ATS Alumni Recognized in Christianity Today
Christianity Today has recognized Asbury Theological Seminary alumni Nantachai and Ubolwan Mejudhon for 50 years of contextualized evangelism in Thailand. The following is a summary of CT’s May 23, 2023 article, “Blessed Are the Meek Missionaries in Thailand.”
The Mejudhons grew up in Thailand as devout Buddhists. Nantachai became a Buddhist monk at age 18 for three months. Ubolwan studied and later taught Buddhist philosophy at a university.
Yet during their separate studies abroad, Ubolwan in New Zealand and Nantachai in California, they each converted to Christianity. After Ubolwan’s conversion, Nantachai began studying the Bible for 10 hours a day until he fell in love with Jesus.
Back together after their studies, they ministered to university students in Bangkok using Western evangelistic messages. These messages did not translate well in Thai culture, however. According to CT, Buddhists make up 93% of the population in Thailand, and “After nearly 200 years of Protestant missions, only 1 percent of the country is Christian.”
So Nantuchai and Ubolwan went abroad again in the 90s to pursue their doctorates at Asbury Seminary. They brought their observations and learning experiences into their studies and research about the best ways to reach Thai people with the gospel. Their studies culminated in their dissertations about the importance of meekness in missionary approaches in Thailand.
After returning to Thailand, the Mejudhons developed a contextualized evangelism based on this meekness. They taught at a local school in northeastern Thailand for 14 years, seeing 100 students and some of their families become Christians after they developed sincere relationships with them. “Many of them became Christians not because I shared the gospel, but because we loved them, cared for them, and were concerned about their social welfare,” Nantachai said.
The Mejudhons describe meekness as being gentle, humble, considerate, and friendly. This translates to a long-term commitment to building genuine relationships with no strings attached. It also includes speaking positively about God’s truths that are in Buddhism; missionaries should study and respect Buddhism and recognize that God loved the Buddha. It is also important to present the benefits of the Christian faith to Thai people, who are concerned with religion’s practical outcomes. Some benefits of Christianity that Buddhists will be attracted to are a personal relationship with a spiritual power and a God they can depend on for help outside of themselves in times of crisis.
These approaches based on meekness allow the gospel to permeate through their relationships. “10 to 20 times more people ended up with a saving faith in Jesus,” said the Mejudhons. According to CT, Nantachai explained that many Western missionaries “didn’t study Buddhism or Thai culture in an immersive manner, and consequently came off as aggressive when they skipped over relationship-building, focused on outcomes, and ignored the Thais’ value system.”
The Mejudhons also respect Thai culture by engaging whole families. It’s important to build sincere relationships with the family when reaching children with the gospel. This will help parents, who consider Buddhism part of their Thai identity, to be more open to permitting their children to become Christians. Of course, it is ideal when a whole family wants to become Christian.
For the last 23 years, the Mejudhons have been teaching their form of ministry to missionaries coming to Thailand. They have trained 400 missionaries. Today they are in southern Thailand, church planting and teaching English in their home.
Great article! There were recently some other Asbury alumni who were spoken of in Christianity Today. Külli Tõniste and her spouse Douglas Childress. https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/may/estonia-baltic-methodist-seminary-russia-ukraine-students.html