Protestants in Thailand constitute about 0.77% of the population of Thailand. Protestant work among the Thai people was begun by

Ann Judson Ann Hasseltine Judson (December 22, 1789 – October 24, 1826) was one of the first female American foreign missionaries. Biography Ann attended the Bradford Academy and during a revival there read ''Strictures on the Modern System of Female E ...

in Burma, who evangelized Thai war captives who were relocated to Burma.

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

was introduced to the country of

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

in 1828 through the work of

Karl Gutzlaff Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

and

Jacob Tomlin Jacob Tomlin (1793 — 1880) was a Protestant Christian missionary who served with the London Missionary Society during the late Qing Dynasty in China. Tomlin and Karl Gutzlaff Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of peo ...

, the first two resident Protestant missionaries in Thailand.

Protestant Denominations

There are five Christian groups legally recognized by the Thai government, including the following Protestant groups:

Church of Christ in Thailand The Church of Christ in Thailand (C.C.T.) (Thai: สภาคริสตจักรในประเทศไทย) is a Protestant Christian association. It is the largest Protestant denomination in Thailand and is considered to be the large ...

, the

Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand The Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand ( th, สหกิจคริสเตียนแห่งประเทศไทย) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. It regroup 2,729 evangelical churches, a ...

, and the

Thailand Baptist Convention Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. The

(CCT) is perhaps the largest Protestant denomination in Thailand and is the oldest denomination, being founded in 1934 by a merger of American Presbyterian and American Baptist churches. Since that time, several other Protestant groups have joined the CCT, including

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

s from the German Marburger Mission and churches started by the

Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

. The denomination consists of Thai, Chinese, Karen, Lahu, and English-speaking congregations. It is a member of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

and has about 130,000 members. The

(EFT) is an evangelical umbrella organization that includes many smaller denominations, churches, missionary organizations, and parachurch ministries. It is not a denomination, but a collection of different groups for the purposes of reporting to the government and inter-denominational co-operation. The

is a small denomination of Baptist churches that was started by American missionaries from the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

. There are also many independent churches and groups in Thailand, including many

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

and

charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

groups. The most notable

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

groups are Hope of Bangkok church, Jai Saman church, and the

Rom Klao Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

association of churches. Among the other Protestant groups represented in Thailand are

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

Christian and Missionary Alliance The Alliance World Fellowship is the international governing body of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA). The Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within the Higher Life movement of Christianity ...

Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

s and

s, and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

s. Anglican Churches in Thailand belong to the Anglican Church in Thailand, a deanery of the Diocese of Singapore of the

Church of the Province of South East Asia The Church of the Province of South East Asia is an autonomous member of the Anglican Communion, created in 1996 with the four dioceses of Kuching, Sabah, Singapore and West Malaysia. There are approximately 98,000 Anglicans within the pro ...

. There is a church located in Bangkok named LifePoint, with locations also in the United States and Belgium his sentence is out of context

Evangelical parachurch ministries

There are many

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

parachurch Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indivi ...

Christian ministries operating throughout the country, with some being newly founded small churches. Foreign missionaries and residents are establishing churches and prayer groups throughout Thailand. One of the largest is Youth with a Mission, which has over 200 full-time foreign staff and over 100 Thai staff, ministering in 20 locations. Another evangelistic missionary organization,

OMF International OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship and before 1964 the China Inland Mission) is an international and interdenominational Evangelical Christianity, Christian missionary society with an international centre in Singapore. It ...

, has an outreach to place Christian teachers in the Kingdom's schools. In the large cities like Bangkok, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai, numerous ministries are operating in hotel conference rooms, storefronts, and other rented facilities as an outreach to the local residents.

Protestant hospitals

Bangkok Adventist Mission Hospital ) , Org/Group = Seventh-day Adventist Church , Image = , Caption = , Logo = , Location = Bangkok , Region = , State = , Country = Thailand , Coordinates = , HealthCare = , Type = Genera ...

and

Bangkok Christian Hospital The Bangkok Christian Hospital ( th, โรงพยาบาลกรุงเทพคริสเตียน) is one of the oldest general hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand. Situated on Silom Road, Bang Rak District. History The first Christi ...

are Protestant-affiliated hospitals in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Bible ministry

United Bible Society began to work in Thailand in 1828. In 1966,

Thailand Bible Society Thailand Bible Society ( th, สมาคมพระคริสตธรรมไทย) is a non-denominational Christian organization dedicated to translating and distributing the Bible and selected books of the Bible in Thailand. The Thailand ...

was officially established, though its organised work began in 1828. Part of the Bible in Thai was first published in 1834. The

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

in Thai was printed for the first time in 1843. The first full collection of Bible texts in Thai came out in 1883. In 2005, Thailand Bible Society distributed 43,740 copies of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and 9,629 copies of

in the Thai language.

Gideons International Gideons International is an Evangelical Christian association for men founded in 1899 in Janesville, Wisconsin. The Gideons' primary activity, along with their wives in the Auxiliary, is "encouraging each other to do the work of the Lord, focusin ...

's "Scripture Blitz" was held in Thailand in November 2005, where 227,295 Bibles were placed by a team of 30 men from around the world.

References

External links

Thailand Church DirectoryChurch of Christ in ThailandThe Evangelical Fellowship of ThailandThailand Baptist ConventionThailand Bible SocietyThai Missions Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Protestantism In Thailand

Protestant Denominations

Evangelical parachurch ministries

Protestant hospitals

Bible ministry

See also

References

External links