Must Be Born Again

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” John 3:3, NASB.

Athirat was born into a Christian family in the Karian tribe of Northern Thailand. He enjoyed growing up in church and hearing all the Bible stories in Sunday School. Like many Thai, he felt that the family he was born into determined his faith. “I was born Christian, therefore I am Christian,” is what young Athirat thought.

One Sunday his Bible teacher challenged him. “My teacher explained that being born into a Christian family is not the same as being a Christian,” said Athirat. “He told us that we had to personally accept Jesus and be born again.”

Athirat was 11 years old at the time, and he felt convicted of his need to personally accept Christ. He was one of five boys to accept the Lord during that Sunday School class. All the boys had considered themselves to be Christian because of their family background. “I’m so grateful that I had a teacher who explained the Gospel to me,” said Athirat. “I suppose many people have a similar testimony and owe a Gospel debt to their Sunday School teachers.”

Today Athirat is serving the Lord as a pastor and church planter. Out of the five boys who accepted Christ on the same morning, he is one of two who are in full-time Christian ministry today.

Pray that:

Second generation Thai Christians will find a personal faith in Christ.

Sunday School teachers in Northern Thailand will faithfully proclaim the Gospel to their classes, and God will bless them for their faithfulness in nurturing the children in the faith.

God will bless Athirat’s ministry and church planting efforts in Northern Thailand.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.