Work in a team to reach the people of Central Thailand: one of the largest and most accessible unreached people groups in the world.

Work in rural and semi-urban contexts. At the heart of regional and ethnic relations in Thailand is the social, linguistic, and political dominance of the Central Thai descendants of the kingdom of the Chao Phraya flood plain.

Learn Ayutthaya or standard Thai language and culture. Pray, evangelise, and make disciples.

Qualities & Gifts Sought

Accredited Bible-training required.

Initially two years of studying Thai language and culture, unless you already have some level of fluency.

Our ref 71

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About Thailand

Thailand (officially the Kingdom of Thailand and formerly known as Siam), is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia.  

It is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Myanmar.  

The capital and largest city is Bangkok. With around 69 million people, Thailand is the 20th most-populous country in the world.  

Thailand ranks midway in the wealth spread in Southeast Asia as it is the 4th richest nation according to GDP per capita, after Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia. Indonesia’s major exports include cars, computers, electrical appliances, rice, textiles and footwear, fishery products, rubber, and jewellery.  

Thailand is one of the most visited country in Southeast Asia, and tourism accounts for 20% of Thailand’s GDP.      

The Chao Phraya and the Mekong River are the indispensable water courses of rural Thailand. Industrial scale production of crops use both rivers and their tributaries.  

The Andaman Sea is a precious natural resource as it hosts the most popular and luxurious resorts in Asia. Phuket, Krabi, Ranong, Phang Nga and Trang, and their islands, all lay along the coasts of the Andaman Sea and, despite the 2004 tsunami, they are a tourist magnet for visitors from around the world.  

Thailand is divided into three seasons. The first is the rainy or southwest monsoon season (mid–May to mid–October). Winter or the northeast monsoon starts from mid–October until mid–February. Summer or the pre–monsoon season runs from mid–February until mid–May and is characterized by warmer weather.  

The elephant is Thailand’s national symbol. In 1850 there were 100,000 domesticated elephants in Thailand - today only 2,000. Poachers hunt elephants for ivory and hides, and now increasingly for meat.  

The Internet is censored by the Thai government, making some sites unreachable. In Bangkok, there are 23,000 free public Wi-Fi Internet hotspots.  

49% of Thailand's labour force is employed in agriculture (down from 70% in 1980). Rice is the most important crop in the country and Thailand was the world’s leading exporter of rice, until recently falling behind both India and Vietnam. About 55% of Thailand’s arable land area is used for rice production.        

[Source Wikipedia. Read more about Thailand here].  

There are 114 people groups in Thailand and 82 (72%) are unreached by the hope of the gospel.

The largest religion is Buddhism at nearly 85%. Professing Christians are 1.3% and of those 0.5% are Evangelical. Islam is 8.5%.

[Source: Joshua Project] 

WEC in Thailand

Our mission is to plant vibrant multiplying churches with empowered local believers and godly leaders implementing their own missional vision. We provide strategic support to promote national church leadership, and are intentional about forming interdependent teams and partnering with others. We also invest in ministries for missionary children’s education and care.

Currently WEC's teams are involved in the following projects:

• Establishing vibrant churches among the Thai indigenous population in rural and urban contexts;

• Training and empowering church leaders among the Thai people and the Karen hill tribes;

• Teaching children of missionaries attending Grace International School, and providing hostel accommodation for children of our missionaries attending GIS;

• Orientation for new team members and administration support for our teams.

Visit our website for more about WEC in Thailand  

Pray for Thailand

Pray with us for:
discipleship and trained leaders
a truly indigenous expression of Thai Christianity
mission and outreach
the challenges of the sex trade and people trafficking
particular needy groups: children in crisis, refugees and Buddhists monks
students
tribal peoples
[Operation World, 2010 print edition]

You can also pray using Operation World’s online resources.