MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
RICHARD HANEY
On my first visit to Southeast Asia three years ago, I spent two weeks in northern Thailand visiting NGOs and teaching seminary students about global development. I was glad to return again earlier this year with most of Frontier Fellowship’s staff to explore ways we can learn from and care about unreached people groups in this part of the Buddhist world. During our two weeks together, we visited numerous ministries in Thailand and Myanmar and heard countless stories of how the Good News is transforming communities.
I’ve written elsewhere how Thailand’s peoples evince a culture of gentleness and respect. A Buddhist is enjoined to respect the Buddha, the Buddha’s teachings (dharma) and the Buddhist monks. At the same time, a kind of folk religious impulse is displayed in the Thai people’s use of amulets and spirit houses to protect them from evil spirits. The Thai religious culture is complex.
Our team had a wonderful visit with long-time mission workers Allan and Joan Eubank. In the 1990s, Allan reached out to Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship, asking us to help congregations engage the Wa people with the Gospel. At the time, the Wa were caught up in the “Golden Triangle” drug trade and a partnership wasn’t possible. God has faithfully worked through the Eubank family and other workers in the years since. There are now numerous congregations among the Wa who are sending out their own missionaries to share the Gospel with their nearby neighbors. It was a poignant moment to recall this part of our history during a visit to a hostel where young Wa people are now being discipled.
While a few of our staff over the years have explored God’s work among Buddhists, our history of engagement with unreached peoples has leaned primarily to the Muslim and Hindu worlds. God is inviting us now to a more strategic and intentional engagement in the Buddhist world. We’re excited to listen to the Spirit’s promptings as we consider ways to meet, connect with and work alongside new global partners who love and follow Jesus Christ in Asia.
As you read the following pages, pray with us about new ways congregations can participate in making the Good News of Jesus more accessible to Buddhists of Southeast Asia. How might God be calling you to join us in this new venture?
FRONTIER TRAVELS: THAILAND + MYANMAR
JANUARY 19-31, 2020 | FRONTIER FELLOWSHIP STAFF, BOARD + FAMILY MEMBERS
PHOTOS BY KATIE ARCHIBALD-WOODWARD, PAM + RICHARD HANEY, KRISTIN HUFFMAN, DAN MCNERNEY, LISA NYGAARD + DENISE SCIUTO
NEXT STEPS IN THE BUDDHIST WORLD
KATIE ARCHIBALD-WOODWARD, MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLER WITH FRONTIER FELLOWSHIP STAFF + MINISTRY FRIENDS
FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, FRONTIER FELLOWSHIP HAS BEEN PRAYING AND DREAMING ABOUT HOW TO ENGAGE IN THE BUDDHIST WORLD MORE STRATEGICALLY, ASKING GOD TO SHOW US WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN AND LEAD US TO PARTNERS WHO ARE MAKING THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS KNOWN WITHIN THE COMPLEX RELIGION OF BUDDHISM.
IN LATE JANUARY, MOST OF OUR STAFF––ALONG WITH A BOARD MEMBER AND A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS––TRAVELED TO THAILAND AND MYANMAR WITH EYES AND HEARTS OPEN TO WHAT GOD MIGHT SHOW US.
STORYTELLER AND PHOTOGRAPHER KATIE ARCHIBALDWOODWARD ACCOMPANIED US TO HELP US TELL THE STORY. HERE, KATIE REFLECTS ON OUR TRAVELS AND SOME OF THE LESSONS WE LEARNED AND INSIGHTS WE GAINED.
I walk out of our Chiang Mai hotel, the air ripe with the smell of burning fields, common in Thailand. Crossing Night Market Street, a main thoroughfare that will come to life with vendors and visitors as the sun begins to fade, I emerge onto one of its offshoots and feel like I’ve passed over a cultural threshold.
Hotels flank the entrance of the road, each with a spirit house outside. Below the throne of one small Buddha statue, employees set out an offering of libations and pears. Motorbikes, rickshaws and cars whiz by as handfuls of construction workers, most in flip-flops, prepare to repave the road. A woman passes me carrying two large baskets of longsat (local citrus fruit) on either end of a bamboo pole. So begins our week of ministry visits in this bustling city in northern Thailand.
In contrast, we depart a week later for the verdant deltas of Myanmar (also known as Burma). As our plane descends into Yangon, we’re greeted by the famous Shwedagon Pagoda, ablaze in the setting sun.
(continued on page 6)
Yangon’s beautiful parks and shaded sidewalks are a remnant of its British colonial past. Beneath the trees and alongside the ponds, it’s common to see a dappling of colorful umbrellas, under which adoring couples stroll arm in arm.
Frontier Fellowship has come to this part of the world to learn more about how the Good News of Jesus is being made known to Buddhists. One of the first lessons imparted to us––Buddhism is a complicated religion, difficult to describe because it finds unique expression in each of the cultures that claim it.
While Buddhism is the majority religion in Thailand and Myanmar (87% and 76% respectively, according to the World Christian Database), people groups, languages and religious practices vary from region to region. A church planter in Thailand explained, “Trying to nail down the tenets of Buddhism is like trying to nail Jell-o to the wall.” The practice of blending and assimilating Buddhist beliefs with local cultural traditions, as well as the propensity toward individualistic rather than communal worship, results in many forms of Buddhist belief and practice.
Assimilation poses challenges in sharing the Gospel. People might readily adopt components of Christian faith but be reluctant to give themselves wholeheartedly to it. Why? One pastor explained, “To be Burmese is to be Buddhist––they’re inseparable.” In Chiang Mai, another pastor agreed, “To be Thai is to be Buddhist.” Christianity is perceived as a religion for white Westerners. “Not only are you changing your religion,” the pastor continued, “but you’re changing your people.”
When asked what has been most effective in introducing people to Jesus, numerous Christian workers agree that it takes an investment of heart and time––time to build genuine relationships and commitment to living an authentic faith within the context of the community being served. As one pastor noted, “You may talk with a person many times about Christ, but really they’re watching your life. The real fruit comes from living with the people and being with the people for a long time.”
This long-term investment is one of the things that awed us most about those we met serving in ministry in these regions. An American couple, church planters, spent decades in relational ministry among the Wa before someone felt ready to be baptized. Today there are numerous churches among this people group and Wa Christians are reaching out to neighboring groups with the Gospel. An organization serving children with AIDS spent its early years helping children die with love, grace and dignity. Now that antiretroviral therapy is readily available, their ministry focuses on helping children live and thrive from infancy to college and beyond. Another organization is working meticulously to introduce Jesus through high-quality, culturally relevant film productions. Still others, like a seminary in Yangon, are nurturing and training men and women to shepherd growing churches and plant new ones.
After centuries of faithfulness and fortitude in sharing the Gospel with the peoples of Southeast Asia, Christian workers today see churches that are beginning to blossom, particularly among ethnic minorities like the Chin, Karen and Wa people groups. As is often the case, the message of Jesus resonates among people who have long been marginalized, persecuted and oppressed by the powerful majority within their societies. Despite the risk of family estrangement and further marginalization, many are drawn to the liberation Jesus offers. In Him they find relationship with a God who loves them, is with them in their suffering and brings hope through the promise of justice. This Good News transforms every part of life.
As we celebrate God’s good work in Southeast Asia, we also recognize that many more people in the region have not yet heard and received the Good News of Jesus. As Executive Director Richard Haney was quick to observe,
“While ethnic minorities have really embraced the Gospel, there are very few followers of Jesus among the much larger Thai and Burman people groups. We’ve realized that the stubbornly resistant frontier in these two countries are the ethnic majority. That’s where we want to see seeds of the Gospel grow.”
Walking through the swiftly passing days in Thailand and Myanmar, we asked God to show us specific ways Frontier Fellowship might join some of the ministries working at the forefront of frontier mission among Buddhists. God is faithfully responding to your prayers and ours with wisdom and discernment. Richard is in conversation already with a few new ministry friends about a return vision trip to Southeast Asia as early as next year. Frontier Fellowship is honing in on official partnerships with one or two ministries. Another visit would help further deepen those relationships and also allow the team to introduce others, like you, to what God is doing in this part of the Buddhist world. (If you’re interested in participating in this vision trip next year, see Page 14 for more information).
We continue to pray, and invite you to join us, asking that the Good News of God’s Kingdom will bring lasting justice, mercy, freedom, peace and joy to all who suffer and to all who seek enlightenment and truth in the Buddhist world. We are confident in God’s creative power to answer the questions and concerns that keep many Buddhists from embracing Jesus. And we trust Him to give Christian workers the compassion, vision and stamina needed to invest their lives in loving relationships over the long haul.
We thank God for drawing Frontier Fellowship more intentionally into the Buddhist world. Thank you for joining us on the journey. May God’s extravagant love continue to transform lives and communities among Buddhists, and may we each know our role in faithfully proclaiming this Good News to all peoples.
ENCOUNTERING THE
COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST BUDDHISTS
(# OF BUDDHISTS IN MILLIONS)
CHINA 237M
JAPAN 71M
THAILAND 60M
546M
BUDDHISM IS THE FIFTH-LARGEST RELIGION IN THE WORLD
LARGEST MAJORITY
BUDDHIST
PEOPLE GROUPS
(# OF BUDDHISTS IN MILLIONS)
JAPANESE 123M
VIETNAMESE 81M
BURMESE 29M
CENTRAL THAI 23M
NORTHEASTERN TAI 18M
SINHALESE 15M
CENTRAL KHMER 15M
43% OF THE WORLD’S BUDDHISTS LIVE IN CHINA, THOUGH ONLY 16.7% OF CHINA IS BUDDHIST
VIETNAM 49M
MYANMAR 42M
SRI LANKA 14M
CAMBODIA 14M
13% OF BUDDHISTS WORLDWIDE HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A CHRISTIAN
237M BUDDHISTS
1.4 BILLION
PEOPLE
CHINA
MEETING A BUDDHIST
Knowing that someone is a Buddhist may tell you little about their beliefs + daily practices, as expressions of Buddhism are richly varied based on region, culture + school (tradition). Common threads for most Buddhists include the view that existence is suffering + that following the teaching of the Buddha (“enlightened one”) offers a path to enlightenment, or release from existence + suffering.
BUDDHIST WORLD
MAJORITY BUDDHIST COUNTRIES
Buddhists can be found in over 150 countries around the world, but only nine countries are majority Buddhist (over 50%).
CHRISTIANITY IN THAILAND, MYANMAR + MONGOLIA
Young followers of Jesus in Thailand, Myanmar + Mongolia are excited to share the Good News of Jesus with their neighbors.
In Thailand + Myanmar, these Christians are primarily from minority hill tribe people groups.
Frontier Fellowship is developing partnerships in Thailand, Myanmar + Mongolia to empower indigenous followers of Jesus to introduce the Good News to their neighbors.
She’d never felt more loved in her life than when she gave her whole self to Jesus.
RESCUED TO NEW LIFE
KRISTIN HUFFMAN + DAN MCNERNEY, ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
A young woman, clear-eyed and passionate, stood before us. She was from the Wa people group in northern Thailand but now lived in a hostel surrounded by love and faith, where she received discipleship, education and community. With grace and confidence on the one hand, and her fun, teenage persona on the other, she shared her riveting testimony with us.
At a young age, she was forced into a life of prostitution in order to help with her family’s income. Worse still, she was raped by her father and neglected by her mother. She was virtually homeless. In recent years especially, many thousands of Thai and Burmese girls have been lured into this dark path of prostitution and sex slavery, enduring similar fates. For many families, it’s a matter of survival. Mixed in with the ills of prostitution and sex slavery are active and lucrative drug trading and constant war, violence and conflict, especially in Myanmar.
This brave young woman stood in front of our group and told about her newfound faith in Jesus. She shared how, through her experience with Christian community at the hostel, God began to heal her and draw her into an abundant new life with Him. She’d never felt more loved in her life than when she gave her whole self to Jesus. She believed she was no longer alone. Growing up, she’d never known there was a loving God who wanted to guide and protect her from all the evil spirits that surrounded her. She now wants to become a Bible teacher and dedicate her life to forming Christian community wherever she can—to rescue other people from fears associated with Buddhist beliefs like reincarnation, karma and the darkness of evil spirits.
After sharing her testimony, she and a group of other teens performed a pantomime for us. They acted out a drama of abuse and abandonment, temptation to a destructive life, rescue and community. The young woman played herself—inviting us into the reenactment of her life in all its pain, suffering and rejection. And then the tone shifted as, through more drama and dance, she brilliantly revealed her rebirth through the love of God and acceptance into a community of faithful followers of Jesus. Her face literally shone with light and hope. The authentic witness of this young woman and her friends encouraged all of us as we wept and then rejoiced with her. May she be used mightily in God’s work in the Kingdom!
6 WAYS TO PRAY FOR
DURING FRONTIER FELLOWSHIP’S VISION TRIP TO SOUTHEAST ASIA EARLIER THIS YEAR, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR RITA JOHNSON WORKED WITH OUR TEAM AND MINISTRY FRIENDS TO COMPILE THE FOLLOWING PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE BUDDHIST WORLD IN THAILAND AND MYANMAR. JOIN US IN ASKING FOR GOD’S KINGDOM TO COME AND HIS WILL TO BE DONE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AS IT IS IN HEAVEN (MATTHEW 6:10).
1 / INVITATION
Ask God to reveal Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life, that B uddhists would experience His invitation into Kingdom life through Christ. Many Buddhists perform rituals as spiritual seekers but have no belief in a living God. Ask that the Creator would provide signs that God exists and cares about each person.
JOHN 3:16-17, JOHN 14:6, 1 TIMOTHY 2:3-6
2 / IMAGINATION
Ask God to give Buddhists imagination to see the world as He does. Gospel language that is so familiar to Christians is largely unknown in the Buddhist world. Ask that those sharing the Good News would have patience and compassion as they build relationships and explain biblical concepts. Pray for safe spaces where Buddhists can imagine the world in a different way.
MARK 9:2-8, ISAIAH 49:8-15
3 / INSPIRATION
Ask God to inspire those serving Him long-term in the Buddhist world with wisdom, passion and strength. Pray especially for families in the field who have children as they seek to balance ministry and family life. Ask the Spirit to inspire Bible translation teams with creative insights into making God’s Word accessible and understandable.
PSALM 56:10-13, PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13, EPHESIANS 3:14-21
THE BUDDHIST WORLD
4 / RESTORATION
Ask God to restore wholeness, freedom and dignity to those who have been harmed by the world in which they live. Amidst poverty and injustice, ask that families would be liberated from desperate financial situations that often result in children being given away to human traffickers posing as employers. Ask that new opportunities for income would emerg e and that resources would be made available to improve development efforts in health care and education.
ISAIAH 41:10, EPHESIANS 6:10–20, PHILIPPIANS 4:19
5 / RECONCILIATION
Ask God to give Christians humility and boldness to serve as ambassadors of reconciliation in a region of ethnic and political conflict. Pray that the fierce prayers and gentle actions of Christians will lead to God’s healing and peace in communities and nations. Ask God to give Christians wisdom in forming and reforming ecumenical relationships and partnerships in a post-colonial season. Thank God for those who are building relationships with neighbors who are of a different ethnic group and often a different religion.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:16-21, JOHN 10:14-16, EPHESIANS 2:11-22
6 / REJOICING
Rejoice that people are gaining access to God’s Word through numerous ministries. Celebrate that thousands of students each year are exposed to the Gospel through traditional-style dances and dramas that portray Bible stories. Thank God for local and foreign Christian workers who’ve dedicated their lives to reaching the unreached people groups of Southeast Asia. Praise God for the seeds of His Word that have been sown and for the churches that have formed in recent years.
PSALM 105:1-3; MATTHEW 13:8, 23; ACTS 6:7, 14:21-27
SEE NEXT PAGE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN US IN PRAYER MAY 17-31!
IF YOU’D LIKE TO RECEIVE OUR MONTHLY PRAYER EMAIL, CONTACT PRAYER@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM.
PARTNER WITH US IN THE BUDDHIST WORLD
COME ALONGSIDE FRONTIER FELLOWSHIP AS WE ENGAGE IN BRINGING THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS TO SOME OF THE LEAST-REACHED PEOPLE GROUPS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA.
PRAY >
Join us May 17-31 as we learn more about + pray for Buddhists worldwide using 15 Days Of Prayer For The Buddhist World . VISIT 15DAYSPRAYER.COM TO ORDER YOUR COPY OF THIS PRAYER RESOURCE.
GO >
Travel with members of our team on a vision trip to Southeast Asia in January 2021. EMAIL INFO@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION.
GIVE >
Donate to the Frontier Fellowship Ministry Fund (envelope enclosed) to help us develop new initiatives in the Buddhist world + beyond.
“WHEN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY SEES AND EXPERIENCES TRUE HELP THAT COMES FROM A GOD-CENTERED COMPASSION AND THAT BRINGS LASTING HEALING, THE RESPONSE TO THE GOSPEL IS AMAZING.”
—CENTRAL ASIA MINISTRY PARTNER
PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS
ETHIOPIA
In 2019, over 2,000 children received an education at one of the 52 schools built by Light of Hope Ministry Ethiopia (LOHME). More than 30 villages have requested LOHME schools, and construction is almost complete in three locations. LOHME trained 100 church leaders last year and distributed over 2,000 Arsi Oromo New Testaments. A complete Bible is in South Korea for typesetting and publication.
Our Southwest Ethiopia partners seek new opportunities to strengthen growing church communities through training programs for women, outreach to university students, “mother tongue” literacy training and sustainable practices. Political unrest, intertribal conflict and climate issues challenge Ethiopia’s stability. With God’s wisdom and your prayers, our partners have strength to lead their communities in facing these challenges head-on.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LOHME, VISIT FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM OR CONTACT INFO@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SOUTHWEST ETHIOPIA PARTNERS, CONTACT MISSION ADVOCATE BOB VON SCHIMMELMANN AT BVONSCHIMMELMANN@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM.
NIGER
The Eglise Evangélique de la République du Niger (EERN) is getting closer to their goal of establishing a K-12 model school in Niamey, Niger’s capital city, thanks to matching funds received from Frontier Fellowship and a donor church in the US. This school will serve children who might not otherwise have an opportunity for education.
EERN has also constructed a dormitory for married students in Dogon Gao, enabling five couples and their children to enroll in a Bible school there. A long-awaited library for this school is now under construction. The presence of terrorist groups in three regions of Niger has slowed down church-planting efforts. Nonetheless, EERN asks us to pray with them for courageous workers willing to be sent to these regions with the Good News of Jesus.
TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR DONALD MARSDEN AT DMARSDEN@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM.
SUDAN + SOUTH SUDAN
As Sudan transitions to a civilian-led government, our Darfur Outreach partners report that restrictions against Christians are being lifted. Inflation there remains high, so a Bible school student from Darfur is continuing his training at a more affordable school in South Sudan. The Bible school in Khartoum seeks funds to provide pastoral training to several people eager to share the Good News among their largely unreached people groups.
Recent flooding in South Sudan has displaced more people. Our Sudanese / South Sudanese Refugee Ministry partners are training 11 leaders in Uganda who will one day return home with the Gospel. They are also reaching out to Muslim university students in the area.
Our partners serving the Unaccompanied Minors Foster Program pray for greater stability in South Sudan so they can bring orphans back to their home state and resume vocational training there.
TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR DENISE SCIUTO AT DSCIUTO@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM.
CENTRAL ASIA
Two Women’s Shelters are busy facilitating domestic violence awareness training events, as well as online conversations with 1,000 at-risk women and their advocates. Priorities for 2020 include relocating one shelter to a larger space, providing training to more communities and expanding opportunities for women to gain meaningful employment.
The Rural Community Center recently graduated a group of men from their year-long addiction recovery program. These men are now better equipped to find work and care for their families. Some have even decided to follow Jesus. The center hopes to add a similar recovery program for women this year.
We continue to build relationships with our Central Asian Migrants Ministry and Central Asian Youth Ministry partners. Pray for finances that would allow each of these networks to gather together this year.
TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR RITA JOHNSON AT RJOHNSON@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM + ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR DONALD MARSDEN AT DMARSDEN@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM.
MIDDLE EAST + ARABIAN PENINSULA
Our partners in Egypt report unprecedented freedoms under President Sisi’s government. New church plants are being allowed and, consequently, the Church in Egypt is growing! Our partners need support to recruit, train and send new missionaries to share the Good News throughout the Middle East, often among refugee populations in the region.
In Iran, our partners faithfully support one of the fastestgrowing underground church movements in the world. As more and more Iranians find freedom in Christ, theological education is needed to empower new leaders and help sustain church growth.
Movements toward Christ are beginning to blossom in the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia now offers tourist visas to foreigners. Our partners urge us to take advantage of this new freedom, and we hope to take a vision trip there sometime in the next year.
TO LEARN MORE, VISIT FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM OR CONTACT INFO@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM.
SOUTH ASIA
One of our partners in South Asia is strengthening church-planting efforts in several regions. Last year, over 700 new house churches formed, and our partner’s large network of church planters is now discipling thousands more new followers of Jesus. In order to respond to the overwhelming hunger people have to hear more about Jesus, our partner has identified 21 new leaders to receive additional training as church planters.
Multiple outreach efforts by another partner in South Asia over the past year also continue to bear fruit. Thousands have heard the Good News of Jesus and have made public decisions to follow Him. This partner has found e3 Partners’ 4 Fields Training to be an effective strategy in their region: enter a village, sow the Gospel abundantly, disciple new followers of Jesus and gather them into house churches.
We hope to take a team to visit these partners this fall.
TO LEARN MORE, CONTACT ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR CODY WATSON AT CWATSON@FRONTIERFELLOWSHIP.COM.
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COVID-19 UPDATE
AS THIS MAGAZINE GOES TO PRINT, THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HAS BECOME A GLOBAL CRISIS.
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WE’RE DAILY EVALUATING OUR TRAVEL + SPEAKING SCHEDULES, MAKING ADJUSTMENTS AS NEEDED. PRAY FOR OUR GLOBAL PARTNERS, MANY OF WHOM SERVE VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN SOME OF THE WORLD’S LEAST-REACHED PLACES.
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