This is God at Work
When we set out to help plant churches in Phetchabun, Thailand, we never could have dreamed what God would do. Exceeding our initial goal of 300 churches, we’ve seen over 60,000 professions of faith in Jesus and over 18,000 baptisms.
Since 2018 CTK has supported the church planting movement led by Dwight and Mary Kay Martin, with Estar Ministries, and Pastor Somsak and Rajiroat, a local pastor and his wife. Dwight is a dual Thai/US citizen. His family has a very long history in Thailand, with his parents arriving in 1948, the first missionaries in a province in NE Thailand. After attending university and working for many years in the tech industry in the United States, Dwight and Mary Kay were called by God to return to Thailand in 2006. Having served in various capacities, including data collection for ministries, Dwight read Mark 1:38: Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
Knowing that 95% of villages in Thailand did not have a church, Dwight became curious if anyone was reaching villages. He analyzed data at the village level and discovered progress in rural Phetchabun province.Meanwhile, a local motorcycle mechanic and his wife, were running a repair shop. Pastor Somsak and his wife Rajiroat were introduced to Jesus and fell in love with him. Over their 30 years of personal ministry, they started numerous churches. Then they were given a God–sized vision of 1000 churches and 10,000 believers. They didn’t know how this was going to happen, but they started going village to village, birthing simple house churches and discipling new believers.
In 2017 God brought together the Martins’ skills in tech, statistics, admin, and printing with Somsak and Rajiroat, gifted evangelists and teachers. Together, with the help of over 1,000 volunteers, their God-sized vision of 1000 churches, and 10,000 believers was reached in 2020 and is now far surpassed!This church planting movement is sweeping Thailand, with nearly 5000 new churches! Behind each number are lives—changed forever by the good news of Jesus.
November 2023 Baptisms
We're continuing to see God move with thousands of baptisms in 2023!