SWCBC Mission to Thailand
Texas Baptists Pack Bibles and Kung Fu
By Barbara Bedrick, Texas Baptist Communications (10/06/06)
STAFFORD –When Peter Leong was a boy in Malaysia, he never imagined he would wind up overseas in the land of longhorns and cactus.
Today as pastor for a Houston-area Baptist church, he is leading a team of Texas Baptists back to Asia to teach 82 pastors and their families.
Southwest China Baptist Church mission team, led by Pastor Peter Leong,in Thailand to share Kung Fu and the gospel.
The mission team from Southwest Chinese Baptist Church, Stafford, is returning to Thailand only two weeks after tanks rolled down the streets of Bangkok and a military coup ousted the prime minister.
“I am totally committed to the Lord, and I don’t worry about going back there,” said Leong. “We’ve made a strong commitment to reach the Thai people and this will not deter us.”
The Texas church is partnering with Ching Mei Baptist Church, Taipei, to sponsor the first Northern Thailand Pastor Family Retreat for pastors, wives and children. Members of the Stafford Baptist church collected funds to pay for travel, lodging, meals and books for the week-long project.
“We were blessed by God’s provision,” said Leong. “This is the first ever pastor retreat for these Thai ministers. Our classes will be held in a remote mountain area. Some of the pastors and their families will even have to make the trip on foot.”
While the Thai pastors will learn new preaching skills, the retreat will also develop fellowship among the ministers and their families. “We want to encourage them to stand firm in their ministry work for the Lord,” said Leong.
This international mission trip is the second for the Stafford church in the past three months, and it highlights growth in the Asian Baptist global community. In September, the Stafford church and Cross Pointe Baptist of San Jose, CA, partnered with sister churches in Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong on their third joint mission to Thailand.
The 36-member team is helping transform Thailand partially because Leong grew up in Malaysia, and then became pastor of a Hong Kong church before moving to Texas.
“Four years ago, I delivered the keynote speech at the Chinese Global Baptist Mission Conference in Thailand,” says Leong. “It changed my life.”
“God spoke to me saying, you must not only have a mission in China but also in Thailand, so I decided to invite church members to go there on a mission,” Leong said.
Ministering to the needs of the Thai people has begun to open doors to new relationships in a country where a majority of the residents practice Buddhism.
“Our mission team has worked to train pastors, teach parents and young people new job skills, conduct Vacation Bible schools, camps and home visitations and has reached hundreds who are non-believers,” says Leong.
Over the past three years, members of the Stafford church have sponsored more than 100 children age 4 to 16. Leong, with a tear in his eye, remembers one 8-year-old girl wearing a big smile seconds after unwrapping a small gift bag from Texas.
“Finally, I have my own toothbrush,” she said.
Another Thai boy was amazed he could actually keep the photograph taken of him by the mission team. He’s one of more than 800 students and teachers that Leong believes his church has reached this year.
After a Kung Fu demonstration by two Hong Kong brothers, formerly of Houston, the doors opened for a Bible study class on campus.
“The principal was so impressed with what Christianity was doing in the lives of these two brothers that he invited the mission team to bring in a preacher every week to hold a Bible study,” said Leong. The opportunity to teach the youth about the salvation of Jesus Christ is the first step, Leong said, to believing in God.
Focusing on youth evangelism has been another goal of the Thai mission “including efforts to reach young girls and their families who believe their only means of survival is through human trafficking,” said Leong.
The Baptists are teaching parents and teenagers other survival skills with which they then can make a living such as planting bamboo and tea gardens.
One hurdle Leong sees the mission team overcoming is cultural differences. The team’s unique understanding of the Thai culture, he said, is encouraging people there to experience and learn about Christian love and beliefs.
“We’ve found the Thailand people are more accepting of us because we’re of similar ethnic backgrounds. We can do this great thing because they view us as more accessible,” said Leong. “We’re doing God’s work through our own cultural understanding.”
Members of this Texas church number less than 300, but the Stafford pastor praises their efforts. “We’re small in numbers, but our heart is big and we can still do good for God’s glory.”
For this 61-year-old pastor who has served at Southwest Chinese Baptist Church for 21 years, there’s a special joy in his heart when he hears from some of the lives who have been touched.
“I have heard from some students who tell me they are so grateful we came to their country because it has truly changed their lives,” Leong said.
Southwest Chinese Baptist Church partners together with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. It is one of 26 Chinese Baptist churches and 147 Asian Baptist churches affiliated with the BGCT.
For more information check the following site:
http://www.bgct.org/texasbaptists/Page.aspx?&pid=3590&srcid=2655
By Barbara Bedrick, Texas Baptist Communications (10/06/06)
STAFFORD –When Peter Leong was a boy in Malaysia, he never imagined he would wind up overseas in the land of longhorns and cactus.
Today as pastor for a Houston-area Baptist church, he is leading a team of Texas Baptists back to Asia to teach 82 pastors and their families.
Southwest China Baptist Church mission team, led by Pastor Peter Leong,in Thailand to share Kung Fu and the gospel.
The mission team from Southwest Chinese Baptist Church, Stafford, is returning to Thailand only two weeks after tanks rolled down the streets of Bangkok and a military coup ousted the prime minister.
“I am totally committed to the Lord, and I don’t worry about going back there,” said Leong. “We’ve made a strong commitment to reach the Thai people and this will not deter us.”
The Texas church is partnering with Ching Mei Baptist Church, Taipei, to sponsor the first Northern Thailand Pastor Family Retreat for pastors, wives and children. Members of the Stafford Baptist church collected funds to pay for travel, lodging, meals and books for the week-long project.
“We were blessed by God’s provision,” said Leong. “This is the first ever pastor retreat for these Thai ministers. Our classes will be held in a remote mountain area. Some of the pastors and their families will even have to make the trip on foot.”
While the Thai pastors will learn new preaching skills, the retreat will also develop fellowship among the ministers and their families. “We want to encourage them to stand firm in their ministry work for the Lord,” said Leong.
This international mission trip is the second for the Stafford church in the past three months, and it highlights growth in the Asian Baptist global community. In September, the Stafford church and Cross Pointe Baptist of San Jose, CA, partnered with sister churches in Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong on their third joint mission to Thailand.
The 36-member team is helping transform Thailand partially because Leong grew up in Malaysia, and then became pastor of a Hong Kong church before moving to Texas.
“Four years ago, I delivered the keynote speech at the Chinese Global Baptist Mission Conference in Thailand,” says Leong. “It changed my life.”
“God spoke to me saying, you must not only have a mission in China but also in Thailand, so I decided to invite church members to go there on a mission,” Leong said.
Ministering to the needs of the Thai people has begun to open doors to new relationships in a country where a majority of the residents practice Buddhism.
“Our mission team has worked to train pastors, teach parents and young people new job skills, conduct Vacation Bible schools, camps and home visitations and has reached hundreds who are non-believers,” says Leong.
Over the past three years, members of the Stafford church have sponsored more than 100 children age 4 to 16. Leong, with a tear in his eye, remembers one 8-year-old girl wearing a big smile seconds after unwrapping a small gift bag from Texas.
“Finally, I have my own toothbrush,” she said.
Another Thai boy was amazed he could actually keep the photograph taken of him by the mission team. He’s one of more than 800 students and teachers that Leong believes his church has reached this year.
After a Kung Fu demonstration by two Hong Kong brothers, formerly of Houston, the doors opened for a Bible study class on campus.
“The principal was so impressed with what Christianity was doing in the lives of these two brothers that he invited the mission team to bring in a preacher every week to hold a Bible study,” said Leong. The opportunity to teach the youth about the salvation of Jesus Christ is the first step, Leong said, to believing in God.
Focusing on youth evangelism has been another goal of the Thai mission “including efforts to reach young girls and their families who believe their only means of survival is through human trafficking,” said Leong.
The Baptists are teaching parents and teenagers other survival skills with which they then can make a living such as planting bamboo and tea gardens.
One hurdle Leong sees the mission team overcoming is cultural differences. The team’s unique understanding of the Thai culture, he said, is encouraging people there to experience and learn about Christian love and beliefs.
“We’ve found the Thailand people are more accepting of us because we’re of similar ethnic backgrounds. We can do this great thing because they view us as more accessible,” said Leong. “We’re doing God’s work through our own cultural understanding.”
Members of this Texas church number less than 300, but the Stafford pastor praises their efforts. “We’re small in numbers, but our heart is big and we can still do good for God’s glory.”
For this 61-year-old pastor who has served at Southwest Chinese Baptist Church for 21 years, there’s a special joy in his heart when he hears from some of the lives who have been touched.
“I have heard from some students who tell me they are so grateful we came to their country because it has truly changed their lives,” Leong said.
Southwest Chinese Baptist Church partners together with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. It is one of 26 Chinese Baptist churches and 147 Asian Baptist churches affiliated with the BGCT.
For more information check the following site:
http://www.bgct.org/texasbaptists/Page.aspx?&pid=3590&srcid=2655
Labels: Chinese Baptists
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