.” We want to see Thais saved throughout the country and who follow Jesus Christ for the rest of their lives.

Actually, together we must use all of our faith and knowledge to do small things and things that we can’t see, so they will bear fruit, such as prayer, and teaching clips on how to pray, how to receive the Holy Spirit by oneself at home, and how to follow the leading of the Spirit.

But if God doesn’t participate in our work, there will be no power nor miracles, and exerting ourselves doing these things probably wouldn’t have any benefit. 

Media Ministry

We work with many volunteers who are divided into media communication groups. We receive assistance from Nana’s friends who used to study with her. Even though they aren’t Christians, they advise us how to communicate effectively as they like to help us.

In the ‘raising disciples’ and ‘followup’ groups, we work together with our church members and those from other churches who are interested in joining our ministry.

Our volunteers regularly post video training clips and effective testimonies. God answered our prayers when, at the beginning of 2021, we made plans to use Youtube for children’s outreach as another ministry using Beem who is in our team. However, Beem rejected the idea because she doesn’t like being in front of a camera. After that we thought it probably wasn’t the right time for this work.

We didn’t pray or talk about it with anyone again but in the middle of January, Bank who is a kindergarten teacher at a Catholic school and a member of our church since being a child, shared a burden on his heart saying he wanted to make a video clip on children’s outreach because during the covid 19 period his school was closed and he had to teach his students online by making videos.

When he finished each clip, the teachers would wash their hands and put on a mask, telling the children to also do the same everytime they left their homes. This caused the children to do it without needing to be told by their caregivers. Therefore Bank felt that if he could teach children to rely on God and to pray to Him regularly, they probably would do it. He wants children to experience God in the form of a relationship, not as religion. He came and shared his burden with us and now we have started to produce a children’s program but we won’t put it on Youtube until we complete all of the programs that we need. 

Church Planting Movement

Kamphaengphet: If possible, we visit disciples in Kamphaengphet province every month. All of them attend house churches. They call themselves children of God and rely on Him through prayer in their daily lives. Every time we go, we hear testimonies that show the greatness of God and their strong faith. Presently in Kamphaengphet there are 2 villages which are about 4 hours drive from us and both these villages have 2 local leaders.

Last time when we visited Anti Mok told us that they prayed for a grandson who was addicted to drugs and refused to work. One day they found their grandson sitting in a chicken coop taking drugs with his friends. In faith, they laid hands on his head and prayed in their hearts to God. The grandson tried to shake off their hands but they told him that he would be blessed. Then the grandmother prayed to God in her heart. The next day the grandson went to apply for work and got a job. He then invited his friends, who had also taken the drugs, to go and work at the chicken processing factory too.

Lampang: One church in Lampang province from the same denomination as ours, who we have had a relationship with for a long time, is closing down because of economic reasons. Therefore, the pastor and his wife asked us if we could go and help them to start outreach and discipleship as a house church. We visited them twice, in November and December, to do training and to set a goal of creating relationships with villagers.

Now there is a new family of strong believers while others in the village have opened their hearts towards the gospel. They allow their children to study the bible and some people attend the house meetings.  Presently, there are weekly meetings at the pastor’s home.

Suphanburi: Our work in Suphanburi is divided into 2 districts. Bang Pla Ma District is where we lived for 2 years using natural outreach methods of making disciples. Presently we still visit the Suphanburi movements, observing their faith and encouraging the leaders and disciples. As they follow God, their testimonies always excite us.

Maew (photo below) one of the followers of Jesus here told us that she grows rice in 18 rai (7 acres) of land. Normally, she said that after expenses she would only make 7,000 – 12,000 baht profit but after she became a child of God, she prayed every day and this year her rice field produced a profit of 90,000 baht. Even though it is the same field with the same type of rice and same fertilisers, it was the biggest profit she has ever earned in her life.

Please Pray For: 

1) John’s health. Last year his right shoulder was swollen causing pain and immobility. Now it has healed and improved 70% with massage and physiotherapy. We want him to completely recover and be able to use his arm normally.
2) Chucky’s health. He is a strategist in our team. Last week he got tinnitus in his ear for 7 days and he hasn’t fully recovered. He went to the doctor who said it was laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). Now he has 60% improvement.
3) The children’s outreach ministry to be posted on Youtube. It is scheduled for 1st March 2021.
4) Follow up discipleship of 161 people who are learning about God via social media and have decided to trust in Jesus. They are learning how to know God more. Our goal is that they will lead their families to salvation.
5) Wisdom for us when considering content and script for teaching videos and every kind of outreach.

Comments

We frequently tell our team and volunteers who work with us that all of our work is like yeast which is put into flour and afterwards it rises (Luke 13:21), thereby passing on what we have produced.

If one day we have people similar to Paul, a famous person, who are accepted by Thai society, they will rise up and be our voices in disciple making movements. Then it will happen easily.

And then we will praise God together because the things that we did have been accomplished. We will see these things together in the land.

Thank you for your support, love, prayers and donations that you have continuously given to enable us to work to our utmost up to today. 

Together, we will see God’s greatness.

John & Nok