Mission Outreach: Actions Speak Louder than Words

UDON THANI, THAILAND (November 28, 2001) - A delegation representing the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) today visited the ministries of the Issaan Development Foundation (IDF), one of the arms of the Thailand Covenant Church.

The delegation includes Donn Engebretson, executive vice president; Jim Gustafson of the Department of World Mission; Don Meyer of the Department of Communication; and Rose Cornelious, also working with the Department of World Mission.

The group met with foundation staff members - the foundation provides training and other occupational assistance to the Issaan people of Northeastern Thailand.

During a worship service, IDF staff members honored the delegation with a tying ceremony. Staff members each tied strings to the wrists of the guests as a visible sign of their love and affection, which is considered a very high honor. Shown in the accompanying photo (clockwise from foreground) are Cornelious, Engebretson and Meyer.

Protestant organizations have been working in Thailand for 170 years, Gustafson noted. But in relatively recent years the face of mission work has changed dramatically, thanks in no small measure to Gustafson's vision and insight. He spent most of his years in Thailand, also interacting with other Asian cultures.

Gustafson is critical of mission approaches that attempt to impose western culture and its values on other cultures. His approach to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ also differs. "I was here (in the 1970s) teaching Romans and Galatians - the grace of God," Gustafson said. His approach stood in stark contrast to other religions such as Buddhism that are based on one's efforts to gain merit, or favor with God. Sadly, he says he witnessed other well-intentioned efforts by some Christian groups that also taught a form of legalism instead of grace.

"Others (Christian groups) were upset and accused us of heresy," Gustafson recalled. "They said, 'You're teaching these people that God has done everything for them,'" he said in reference to the work of grace through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. It was around 1982 that Gustafson decided a major shift in the way the gospel is shared was in order.

Over the years, Gustafson came to believe that Christians must first reach out in love and tackle core problems of poverty and hunger if the message of God's grace was to have true meaning. The Issaan people lacked land to produce food and lacked knowledge of appropriate and sustainable agricultural methods.

It was at this point that he decided to form the Issaan Development Foundation, which was registered with and officially recognized by the Thai government in 1983.

"The Thai economic development effort works with the poorest o the poor," Gustafson says. "People in the city do better economically, but there is no 'trickle down' to the outlying villages. We want to reach out to the poorest of the poor, to those at the end of the line."

The IDF, working with government agencies, does social-economic studies to identify - and target - areas of greatest need. "No one will touch those people because no one cares about them," Gustafson says.

The IDF includes two basic divisions - the Development Department, directed by Watcharaporn Jaikla, and the Agriculture Department, directed by Nujon Singpila. Both are gifted and knowledgeable women who reflect another major shift that has been occurring in the area of leadership.

"The culture is highly male-oriented," Gustafson observed, "and they pull the power. Men are basically capricious - taking the glory - while the women are more gracious, providing the sustaining power of the culture, though considered second-class citizens. Gustafson said a number of men involved early on with the IDF have since dropped out because of their inability to deal with the gender and power issues. Work continues in areas of education on gender issues, he says.

The Covenant delegation toured one of the fish farms operated by IDF. The operation maintains a series of large ponds where tilapia fish are bred - the fish are in high demand throughout the 19-province region as a source of protein-rich food for families. The operation focuses on producing small fry that can be sold to individuals for stocking of individual ponds. Those families will raise the fish to maturity, using some to sustain their own families and selling the rest to produce income for the family.

The group also will visit the Institute for Applied Church Ministry before moving on to Laos.

(Editor's note: due to technical difficulties in connecting with the Internet in remote and more underdeveloped areas, updates tend to be sporadic and are often delayed.)

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