Updated Country Profile - Thailand

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Thailand. The Church has maintained a presence in Thailand for over 50 years, yet only about 16% of the 22,700 members in the country appear to regularly attend church. Nevertheless, the Church in Thailand has the largest number of members, stakes, and congregations of any country in mainland Southeast Asia. Moreover, the Church in Thailand during the past decade has achieved significant progress with local leadership development, as evidenced by the number of stakes increasing from one to four, the announcement of a temple in Bangkok, a significant reduction in the frequency of Church employees serving in top local leadership positions (i.e. stake presidencies), and the calling of the first Thai area authority seventy. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

The Church in Thailand has moderate prospects for intermediate-term growth. However, long-term problems with low convert retention and member activity rates pose significant challenges for long-term growth. The implementation of missionary programs developed in predominately Western Christian areas in non-Christian cultures and a rush to baptize inadequately prepared investigators who have not demonstrated sufficient personal understanding and life implementation of gospel teachings are major causes of high convert attrition in Thailand. Convert retention rates have experienced little improvement since the adoption of the Preach My Gospel program in 2004, as these key challenges remain largely unresolved. More consistent implementation of higher standards for baptism will be necessary if activity is ever to become the norm rather than the exception among Thai converts. Additional research, adaptations, and resources are needed to better convey the relevance and meaning of gospel teachings to the background and understanding of Buddhists and other non-Christians. Additional cities may open for missionary work, particularly nearby Bangkok, along coastal areas between Bangkok and Cambodia, and provincial capitals without current congregations. However, the focus of mission resource allocation will most likely continue to center on building and strengthening centers of strength, particularly in Bangkok and in the two remaining districts in Chiang Mai and Udon Thani. Due to Thailand’s geographic size and large population, a second mission may be organized in coming years to provide greater national outreach and support to other regions of the country.