Christians comprise only about 1% of the population across central Southeast Asia, which includes the countries of Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar among others. There is a desperate need for healthy church planting and faithful, Christ-centered, expositional preaching in this overwhelmingly Buddhist region. But the conditions are especially difficult for church planters and churches who would advance the gospel to under-reached and unreached people groups. Poverty, underdeveloped infrastructure, and persecution present constant obstacles to mission work. These challenges call for a courageous, persevering response, and the Lord has been raising up men to face these difficulties through Church in Hard Places (CiHP).
During a recent trip to Thailand, WordPartners’ executive director Jeff Brewer and Matthew Spandler-Davison from CiHP discussed the growing partnership between our organizations. Matthew is engaged in advancing the gospel into persecuted regions through church planting. Part of his work focuses on assessment and mentorship for potential church planters across Southeast Asia. As CiHP focuses on competency and character, they seek to ensure that qualified men are equipped to proclaim God’s Word faithfully and boldly in difficult ministry contexts. These men are key leaders in the region, eager for the expositional training offered through WordPartners’ workshops.
“We long to see God’s Word flowing powerfully through every church to every nation.”
After a week of training and planning with church planters, Jeff asked Matthew how he is hoping to see our partnership with CiPH develop in the months ahead. Matthew explained:
“Our goal is to equip what we call indigenous leaders—church planters and pastors—in some really difficult resource-poor communities right across the world. . . . And part of our training isn’t just theological development and competencies and character, it’s especially preaching. These men have to be able to preach the Word . . .”
Church planters and pastors in hard places need accessible expository training to proclaim God’s Word faithfully in hostile environments. WordPartners’ training meets this need with eight transferable Dig & Discover Principles for Bible exposition. We are committed to equipping pastors like these—not just to preach, but to train others to do the same.
We long to see God’s Word flowing powerfully through every church to every nation. CiHP’s faithful work in some of the hardest-to-reach places helps turn that longing into reality. By planting churches and raising up local pastors, they help us realize our mission: equipped pastors proclaiming God’s Word with God’s heart in every corner of the world.
The foundation-laying work in Thailand is reinforcing the strong partnership between our ministries that began in Africa. We are poised to strengthen church planting and gospel proclamation efforts across Southeast Asia and beyond, trusting God to multiply the fruit.
This work does not happen in isolation. Church planters in some of the world’s hardest places need partners who will stand with them—equipping them with the training and resources to faithfully proclaim the gospel. The growing partnership between WordPartners and CiHP is a crucial step toward meeting that need, but there is still much work to be done.
Right now, you have an opportunity to double your impact in advancing the gospel among the hardest-to-reach places. A generous matching grant will match every dollar given—up to $300,000—for first-time donors through August 2025. That means your gift will go twice as far in equipping church-planting pastors with the expositional training they desperately need.
Will you join us? Your support—whether through prayer, financial giving, or by spreading the word—will help ensure that more pastors in Southeast Asia and beyond are equipped to faithfully preach God’s Word. Together, we can see the gospel take root and flourish in places where Christ is least known.
Now is the time. Give today and see your generosity multiplied for the sake of the gospel.
