When most people think of the country of Thailand, they mistakenly think that the Thai people are all from one specific people group where everyone speaks the central Thai language in their homes. However, that simply and very clearly is not the case. Yes, most citizens of Thailand can speak Central Thai because all education in Thailand is done in the Central Thai language but ethnically, linguistically, and culturally, Thailand is made up of 114 different people groups and 80 of these people groups are considered unreached people groups (upgs). It is true that the Central Thai are the largest people group in Thailand with a population of around 25,500,000 (if you include the numbers for the Thai-Chinese) according to Joshua Project statistics. However, what that also means is that out of the 69,000,000 people in Thailand, 39% are from the Central Thai people group and 61% are from a different ethnic group than the Central Thai group. What that means is that 61% of the Thai people speak a different language in their homes with their families and close friends than they do when they are in public or in school.
We live in the far Northern part of Thailand where there are dozens and dozens of different ethnic groups living here, some of them from neighboring countries as close as a 45 minute drive from our home. I can be at the border of Laos and the border of Myanmar (former Burma) in less than 45 minutes. I can be at the border of China in less than 6 hours by car. We truly are strategically located in a place with a great diversity of unreached people groups living all around us. Our church, Baan Athitaan Church, is a true community church made up of over 23 different people groups that meet together for worship every Sunday morning.
Prayer Example: “Heavenly Father, we thank you for the rich diversity of people groups in Thailand. We also thank you for planting a community church right in the heart of Northern Thailand to help facilitate evangelism and discipleship in that part of your world. We ask You to be pleased to expand the impact of NTIM and Baan Athitaan Church to these various unreached peoples and to give NTIM an opportunity to be a vessel that You are pleased to use to reach many of the unreached ethnic people groups in this part of your world. We pray that You would burden the hearts of Your people all over the world to pray fervently, to give generously, and to go intentionally to where Your Message is needed most. We pray this in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.”