Do you have a heart for the unreached? Do you long to connect with what God is doing on the frontiers of the Kingdom? Join us for a period of learning the rhythms of cross-cultural pioneer church-planting among one of the most unreached people groups in Southeast Asia. Experience first-hand what it is like to engage in evangelism and discipleship with people who are hearing the gospel for the first time. Engage in mission strategy and dream for the future!

Responsibilities

• Prioritize growing as a disciple of Jesus.
• Connect with the local context by living with a Thai family.
• Immerse in Thai language and worldview through language study.
• Participate in the activities of a contextualized, indigenous house church movement in rural Thailand.
• Join in the life and rhythms of the EMM Thailand team.
• Grasp mission strategy and the relevant issues of the region.
• Pray for opportunities to witness and disciple others.
• Seek God’s calling for future engagement.

All long-term and short-term workers engage in Launch, EMM’s discipleship training course, before and during their assignments. Phase one of Launch includes personal discipleship activities through online modules. For phase two of Launch, participants spend two weeks at the end of June learning alongside their Launch cohort (a group of others preparing for service) before heading to their outreach locations. In phase three of Launch, workers continue to connect online with their Launch cohort for up to a year as they navigate ministry in their country of service.

Environment 

Det Udom, an hour away from the provincial capital, is a small town with all necessary amenities, surrounded by rice paddies, rubber plantations, and rural villages. There is hot weather year round, plentiful exotic fruits, and sticky rice. This part of Thailand is close to Laos and Cambodia, and has a cultural affinity with Laos.  A Lao dialect is spoken in addition to Thai. It is a poorer area of Thailand, not frequented by tourists and with very minimal Christian presence.  Thailand has a highly communal and collective culture. Life rhythms of Thai people center around Buddhism and animism. People are eager to befriend foreign visitors even though their worldview and life experience are often worlds apart.

Local Team

This person will be fully integrated into the local EMM team currently consisting of two families, and receive supervision and accountability from a designated outreach coordinator. There will also be ample opportunity to learn to know and love the lively local believers and to be welcomed by the church, which has been part of the EMM family for over 25 years.

Skills and Experience

• An active follower of Jesus, who takes initiative in nurturing their relationship with God as a first priority.
• A learner who is willing to be a cultural baby, receive instruction, and adapt accordingly. 
• Accountable to supervision with a high level of openness.
• Values cultural sensitivity and is willing to draw encouragement from a wide range of people, both local and expatriate. 
• Able to work consistently in a hot climate without air conditioning, eat a variety of local foods, and use a bicycle for distances of up to 3 miles as a means of transportation. 
• Has sought out and engaged in ministry in their home context and has a deep hunger to grow in ministry. 
• All skill sets and professions are welcome – educators, creatives, nurses, farmers, accountants!

Come explore how your gifts can advance the kingdom!