Over the past 60 years, there's been a massive decline 00:00:08.57\00:00:11.07 in foreign missions. 00:00:11.11\00:00:12.44 I'm sharing the Gospel through church planting. 00:00:15.58\00:00:19.21 In the 1930s, if somebody gave $10 in tithe, 00:00:19.25\00:00:22.02 they'd give an additional $6 in foreign missions. 00:00:22.05\00:00:24.85 Today, just $0.28. 00:00:24.89\00:00:27.72 We're doing the best we can with what we have, 00:00:27.76\00:00:30.13 but I'm still not satisfied. 00:00:30.16\00:00:31.69 Over two billion people in the world today 00:00:31.73\00:00:33.96 still have no access to the Gospel. 00:00:34.00\00:00:36.10 God's crazy in love with the Thai people, 00:00:36.13\00:00:38.53 and I sense His spirit hovering over the city. 00:00:38.57\00:00:41.04 I've come to Bangkok, Thailand to discover the truth 00:00:41.07\00:00:44.01 about foreign missions. 00:00:44.04\00:00:45.64 Come with me as I follow my good friend Pastor Doug Venn 00:00:45.67\00:00:48.18 in his everyday life as a frontline missionary. 00:00:48.21\00:00:51.18 I pray for God's biggest dream and He gave me this city 00:00:51.21\00:00:54.22 of 12 million. 00:00:54.25\00:00:57.12 Welcome to my world. 00:00:57.15\00:00:58.69 I'm here at the headquarters 00:01:10.60\00:01:11.93 of the Thailand Adventist mission. 00:01:11.97\00:01:14.64 It rained a lot last night, and it seems as though 00:01:14.67\00:01:17.11 there's a bit of a leak. 00:01:17.14\00:01:18.57 We came to work today, and we found that 00:01:18.61\00:01:22.51 we had a swimming pool. 00:01:22.54\00:01:24.41 There is about a centimeter of water in here. 00:01:24.45\00:01:28.68 The water actually here and I think that 00:01:28.72\00:01:31.32 the water it came down from this ceiling here 00:01:31.35\00:01:35.92 because you can see here the secretary's, 00:01:35.96\00:01:39.49 they're all of their work, 00:01:39.53\00:01:40.93 it's just like completely soaked, 00:01:40.96\00:01:42.43 this book here, it's just like completely saturated, 00:01:42.46\00:01:46.43 just all this entire area, it is completely soaked. 00:01:46.47\00:01:50.71 These are the Sunday school lessons 00:01:50.74\00:01:52.24 that they were getting ready, 00:01:52.27\00:01:54.41 and was getting ready for Bangkok. 00:01:54.44\00:01:58.05 Luckily, she got the rest of the country's order 00:01:58.08\00:02:00.52 out yesterday. 00:02:00.55\00:02:01.88 On that side, you can see her lessons. 00:02:01.92\00:02:06.15 These are the registrations now from... 00:02:06.19\00:02:10.06 for the Voice of Prophecy discovered Bible school, 00:02:10.09\00:02:13.80 and so because this school is the official school 00:02:13.83\00:02:15.96 registered with the government, she's saying that, 00:02:16.00\00:02:18.20 "No, we have to have, you know, the school records." 00:02:18.23\00:02:21.10 Has this happened before, Vida? 00:02:21.14\00:02:22.97 Not much, just a little bit, you know. 00:02:23.00\00:02:25.67 But you can see and you can clean it 00:02:25.71\00:02:27.71 but this is very heavy. 00:02:27.74\00:02:30.31 You see my... cannot sit. 00:02:30.35\00:02:33.05 Yeah, sure, it's soaked. 00:02:33.08\00:02:34.55 This is another day in the mission field. 00:02:34.58\00:02:39.19 We're going to a church plant on the other side of the city, 00:02:39.22\00:02:41.72 takes about an hour and half to get there, 00:02:41.76\00:02:43.46 and I started wondering... 00:02:43.49\00:02:45.03 This neighboring that we're driving through right now 00:02:45.06\00:02:46.93 is there any Adventist presence here? 00:02:46.96\00:02:48.36 There are no Adventists in this neighborhood right now. 00:02:48.40\00:02:51.17 We drove another 20 minutes, and I asked him again. 00:02:51.20\00:02:53.47 And we're here in one of the central business districts, 00:02:53.50\00:02:56.81 there's no Adventists. 00:02:56.84\00:02:58.57 Are there any other communities in Bangkok 00:02:58.61\00:03:00.98 that don't have Adventist presence yet? 00:03:01.01\00:03:03.85 Bangkok has 50 districts. 00:03:03.88\00:03:05.58 There's actually now 23 church plants 00:03:05.61\00:03:07.62 across the city and 7 established churches. 00:03:07.65\00:03:09.75 Some have closed, others are started 00:03:09.78\00:03:11.69 over the last five and half years. 00:03:11.72\00:03:14.02 There are some others that are kind of incubating. 00:03:14.06\00:03:16.52 right now where we're going to... 00:03:16.56\00:03:18.79 they're having some other small groups 00:03:18.83\00:03:20.96 that they're starting, and so in time, 00:03:21.00\00:03:24.67 they will also then expand and multiply 00:03:24.70\00:03:28.64 and have other church plants. 00:03:28.67\00:03:31.04 And so that's kind of the goal is to expand the work. 00:03:31.07\00:03:36.38 Are there any Adventist church in this... 00:03:36.41\00:03:37.75 There's no Adventist church in this neighborhood here. 00:03:37.78\00:03:40.42 I know. We haven't planted one yet. 00:03:40.45\00:03:42.98 We don't have enough workers, others would say 00:03:43.02\00:03:45.49 we don't have enough money, and others may say that 00:03:45.52\00:03:48.72 there's not enough faith. 00:03:48.76\00:03:50.76 Okay, so you've got 50 districts 00:03:50.79\00:03:52.49 and 29 or 30 churches and church plants. 00:03:52.53\00:03:56.26 But if you look at the greater Bangkok metro area, 00:03:56.30\00:04:00.14 according to Wikipedia, it's around... 00:04:00.17\00:04:03.14 I have to look at Wikipedia. 00:04:07.98\00:04:10.11 I think it's like 1,200 square kilometers. 00:04:10.15\00:04:14.18 It's easy to point to 'cause I just have to 00:04:14.22\00:04:16.15 look on the map on my wall, that's the Bangkok metro area. 00:04:16.18\00:04:19.09 Every color on here is like a political, 00:04:19.12\00:04:21.82 you know, district. 00:04:21.86\00:04:23.19 This pink area, there's nothing, 00:04:23.22\00:04:24.79 this green area, nothing, and here in blue and orange, 00:04:24.83\00:04:30.53 and this green area, nothing, 00:04:30.57\00:04:33.50 and this kind of pink and yellow area, green area, 00:04:33.54\00:04:39.07 Downtown, well, if you call it Downtown, we have nothing. 00:04:39.11\00:04:45.71 By the airport, we have nothing. 00:04:45.75\00:04:48.58 So yeah, we just... 00:04:48.62\00:04:51.95 We still have the majority of the city to reach, 00:04:51.99\00:04:54.66 and although we praise God for this success, 00:04:54.69\00:04:58.49 we could just do a driving tour and it probably take us a week 00:04:58.53\00:05:01.20 to do it and just to go to all the neighborhoods at... 00:05:01.23\00:05:04.07 There are no Adventists and there are no schools 00:05:04.10\00:05:07.14 or they've never heard about the three angels' message 00:05:07.17\00:05:10.34 and what Jesus is wanting to do in our lives today 00:05:10.37\00:05:13.07 and the hope that we have in Him, 00:05:13.11\00:05:15.34 in His grace, and His soon return. 00:05:15.38\00:05:16.85 Are there any church plants... 00:05:16.88\00:05:18.21 We're now in this, we just passed the Silom exit, 00:05:18.25\00:05:21.48 and there's no Seventh-day Adventist church 00:05:21.52\00:05:23.25 in this neighborhood either. 00:05:23.28\00:05:24.79 Again, this is another one of the central business districts 00:05:24.82\00:05:27.26 here in Bangkok 00:05:27.29\00:05:28.69 and we don't have the funds for staff, 00:05:28.72\00:05:32.73 we don't have the funds for the rental 00:05:32.76\00:05:36.10 or buying a place. 00:05:36.13\00:05:37.77 I don't think we could afford to even buy. 00:05:37.80\00:05:41.37 But there's places, you can see, 00:05:41.40\00:05:42.74 there's a retail shop in restaurant space for rent, 00:05:42.77\00:05:46.31 so we could go there. 00:05:46.34\00:05:49.21 I can see how the progress of the Gospel 00:05:49.24\00:05:51.28 is directly affected by the decline in giving. 00:05:51.31\00:05:54.15 During the 20th century, prosperity in North America 00:05:54.18\00:05:56.92 increased on a scale never before seen 00:05:56.95\00:05:59.32 in human history as you can see 00:05:59.35\00:06:01.06 reflected in this graph of tithe. 00:06:01.09\00:06:03.02 But with the increased wealth, came a huge decline 00:06:03.06\00:06:05.53 in giving to foreign missions to the point where today 00:06:05.56\00:06:08.30 they can barely maintain what is already established, 00:06:08.33\00:06:10.97 much less venture into new territory. 00:06:11.00\00:06:13.40 How will they hear? 00:06:23.04\00:06:26.31 How will they know? 00:06:26.35\00:06:29.25 How will they ever find the truth 00:06:29.28\00:06:32.72 If we don't go? 00:06:32.75\00:06:35.56 How can we fear 00:06:35.59\00:06:38.59 God's love to show? 00:06:38.63\00:06:41.73 Jesus desires every child His love to know 00:06:41.76\00:06:47.17 We've now crossed the river 00:06:47.20\00:06:48.97 and there are no established churches. 00:06:49.00\00:06:51.24 All we have on this side of the river is church plants. 00:06:51.27\00:06:54.31 We've been traveling for about an hour and half now. 00:06:54.34\00:06:56.81 Is there a church plant in this neighborhood? 00:06:56.85\00:06:58.48 Yes! There's a church plant here in this neighborhood. 00:06:58.51\00:07:01.98 Thanks for the sacrifice and the vision of 00:07:02.02\00:07:03.99 actually one of our physicians, Dr. Supachai, 00:07:04.02\00:07:06.52 in partnership with one of our laymen brother Vinay, 00:07:06.55\00:07:10.03 we have a church plant here. 00:07:10.06\00:07:11.96 And this just kind of a normal Bangkok neighborhood 00:07:11.99\00:07:15.16 and people live in these kind of shop houses, 00:07:15.20\00:07:18.97 and they'll have their work, you know, on one level 00:07:19.00\00:07:22.40 and then there are bedrooms in houses, you know, 00:07:22.44\00:07:24.84 on, you know, second, third, or fourth floors. 00:07:24.87\00:07:26.91 You can see our neighbors here. 00:07:26.94\00:07:28.54 Now she's fixing clothes. 00:07:28.58\00:07:32.68 My neighbor, he makes noodles. 00:07:32.71\00:07:35.22 And the church plant... 00:07:35.25\00:07:36.58 And then the church plant is these 00:07:36.62\00:07:37.95 two shop houses, next to it. 00:07:37.99\00:07:39.62 It's like a... It's not really a cathedral, is it? 00:07:39.65\00:07:42.02 Oh, it is actually at the cathedral 00:07:42.06\00:07:44.13 where God's glory can be seen in the people, 00:07:44.16\00:07:46.59 in the lives of the people whose lives have been changed. 00:07:46.63\00:07:49.33 It blends really well. 00:07:49.36\00:07:50.80 Right, well, He's really right where the people are. 00:07:50.83\00:07:53.77 So many of these people here are coming from this community 00:07:53.80\00:07:57.41 because over the last five years, 00:07:57.44\00:07:59.51 this church plant has been doing 00:07:59.54\00:08:01.21 consistent daily community service and through that, 00:08:01.24\00:08:05.21 we've been able to gain the trust 00:08:05.25\00:08:07.48 as well as develop relationships. 00:08:07.52\00:08:09.68 People have been able to see Jesus Christ. 00:08:09.72\00:08:11.85 I'm here now with Vinay. 00:08:11.89\00:08:13.76 And Vinay is one of our church members. 00:08:13.79\00:08:16.06 Can you tell us the story, how did this place start? 00:08:16.09\00:08:18.69 It began in the year of 2005 on that year the tenants 00:08:18.73\00:08:22.46 who were living in these two shop houses 00:08:22.50\00:08:24.13 informed me that they would be leaving in a few months. 00:08:24.17\00:08:27.00 So I was impressed to dedicate these 2 buildings to God. 00:08:27.04\00:08:30.21 So I approached the Thailand Adventist Mission. 00:08:30.24\00:08:33.24 I told them that we have these two shop houses 00:08:33.27\00:08:35.34 and we want it to be used for the cause of God 00:08:35.38\00:08:38.25 as a Gospel outreach center. 00:08:38.28\00:08:40.28 So I approached the Pastor and he was quite enthusiastic. 00:08:40.32\00:08:43.89 He made an appointment with me and he said, 00:08:43.92\00:08:45.72 "Well, let's go and look at the place." 00:08:45.75\00:08:47.86 After a few weeks I learned that 00:08:47.89\00:08:49.49 this Pastor had sent his proposal 00:08:49.52\00:08:51.69 to the Chinese Church. 00:08:51.73\00:08:53.06 Since it's close to the Chinese Church 00:08:53.09\00:08:54.53 the matter went to the board of Chinese church 00:08:54.56\00:08:56.56 even though most of the members were not quite... 00:08:56.60\00:08:59.90 supportive. 00:08:59.93\00:09:01.27 But Dr. Supachai, who was 1 of their team 00:09:01.30\00:09:04.07 I think the Lord impressed him that... 00:09:04.11\00:09:06.81 to move forward with this plan. 00:09:06.84\00:09:09.08 So he talked with me, he said, let's do it together 00:09:09.11\00:09:12.85 we'll renovate everything and then we started. 00:09:12.88\00:09:17.39 Vinay, thank you for sharing that perspective 00:09:17.42\00:09:20.06 as we worked together this last, almost six years, 00:09:20.09\00:09:23.16 I've seen how our laymen can sometimes step up by faith 00:09:23.19\00:09:27.10 and then the mission will then start to go forward as well, 00:09:27.13\00:09:30.23 and so that's been a beautiful partnership. 00:09:30.27\00:09:32.63 What advice would you say to the other laymen 00:09:32.67\00:09:35.34 to have this kind of partnership 00:09:35.37\00:09:36.81 because sometimes, I sense that people just wait 00:09:36.84\00:09:39.61 for the mission or in our case, the church, 00:09:39.64\00:09:41.74 why aren't they doing anything? 00:09:41.78\00:09:43.41 So what advice would you have to say? 00:09:43.45\00:09:47.28 Yeah, I have to agree with you. 00:09:47.32\00:09:48.75 There should be a cooperation between the lay people and... 00:09:48.78\00:09:51.99 the clergy, if you please or the mission office 00:09:52.02\00:09:54.49 in this case. 00:09:54.52\00:09:55.86 And I think that's what Spirit of Prophecy also reveals 00:09:55.89\00:09:59.46 that the work will not be finished 00:09:59.49\00:10:01.66 on the clergy side alone 00:10:01.70\00:10:03.87 but it needs the cooperation of the lay people. 00:10:03.90\00:10:07.10 The whole church needs to be involved. 00:10:07.14\00:10:08.94 God calls everyone. 00:10:08.97\00:10:10.81 If you give your heart to Him and you surrender to Him, 00:10:10.84\00:10:14.91 so what I would say to all the lay people is that 00:10:14.94\00:10:19.45 hear the call and move forward by faith, 00:10:19.48\00:10:22.68 God will provide and prepare everything for you. 00:10:22.72\00:10:26.15 And He will do greater works than you can think. 00:10:26.19\00:10:29.39 We've had over 43 people come to Christ, 00:10:29.42\00:10:33.56 and through the partnership between the church 00:10:33.60\00:10:37.50 or the organized church, in our cases, 00:10:37.53\00:10:40.30 the Thailand Adventist Mission, with people like Vinay 00:10:40.34\00:10:44.01 and our laymen working together to advance the Gospel 00:10:44.04\00:10:47.34 here across the city. 00:10:47.38\00:10:48.71 Here comes the Pepsi guy. 00:10:48.74\00:10:50.08 Do you believe that there's room 00:10:57.65\00:10:58.99 for other church plants here in Bangkok? 00:10:59.02\00:11:02.12 I'm sure because everywhere we go, 00:11:02.16\00:11:04.26 there's a soul hungry and thirsty for God's work. 00:11:04.29\00:11:08.83 Have you met anyone that has never heard 00:11:08.86\00:11:11.20 about Jesus before? 00:11:11.23\00:11:13.67 Many of them. 00:11:13.70\00:11:15.84 Many people here in Bangkok have never heard of Jesus? 00:11:15.87\00:11:19.21 There are many of them who have never heard of Jesus. 00:11:19.24\00:11:21.88 Some of them have heard the name Jesus, 00:11:21.91\00:11:23.98 but they never understood what Jesus did for them 00:11:24.01\00:11:27.65 and who really Jesus is. 00:11:27.68\00:11:29.82 Are there any people here in Bangkok 00:11:29.85\00:11:31.19 that don't have access to learn about Jesus? 00:11:31.22\00:11:33.96 I think a lot of them. 00:11:33.99\00:11:35.42 We need these kind of church plants 00:11:35.46\00:11:36.79 in every neighborhood across the city. 00:11:36.83\00:11:38.73 Now there's a 190,000 people 00:11:38.76\00:11:41.00 just in this 8 square kilometer region called Thonburi, 00:11:41.03\00:11:45.33 and so this is like super, you know, 00:11:45.37\00:11:48.07 super packed with people. 00:11:48.10\00:11:49.44 How do you see foreigners from America 00:11:49.47\00:11:51.57 getting involved with church plants 00:11:51.61\00:11:53.27 what are ways that we can help? 00:11:53.31\00:11:54.84 Pastor Venn has mentioned earlier that 00:11:54.88\00:11:56.41 we are offering English Teaching 00:11:56.44\00:11:58.98 for Spiritual Purposes to the community in this area 00:11:59.01\00:12:02.55 and through that many people have also accepted Christ. 00:12:02.58\00:12:05.85 So and one thing, when people come to learn English 00:12:05.89\00:12:08.76 they expect to see Westerners native speakers 00:12:08.79\00:12:12.69 so I think in this way, if there would be 00:12:12.73\00:12:15.13 some volunteers, in fact, in the past 00:12:15.16\00:12:17.63 there have been student volunteers 00:12:17.67\00:12:19.13 coming in to help from United States 00:12:19.17\00:12:22.44 and that has been a blessing for the people 00:12:22.47\00:12:24.67 in this community at large. 00:12:24.71\00:12:26.44 Right now, we don't have those volunteers, 00:12:26.47\00:12:29.21 so there's still opportunities to server here 00:12:29.24\00:12:31.91 in this community, so we just pray that 00:12:31.95\00:12:34.22 the Lord will call those to come and serve. 00:12:34.25\00:12:38.19 How do you get that painting up there? 00:12:38.22\00:12:39.85 Well, like I said, this place is holy ground in the fact that 00:12:39.89\00:12:42.69 when God moves up on someone's life, 00:12:42.72\00:12:45.33 He also then gives burden. 00:12:45.36\00:12:48.46 So we had Cory Goodwin, he was a young adult, 00:12:48.50\00:12:50.90 animation major from Southern Adventist University, 00:12:50.93\00:12:53.74 and he came to this church plant 00:12:53.77\00:12:55.34 to help us with their video work. 00:12:55.37\00:12:56.94 The Holy Spirit moved on him and said, "Pastor Venn, 00:12:56.97\00:12:59.91 I'd like to do a wall mural that we could then use that 00:12:59.94\00:13:02.94 on ongoing basis to share the Gospel. 00:13:02.98\00:13:06.18 Cory was inspired by fine art, and as a result, 00:13:06.21\00:13:09.75 he and our student missionaries working towards 00:13:09.78\00:13:12.32 some of the tithes, then painted this wall mural 00:13:12.35\00:13:15.59 depicting Christ's second coming. 00:13:15.62\00:13:18.96 And so it's a living witness every day to the people. 00:13:18.99\00:13:22.86 What do the people think? 00:13:22.90\00:13:24.23 It's caused a lot of conversation starters, 00:13:24.27\00:13:26.17 and I guess that's what we hope for is that 00:13:26.20\00:13:28.60 whether it's through art 00:13:28.64\00:13:29.97 or through our community service 00:13:30.01\00:13:31.74 that then people can then say, 00:13:31.77\00:13:33.21 "Tell me that story, what's going on," 00:13:33.24\00:13:35.24 or then "Tell me why are you guys doing this, 00:13:35.28\00:13:37.48 why are you serving this community." 00:13:37.51\00:13:39.31 Sawatdee-krap. 00:13:39.35\00:13:41.08 So what is about their name related... 00:13:41.12\00:13:43.02 Sawatdee-krap Sawatdee-krap. 00:13:43.05\00:13:44.65 If you stand over there, 00:13:44.69\00:13:46.89 we can get Jesus in the picture too. 00:13:46.92\00:13:51.36 This is just... 00:13:51.39\00:13:52.96 Like I said, the art is used as a conversation starter, 00:13:52.99\00:13:56.56 and like, you know, our neighbor, Mr. Noodle man, 00:13:56.60\00:13:59.73 he will make noodles as the sermon is going on. 00:13:59.77\00:14:05.51 So this is my work... 00:14:05.54\00:14:07.14 That's why he won't come to the church, 00:14:07.18\00:14:08.88 but he'll stand there and listen to the songs 00:14:08.91\00:14:11.51 and prayers as well as to the scripture, 00:14:11.55\00:14:13.72 to the testimonies of how God is changing 00:14:13.75\00:14:15.85 his neighbors' lives as well as unto the Word of God. 00:14:15.88\00:14:18.72 How important is it to be where the people are, you know? 00:14:18.75\00:14:22.29 It's vital for us as Christians, 00:14:22.32\00:14:25.89 and especially Seventh-day Adventist 00:14:25.93\00:14:28.23 to go 'cause this is the command of Christ. 00:14:28.26\00:14:31.20 It's not just through media ministry, 00:14:31.23\00:14:33.77 not just through the printed work, 00:14:33.80\00:14:35.94 but we're to go and have human contact with the people. 00:14:35.97\00:14:41.21 I begin to wonder if the people there 00:14:41.24\00:14:43.24 in the church plant valued this work. 00:14:43.28\00:14:45.45 I'm here with Viti Da, and her nick name is Kunmi. 00:14:45.48\00:14:49.82 She first heard about the Seventh-day Adventist church 00:14:49.85\00:14:52.45 because she wanted to study English. 00:14:52.49\00:14:56.22 And here at this church plant. 00:14:56.26\00:14:57.63 She was able to study the Bible, 00:15:00.36\00:15:02.70 and study English here 00:15:02.73\00:15:04.07 with a missionary Jackson Ingara. 00:15:04.10\00:15:05.90 And then that's where she over time 00:15:05.93\00:15:07.90 was able to learn more. 00:15:07.94\00:15:09.54 This is Muan Noi, and she's one of the... 00:15:09.57\00:15:11.71 She's a college student. And she also... 00:15:11.74\00:15:14.91 Her life was changed as a result of coming here 00:15:14.94\00:15:17.35 to the church plant. 00:15:17.38\00:15:18.71 Bundrome has watched English TV before, 00:15:18.75\00:15:21.08 but she doesn't know what it means 00:15:21.12\00:15:22.72 'cause she can't understand. 00:15:22.75\00:15:24.09 I'm 45 now... 00:15:41.20\00:15:43.20 I'm 45 years old now, she says, and 3 years ago, 00:15:43.24\00:15:46.78 I was baptized, and so I first heard about Jesus here 00:15:46.81\00:15:49.34 at this church plant when I was 42 years old. 00:15:49.38\00:15:53.78 So I have greater happiness now than I did before. 00:15:53.82\00:15:57.29 Are you happy that this church planted here? 00:15:57.32\00:15:59.32 I'm very happy that this church planted here. 00:16:03.93\00:16:06.26 Why? 00:16:06.29\00:16:07.63 In the past I used to just live my life for myself, 00:16:12.20\00:16:14.84 do my own thing and just live my life on my own, 00:16:14.87\00:16:19.37 but now... God... 00:16:19.41\00:16:21.34 I've been able to see His love 00:16:21.38\00:16:23.18 and that's because of this church plant. 00:16:23.21\00:16:25.65 You think these church plants are a good thing? 00:16:25.68\00:16:27.82 She says, "They're good, 00:16:35.69\00:16:37.03 but we need to have more of them." 00:16:37.06\00:16:39.03 So we need to have more of them. 00:16:39.06\00:16:41.30 Okay, around seven years ago is when she first heard the story 00:16:41.33\00:16:45.23 about Jesus coming again and the Adventist movement. 00:16:45.27\00:16:49.60 "We need to have like over 400 church plants 00:16:52.94\00:16:56.08 here in Bangkok." 00:16:56.11\00:16:57.71 So we're at 29 right now, so... 00:16:57.75\00:16:59.55 Twenty nine to four hundred, maybe next year. 00:16:59.58\00:17:02.05 Forty, not four hundred. 00:17:06.25\00:17:10.63 Okay, sorry, I mistranslated, she said that, 00:17:10.66\00:17:13.66 "Maybe we could at least have 40." 00:17:13.70\00:17:17.33 I like 400 better. 00:17:17.37\00:17:18.87 Yeah. Four thousand. 00:17:18.90\00:17:23.44 She said, "If we had 400, that would be good too." 00:17:23.47\00:17:26.81 Four thousand, how about 4000? 00:17:26.84\00:17:28.28 "And then that way if we had 4000 church plants, 00:17:33.21\00:17:35.55 then even more people can know more." 00:17:35.58\00:17:37.59 Yeah. 00:17:37.62\00:17:38.99 That's right. 00:17:39.02\00:17:40.36 Bye-bye. God bless you, bye. 00:17:40.39\00:17:43.26 Hi, I'm Chris, I'm translating for her. 00:17:43.29\00:17:46.43 Hi. 00:17:46.46\00:17:47.83 Okay, I first know God because I ran into a health expo in MBK 00:17:58.77\00:18:04.95 which is the biggest shopping district in Bangkok. 00:18:04.98\00:18:07.42 And then I know more about our health, 00:18:07.45\00:18:09.25 and thank God I learned that my body is a temple of God 00:18:09.28\00:18:12.15 and I need to take care of it. 00:18:12.19\00:18:14.19 And then I came to church because of a friend, 00:18:14.22\00:18:16.49 and he's a teacher. 00:18:16.52\00:18:20.56 And today, we have the communion service. 00:18:20.60\00:18:22.66 As we were doing communion service, 00:18:22.70\00:18:24.20 eating the bread and drinking the wine... 00:18:24.23\00:18:26.27 And as I closed my eyes, I thought about 00:18:32.91\00:18:34.78 how Jesus was crucified on the cross. 00:18:34.81\00:18:36.98 I don't know why, but I just cried, 00:18:43.79\00:18:45.59 my tears just ran out. 00:18:45.62\00:18:47.02 It is as if Jesus is telling me to be humble. 00:18:56.16\00:18:58.57 And asking the Holy Spirit to once again dwell in me. 00:19:04.94\00:19:07.68 There was one time, as a Buddhist, 00:20:01.20\00:20:02.86 she ran out of hope, there's no more hope in our life, 00:20:02.90\00:20:05.63 and she went to the 23rd storey of the building, 00:20:05.67\00:20:07.90 and she was going to jump off, and then, and her life... 00:20:07.94\00:20:12.41 And then that's where the Holy Spirit impressed her 00:20:12.44\00:20:15.04 to then call, 00:20:15.08\00:20:16.71 and she didn't know who to call, 00:20:16.75\00:20:18.08 and so she just called directory assistants, 00:20:18.11\00:20:19.98 and the operator came online, and said to her, 00:20:20.02\00:20:22.55 "What number do you want?" 00:20:22.58\00:20:23.92 And she's like, "Give me a Christian church." 00:20:23.95\00:20:27.09 She didn't know why she said that, 00:20:27.12\00:20:28.59 but she can look back and see, 00:20:28.62\00:20:30.23 that was God's spirit working in our life. 00:20:30.26\00:20:32.36 Then she found a church in her own neighborhood, 00:20:32.39\00:20:35.30 and that's our church plant. 00:20:35.33\00:20:36.97 And I was asking her what did she feel about that, 00:20:37.00\00:20:40.00 and she says, "Man, we got to go out 00:20:40.04\00:20:41.60 and share the Gospel, to give everyone a chance 00:20:41.64\00:20:43.91 to hear the Gospel for the first time, 00:20:43.94\00:20:46.51 and then that way they can hear God's work every day, 00:20:46.54\00:20:51.01 and so then that way it can be a blessing and that way..." 00:20:51.05\00:20:53.62 The hope that she has and how God has answered her prayers 00:20:53.65\00:20:56.82 and worked in her life, and provided for the things 00:20:56.85\00:20:59.85 in her life that can be shared with 00:20:59.89\00:21:01.59 so many other who've never heard. 00:21:01.62\00:21:03.39 How would she feel if this church plant 00:21:03.43\00:21:05.26 was shut down? 00:21:05.29\00:21:06.63 She'd be broken-hearted if it's really going to happen. 00:21:20.78\00:21:24.81 She doesn't like your question. 00:21:24.85\00:21:26.41 I'm sorry. 00:21:26.45\00:21:27.78 Can you say your name please? 00:21:31.05\00:21:34.42 It's difficult to... I know. 00:21:34.46\00:21:36.73 Ulai. Ulai. 00:21:36.76\00:21:38.53 This is Ulai. 00:21:38.56\00:21:40.33 And I have the privilege of baptizing her last year. 00:21:40.36\00:21:44.17 When did you first hear about Jesus? 00:21:44.20\00:21:47.24 And how old were you? Twelve years. 00:21:47.27\00:21:50.04 My life is better because I don't fear in the future 00:21:50.07\00:21:55.01 because I think God will stand by me, always, all the time. 00:21:55.04\00:21:58.85 How about your family, when was the first time 00:21:58.88\00:22:01.62 that they heard about Jesus? 00:22:01.65\00:22:03.05 After I was baptized. 00:22:03.08\00:22:05.52 Her parents were 53 years old 00:22:05.55\00:22:07.76 when they first heard the story about Jesus. 00:22:07.79\00:22:09.99 They think Jesus is very, very kind to help the people. 00:22:10.03\00:22:14.76 They're very happy to hear. 00:22:14.80\00:22:17.57 The town that you grew up in, 00:22:17.60\00:22:19.17 were there any Christians in that town? 00:22:19.20\00:22:20.74 I think no. Thank you. 00:22:20.77\00:22:23.51 If the church planting can work? 00:22:23.54\00:22:25.64 Yeah. 00:22:25.67\00:22:27.01 When the church planting projects 00:22:27.04\00:22:28.38 are neighborhood-based, we've seen that 00:22:28.41\00:22:29.91 a greater kind of contact. 00:22:29.94\00:22:32.65 Yes, it'd be like Christ can be seen more clearly 00:22:32.68\00:22:36.55 because of the fact that the people live here 00:22:36.58\00:22:38.65 and the outreach and service that they offer 00:22:38.69\00:22:41.09 to the community, people can see 00:22:41.12\00:22:43.02 on a day-in, day-out basis. 00:22:43.06\00:22:44.76 It's not that we're just Seventh-day Adventist 00:22:44.79\00:22:47.33 driving for church on Saturday and we're there at the church 00:22:47.36\00:22:50.37 for three hours and then everyone goes home. 00:22:50.40\00:22:52.87 Here, in this setting, we're here seven days a week, 00:22:52.90\00:22:56.00 the team lives here, the team serves here, 00:22:56.04\00:22:59.07 and they share God's love every day 00:22:59.11\00:23:02.44 through their life and witness. 00:23:02.48\00:23:03.81 We're just landed on another part of Bangkok. 00:23:08.32\00:23:12.12 There's 190 buildings, you know, 00:23:12.15\00:23:14.26 these apartment complex in this housing project, 00:23:14.29\00:23:16.93 it's like a forest. 00:23:16.96\00:23:18.29 And we're gonna go to a small group right now, 00:23:18.33\00:23:20.13 this is another government housing project 00:23:20.16\00:23:22.73 that were just built for the factory workers 00:23:22.76\00:23:25.47 in this area. 00:23:25.50\00:23:26.84 There's all kinds of factories. And so let's go, check it out. 00:23:26.87\00:23:30.47 Hello. 00:23:30.51\00:23:31.84 Hi. Hi. 00:23:31.87\00:23:33.21 This is the first time that these kids have ever prayed, 00:23:51.79\00:23:55.26 so he's teaching them. 00:23:55.30\00:23:57.20 You get... 00:23:57.23\00:24:00.34 Put your hands like this like you're going to 00:24:00.37\00:24:02.40 and then you close your eyes and bow your head 00:24:02.44\00:24:05.37 and then you are quiet. 00:24:05.41\00:24:08.31 It's really cool. 00:24:08.34\00:24:10.01 Pastor Konkrit has asked Khun Kamsi to lead out 00:24:10.05\00:24:12.81 in the small group discussion and the Bible study tonight. 00:24:12.85\00:24:16.48 It's really cool to see how that, you know, 00:24:16.52\00:24:19.75 the Pastor's doing his job and training the laymen 00:24:19.79\00:24:23.06 to do the work in school. 00:24:23.09\00:24:24.79 This little boy... He can't read Thai. 00:24:24.83\00:24:29.20 Pastor Konkrit compared a Bible study to... 00:24:29.23\00:24:32.70 We got a couple like Isaiah 10:18 here, 00:24:32.73\00:24:36.34 and then Psalms 32:1, 2. 00:24:36.37\00:24:39.11 This kind of discipleship, 00:24:39.14\00:24:40.68 this is what the truth is all about 00:24:40.71\00:24:42.78 because, you know, 00:24:42.81\00:24:44.41 they're encouraging and that mind and, you know, 00:24:44.45\00:24:49.28 applying God's word to, you know, our lives. 00:24:49.32\00:24:53.99 This is exciting. 00:24:54.02\00:24:57.83 You know, the Bible study is coming to a close now, 00:24:57.86\00:25:00.56 we're singing the song, talking about tomorrow 00:25:00.60\00:25:06.43 that, you know, what will tomorrow bring. 00:25:06.47\00:25:08.20 We don't know what tomorrow will bring, but it will meet, 00:25:12.77\00:25:16.85 you know, where we find happiness. 00:25:16.88\00:25:18.68 For how much suffering you will go through, 00:25:31.16\00:25:37.40 we know that tomorrow... 00:25:37.43\00:25:39.27 Whatever problems we face right now, 00:25:43.37\00:25:48.11 that we can give to Jesus Christ, 00:25:48.14\00:25:51.95 and He will lead us through just like He's done today. 00:25:51.98\00:25:56.12 Tomorrow, we don't know if it's good or bad 00:26:00.39\00:26:06.19 or if we're to have face evil, 00:26:06.23\00:26:09.70 but we don't have to be scared, 00:26:09.73\00:26:11.83 we can trust completely in Jesus Christ 00:26:11.87\00:26:15.60 that He will lead us. 00:26:15.64\00:26:17.04 It was first at the Bang Na Udoom Suk church plant 00:26:20.88\00:26:23.18 where Pastor implied that 00:26:23.21\00:26:24.55 she first got one of her brochures, 00:26:24.58\00:26:26.78 "And on that my second year, Pastor Konkrit then invited me 00:26:26.82\00:26:30.49 to take that step of faith, and then to be baptized. 00:26:30.52\00:26:36.19 And so I want to open my home to do my part 00:26:36.22\00:26:38.83 and helping to proclaim the Gospel 00:26:38.86\00:26:41.40 to those people who never heard." 00:26:41.43\00:26:43.57 Thank you so much. 00:26:43.60\00:26:46.00 So that was awesome. 00:26:46.03\00:26:48.90 A special funding program for these church plants 00:26:48.94\00:26:51.34 is coming to an end, and Mission Giving 00:26:51.37\00:26:53.24 is continuing to decline at a rate of about 5% per year. 00:26:53.27\00:26:57.45 But there are still thousands of neighborhoods 00:26:57.48\00:26:59.51 in Bangkok and other cities 00:26:59.55\00:27:01.12 that have never seen a Christian 00:27:01.15\00:27:02.85 and are waiting for someone to live among them 00:27:02.88\00:27:04.85 and show them what a Christian looks like. 00:27:04.89\00:27:07.89 Maybe it's you, maybe you're one 00:27:07.92\00:27:10.36 to share the good news through your life, 00:27:10.39\00:27:12.99 maybe you'll make friends, learn a culture 00:27:13.03\00:27:15.36 or a new skill along the way. 00:27:15.40\00:27:17.53 But if you can't go, could you possibly 00:27:17.57\00:27:19.47 enable someone else to go through your prayers, 00:27:19.50\00:27:22.10 encouragement, and supportive Adventist Mission. 00:27:22.14\00:27:25.27 You could even give on your tithe envelope 00:27:25.31\00:27:27.08 in the place marked world budget, 00:27:27.11\00:27:29.44 and what a difference you could make, 00:27:29.48\00:27:31.65 and if we all pitch in and do our part, 00:27:31.68\00:27:34.12 we can hasten His coming and make His sacrifice 00:27:34.15\00:27:36.69 so much sweeter. 00:27:36.72\00:27:38.35 Did you know that 92% of all Christian Giving 00:28:09.48\00:28:12.72 goes to the 8% of the English-speaking 00:28:12.75\00:28:15.66 population of the world? 00:28:15.69\00:28:17.03 It's really staggering, particularly when you think 00:28:17.06\00:28:19.26 that three billion people in the world 00:28:19.29\00:28:22.06 have never heard the name of Jesus. 00:28:22.10\00:28:24.97 We can make a difference. 00:28:25.00\00:28:26.90 You and I, together can do something for Christ, 00:28:26.94\00:28:29.57 your mission offerings given in Sabbath school 00:28:29.60\00:28:34.04 make a difference in the lives of millions of people. 00:28:34.08\00:28:39.01 Check it out AdventistMission.org. 00:28:39.05\00:28:42.65 I thank my God every time I remember you. 00:28:42.68\00:28:45.59 The Philippian supported the Apostle Paul 00:28:45.62\00:28:48.49 when he was doing his mission work, 00:28:48.52\00:28:50.83 and it was through, today, it's through your sacrifice 00:28:50.86\00:28:54.46 that you're able to encourage and support the Gospel workers 00:28:54.50\00:28:58.40 around the world as they share Jesus. 00:28:58.43\00:29:00.47 Learn how you can help reach cities like Bangkok, 00:29:20.96\00:29:23.73 visit facebook.com/IWantThisCity 00:29:23.76\00:29:26.63 or go to our website MissionToTheCities.org. 00:29:26.66\00:29:29.73