“Praise God for the Body of Christ and thank God for your church!” my Thai friend exclaimed. We were discussing the topic of generosity and had came to the topic of the church’s response to crisis. He told me that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the local church stepped in to distribute meals and much-needed supplies throughout Thailand. He shared stories of Thai Christians’ incredible generosity during the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and the earthquake in 2014. Likewise, I shared with him about First Church’s Save Our Homes Fund, which assisted those in our community impacted by COVID-19, and how our church stepped in and made a huge difference for so many families. I told him how First Church also made a significant impact after Hurricane Ian in 2022.
“You know,” I continued, “my family and I can be here, and I can have this conversation with you because of the generosity of the body of Christ.” My Thai friend, a church leader here in Bangkok, has known many missionaries but was curious about what I meant. I shared with him that my family and I felt called to Thailand; First Church affirmed that call and sent us as missionaries to Bangkok. It is First Church’s ongoing love, generosity, and prayers that help sustain us today.
This unity of the Church through generosity is nothing new. In Acts 11:27-28, the Holy Spirit warned the early church of a great famine, and the church’s response was: “So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so…” (Acts 11:29-30a ESV ). In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul also writes to the church in Corinth about a specific collection for the church in Judea:
…they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your
confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution
for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you,
because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.
2 Corinthians 9:13b-14 ESV
Thailand is filled with a history of Christian generosity. Protestant missionary efforts have been taking place in Thailand for more than 190 years. During that time, Christians built hospitals, schools, and orphanages, and positively impacted the culture and society. Despite these efforts, the church’s growth in Thailand has been slow, primarily due to the strong association of Buddhism with national identity. The Thais often say that to be Thai is to be Buddhist. But we know and trust that more Thais will come to know the hope and love of Christ because the Lord is continuing to call missionaries like my family to faithfully serve so that the name of Jesus Christ might be lifted high! Missionaries cannot fulfill their call without the unifying generosity of the church.
My friend then told me how he and his church pray for America because he became a believer through missionaries from the States. He shared that they are praying for the Lord’s will to be done in this election year. What the Apostle Paul wrote to the early church is true today: when the body of Christ is generous, God gets the glory, and the Church, the Bride of Christ, longs for and prays for one another. What a mighty God we serve!
This is just one of the stories of the Body of Christ’s unity and how First Church is making a difference worldwide. We cannot wait until the day we see our First Church family in person and enjoy your presence again like Paul and Barnabas enjoyed the church in Antioch. “And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27 ESV). As my Thai friend said, “Praise God for the Body of Christ, and thank God for your church!” Amen!
by Pastor Su Kim
