According to Joshua Project, in Thailand, 88 per cent of people identify as Buddhist, with only 1 per cent of the population practising Christianity.

This largely unreached country holds steep religious traditions and although it’s not illegal to be a Christian, it’s seen as rejecting the ‘nationhood’ not to follow Buddhist customs.

However, one of CV’s pioneers has taken a novel approach to sharing the gospel with the younger Thai generation since he joined CV’s National Pioneer Initiative (NPI) late last year.

As a Thai man himself, with a genuine understanding of the culture, he let his actions speak louder than his words.

Every weekend, he returned to his wife’s small hometown, where he played and coached football for the community’s youth. By developing trust with these young people, he created a platform where he could share the gospel with them.

He also recognised the needs of the less fortunate and took the initiative to help in any way he could. His faith became evident to those in the community through his acts of kindness.

Along with Buddhism being so deeply rooted in Thailand’s culture, so is the concept of the spirit world. 

Many places across the country have spirit houses, shrines, amulets, and other marks of spiritual significance. 

The fear of these spirits governs much of what the Thai people do. This makes it challenging to share the gospel in a way that resonates with the locals and penetrates the fear of spiritual retribution.

By having a sincere heart, the pioneer has earned the trust of the community and they listen to him when he shares the gospel.

Remarkably, in a country with such a low percentage of Christians, he has led nine people to accept Jesus in just two months by diligently applying the knowledge he gained as part of his NPI training.