Hooked

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30, NKJV.

Pastor Athirat moved to Bangkok as a teenager to pursue a job at a factory, while completing his high school education. The LORD had already placed a call on his life for full-time Christian ministry. He played guitar in his church’s praise band, met his pastor every Saturday afternoon for mentoring, and went out once a month for evangelistic outreach at Lumpini Park.

“The first time I led someone to faith, I was hooked,” said Pastor Athirat. “I was so excited. I’ve experienced many joys in ministry, but there is nothing quite like the joy of seeing a new brother or sister coming to faith.”

It was at Lumpini Park during a monthly outreach with his church that young Athirat had his first experience in leading someone to faith. “I was 18 or 19 years old at the time,” he said. “We were walking around the park looking for someone to talk with, when I noticed a young man who looked really gloomy.”

Athirat approached him and shared a little bit about Christianity. The man made it clear that he was not interested in talking about religion. Breaking from the script that he had learned, Athirat asked, “Do you have any problems you want to talk about?”

The flood gates burst open as this young man began to pour out his troubles to Athirat. His troubles were common: no job, no friends and a feeling of being all alone. He said, “My parents don’t even care about me.”

Athirat listened to him sympathetically, and then said, “There is One who really cares for you. Even if no one else cares, this One cares for you.”

Athirat then presented the Gospel and invited this lost young man to put his faith in Christ, and he did! When all the people from the church gathered at the center of the park, Athirat introduced them to their new brother in Christ. With joy, this lost and lonely man discovered that he was not alone. He had found a new family of faith!

“The first time I went out to share the Gospel what I felt was fear,” said Pastor Athirat. “But after that first time of leading someone to faith, sharing became a compulsion. I loved sharing Good News with lost people!”

Pray that:

Many Thai believers will overcome their fear of sharing the Gospel.

God will bless Pastor Athirat’s ministry.

Thai pastors will make it a habit to always to be mentoring a few promising, young believers.

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