A Harvest of Men
Campus Outreach first sent a cross-cultural team to Bangkok, Thailand in 1989. Over the years, the ministry has expanded to three new locations and has shifted to a predominantly Thai staff! Even as the ministry grows, it has been rare for young Thai men to come to Christ. Arm, on staff with CO in Khon Kaen, recently shared that less than ten Christian male students have been involved with the ministry in the ten years since he was a student. Well, rejoice with us! The Lord is gathering a harvest of men in Thailand!
Campus Outreach SERVE hosted the first CO Southeast Asia network conference in October 2022, and staff from Chiang Mai shared that a student named Tdon confessed his need for Jesus, surrendering his life after two years of hearing the Gospel. Pond, a first-year student, also became a Christian. The staff team in Udon Thani also shared about fruit from two years of investment: Ton, with tears in his eyes, acknowledged Christ as the Lord of his life.
Then, you could have heard a pin drop as Boy, a CO staff member in Khon Kaen, shared the Lord's work in and through his life — a story of redemption and multiplication. Boy shared that he became a Christian during his sophomore year after seeing the difference God made in the lives of students that spent time with him. Convinced that discipleship is God’s plan, Boy shared that his prayer upon graduation was for God to give him two men to disciple. “Praise God,” he said, “He has answered that prayer! Five years later, God has given me the privilege to disciple 18 men. Five of them have their own ministry and led seven students to Christ last semester. God is able to do far more than I can ask or think.”
Moss, one of the students Boy referred to, joined him on campus over the past few months and met many students. Moss shared, “Last month, God [saved] one student who I met and did not expect that he would receive Jesus. That is a big lesson for me to learn to do what God wants: loving people, sharing the gospel, and not judging by my understanding. God can lead anyone to Him. My calling is to be His ambassador and instrument to share the Good News with people!”
Moss was faithful to this call, and now Bank, a first-year student, can share his story: “I went to a welcome back to school event at the church and got to know Moss and a staff guy named Boy. They have welcomed me and want to know me. We played sports, had dinner, and I even joined them at church on Sunday. After getting to know each other more, Moss asked me questions about my faith and God. I started to think about who God is to me. Moss encouraged me to pray to Him about situations in my life, and God answered my prayer. That made me want to know and learn more about Him. Through reading Knowing God together and our conversations, I believe that God is real and that His grace is what I need to receive. I understand that I am a sinner and cannot help myself from doing good. I need Jesus to be my Savior. At that moment, I wanted to follow Christ, but I was also concerned about my family. Moss and Boy encouraged me to put my trust in God. He will care for me, so I decided to accept Him into my life.”
For years, people have been asking God for Thai men to come to the Lord and for more male leaders in Thailand! What a joy to hear of these 21 men! Join in the prayers and wait with expectation to see how God will grow this harvest of men to be laborers, leaders, and lights in the Buddhist world.