Planting a tribal church is like scaling Mount Everest.
"Just as climbing Everest would be a very difficult thing to undertake, so is the task that has been set before us," wrote missionary Mike Lynch, serving with his wife, Sandy, in Thailand. "Prior to someone climbing a mountain, they would want to learn all they could and then spend some time practicing those techniques. "
Missionary training through New Tribes Mission is a key step in acquiring this knowledge and skill.
"Once a person would set out on climbing Everest, the first place that they would reach is base camp. This would be much the same as our time learning the Thai language and culture …. This also gave us much needed time to acclimatize our bodies and minds to a very different lifestyle. "
Last year the Lynches took the next step "up the mountain and to the first campsite" by moving into a more remote area and surveying villages, looking for a good place to begin their ministry.
"This May, we will be climbing higher with a goal of reaching Camp II as we move into a Phu Thai village and begin the difficult process of learning the culture and language and building relationships with the villagers.
"Once we have reached that step, it will be time to move on to the next two camps — Camp III and IV. It is here that we will have the privilege of sharing the Gospel message with our friends among the Phu Thai. "
"Many people would see the Gospel presentation as reaching the peak of Everest. But for us this would be just one part of our journey, as there still will be a lot of terrain left to cover. … We will continue teaching and discipling the believers in the truths of the Word of God.
"The summit would be to see the Scriptures available in the Phu Thai language. Not only that, but to see a group of mature believers reaching out to their neighbors with the Word of God and learning to trust God more and more …. At that point, we could begin the descent down the mountain as our role would transition more to an itinerant or consultative ministry among the Phu Thai. "
Please pray for Mike and Sandy Lynch, as well as their co-workers Dan and Beth Cullet as they begin their ascent to see a New Testament church established among the Phu Thai people of Thailand.
And thank the Lord with us for New Tribes Mission’s specialized training for church planting among unreached people groups.
Please pray:
At the two New Tribes Bible Institute campuses, half the students are heading toward the end of their final semester. Pray that God will direct them to pursue further training with New Tribes Mission, and to become part of the church planting team.
At the the Missionary Training Center, the Fall 2008 class is already full and the January 2009 class is filling. Thank the Lord with us, and pray that we can expand the center’s capacity. Thousands of tribes have not yet had the opportunity to hear the Good News, and many people are eager to go. They need to prepare for the long journey.
The architects expect to complete the master plan for the expanding Missionary Training Center campus this month. Pray that it is efficient and effective.
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