Our mission statement consist of 12 biblical aspects, asserting where the directions and priorities of our church should be, both now and in the future, should the Lord tarries. We believe that they are what the Lord wants us to achieve, for His glory.
(1) We seek to be A GOD-HONOURING, GOD-CENTERED CHURCH.God says in His Word, “for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed” (1 Samuel 2:30, KJV). For this reason, we will endeavour to earnestly seek to glorify God and to enjoy Him in every part of our church-life. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, KJV), “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:6-7, KJV). Therefore, we will put God first in all our church pursuits (Matthew 6:33), seeking to please Him in all that we do .
(2) We seek to be A WORSHIPPING CHURCH.We endeavour to faithfully create an environment for biblical and reverential worship (see Exodus 20:3-8) of “the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9, KJV) “in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him” (John 4:23, KJV). As more and more churches have given in to the Charismatic styles of worship, we strife to remain true to God and His Word, conducting our worship services in an organised and orderly manner, as prescribed in His revealed Word, for it is written, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33, KJV). Therefore, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40, KJV).
(3) We seek to be A PRAYING CHURCH.Prayer meeting is the power-house of the church, where we gather together for a time of cooperate prayer and intercession, to “obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16, KJV). We acknowledge that we can do nothing by ourselves, as Jesus says, “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5, KJV). We are but unworthy servants. We should never do God’s work without seeking His will and guidance in prayer as the Bible teaches to “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established” (Proverbs 16:3, KJV). Prayer reflects our dependability upon God, and to do God’s work with God’s help and blessings, we must purposefully set aside time to pray and that without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), though it is hard work (see Colossians 4:12 and Romans 15:30). Hence, we seek to be a “House of Prayer” (Isaiah 56:7, KJV), “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18, KJV).
(4) We seek to be A FELLOWSHIPPING CHURCH.We endeavour to creatively provide an atmosphere suitable for fellowship among the believers, for a time of interaction and mutual encouragement. In any fellowship meeting, we should “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24, KJV). Hence, we must enthusiastically seek not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as [we] see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25, KJV). In the near future, we hope to have more fellowship groups, to cater to the individual needs of all our members, both old and young.
(5) We seek to be A MINISTERING CHURCH.
Each believer is entrusted with at least one spiritual gift from the Lord to serve Him in the church (1 Corinthians 12:11), “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12, KJV). We seek to help believer to identify and develop their God-given gifts for service in the church, praying that, at the same time, God would raise up some, with a holy desire, for the various offices of the church (1 Timothy 3:1). As our Lord Jesus Christ “came not to be ministered unto but to minister” (Mark 10:45, KJV), we as His followers should do no less (see John 13:14-16), “serving the Lord with all humility of mind” (Acts 20:19, KJV). We acknowledge that we are saved to serve, as the Apostle Paul says to the Thessalonians, “how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9, KJV). It is our desire to see our members stepping forward and serve their Master. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58, KJV).
(6) We seek to be A KNOWLEDGEABLE CHURCH.We endeavour, by God’s enablement, to deliberately “feed the church of God” “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27-28, KJV), through the preaching of God’s Word over the pulpit every Lord’s Day. Sunday School is another essential part of our church-life, where believers are instructed systematically in their “most holy faith” (Jude 20, KJV). We also plan to implement home Bible study into our church-life in the near future, according to His perfect timing, that the members of the church might be benefited thereby. It is our desire to see every believers “give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13, KJV), that they might “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, KJV), maturing in their spiritual lives (see Colossians 2:28), becoming “faithful men (and women, cf. Titus 2:3-4), who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2, KJV). Church camp is also a good occasion for believers and ministers to be recharged in the Word of God, and be challenged to rededicate their lives to the Lord. For this purpose, we plan to organise church camp at least once a year, if the Lord be willing.
(7) We seek to be AN OBEDIENT CHURCH.We endeavour to live by the Word, for “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, KJV). It is no point telling people that we love God, if our lives don’t show it (see 1 John 4:20-21). It is often quoted that our actions speak louder than our words. As such, the Bible challenges us to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving [our] own selves” (James 1:22, KJV).
(8) We seek to be A LOVING AND CARING CHURCH.Jesus says, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35, KJV). This the Apostle Paul has displayed in his life, when he said to the Thessalonians, “So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us” (1 Thessalonians 2:8, KJV). Hence, we endeavour to genuinely love and care for people, to the extent of willingly going the extra mile for them whenever necessary (Matthew 5:41).
(9) We seek to be A WITNESSING CHURCH.Though there are many missionaries in Thailand, less than 2 percents of the entire Thai population of 62 millions are believers. There are still lots of works to be done, to bring the good news of salvation to the lost. Jesus says, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end comes” (Matthew 24:14, KJV). Hence, it is our responsibility to equip our members as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20, KJV), training and getting them ready to preach the gospel, “in season, out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2, KJV), that God peradventure, might add “to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47, KJV).
(10) We seek to be A MISSION-MINDED CHURCH.Having established a local church in a foreign land, there is a base for us to launch out to other territories, as the Lord so enables. Our Lord Jesus Christ says, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15, KJV). By God’s higher hand, He has opened many doors for us to reach out to the Red Lahu hill-tribe in the mountainous region of northern Thailand. And by His appointment, we have recently started a Christian Nursery in a Red Lahu village (Den Luang village), praying that the children might come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, even in their young age. Hence, wherever He leads, whether up on the steep mountain, or down in the deep valley, we will go (compare Acts 21:13).
(11) We seek to be A VIGILANT CHURCH.As more and more false teachers have crept into the church (compare Jude 4), as well as more and more erroneous teaching is spreading from one church to another (compare 2 Timothy 4:3-4) as the Apostle Paul puts it, “grievous wolves entering in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29-30, KJV), we endeavour to be watchful (Acts 20:31), and faithful to the course of Christ (2 Timothy 4:7), “holding forth the Word of life” (Philippians 2:16a, KJV), and fearlessly defend “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3, KJV). We also seek not only to be separated from all unbelief and theological deceptions (2 Corinthians 6:14a), but also to expose them, as it is written, “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11), like a devoted watchman, sounding the trumpet loudly, warning of the spiritual dangers ahead when he sees the enemies of the cross approaching (see Ezekiel 3:17). Nevertheless, we do also earnestly seek to promote and strengthen Christian unity among Bible-believing churches of similar stand, “which are for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9, KJV).
(12) We seek to be AN ANTICIPATING CHURCH.As we are awaiting and “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13, KJV), we seek to be ready and prepared for that great day. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, KJV). Should not these words impact our lives on how we should live each day counts for Jesus (compare Ephesians 5:15-16)! “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Luke 12:40, KJV).
These 12 statements are what we have set down in writing. We endeavour, by the grace of God, with much prayer, to conscientiously seek to translate them into reality, in our mission work in Thailand, for both the present and future, for God’s glory, should the Lord tarries.
hristian, is helping us to give tuition to our younger girls at Home while Tommy takes care of the younger boys. Besides, she will also be helping out in the housework in the Home. Currently, with the assistance of Tommy, she is also involved in teaching all our children how to read the Black Lahu language. Pray that they all will be able to master it well and be equipped to read the Black Lahu Bible and use it to minister to the Lahu people, as the Scripture says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, KJV).
ing forward to our Church Family camp coming up next week, from 23 – 27 April. Robert will be the Lord’s messenger. The Pilgrim Progress in pictures will also be shown and relevant lessons be taught for our edification on our earthly pilgrimage. Please remember our camp in your prayer.
a time of reunion for the Thais. Many will be enjoying themselves, drinking alcohol and making merry during this 3-day festive season. People are playing water everywhere. Anyone, young and old, outside the street, walking, riding or driving, will be splashed by water. Every year, there are lots of accidents, death and casualties. Do pray for safety for the people.
