May 2015 Prayer Letter
Dear Friends & Family,
Thank you to the many people who pray and give financially so that we can be in Bangkok and contribute to what God is doing to build His church in this city and this nation.
Grace City Bangkok Receives New Members
We are thankful for our small church plant which recently celebrated its one year anniversary since we began weekly worship in April 2014. On Sundays, we have between 20-40 people on average, and at the end of April welcomed five new members, 4 by affirmation of faith, and 1 by baptism (a young man who received Christ a few months back). Grace City Bangkok aims to be a grace-centered, Christ-centered church, which is different than what many newcomers are used to, having often seen moralistic, Bible-lite approaches to preaching and teaching in other places. Continue to pray for this small church as we reach out to visitors and others, and seek to disciple our members and regular attendees.
Helping Pakistani Refugees
The trials facing Pakistani Christians refugees has not improved any as police recently raided numerous apartment buildings and threw many men, women, and children into the Immigration Detention Center (IDC). The majority of these people have fled from religious persecution in Pakistan and have overstayed their visas in Thailand as they wait for the United Nations to process them for relocation to a third country, which can take many years. The IDC is an unpleasant, crowded, sweltering hot jail where detainees receive little food, or space to move around. Many members in our church are personally involved with helping Pakistani families in various parts of the city, and have also visited people in the IDC. Recently, Grace City Bangkok helped to bail a young family out of the IDC, which gives them legal status in the eyes of the police, and also tends to speed up processing by the UNHCR. Many churches and missionaries throughout Bangkok are involved with helping these Pakistani brothers and sisters but the physical, financial, and spiritual needs are great, and many times overwhelming. Pray that our family, our church, and Christians throughout Bangkok will know how best to help those in need.
Dear Friends & Family,