{"id":188,"date":"2009-02-17T16:03:23","date_gmt":"2009-02-17T16:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=188"},"modified":"2010-12-22T13:10:02","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T18:10:02","slug":"6874-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (February 17, 2009) \u2013 In 2005, flooding destroyed a fish farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand, that had been sponsored by the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of World Mission. Damages reached $90,000 and deprived many people of steady income. (Click here<\/a> to see previous story.)
\n
\nTen students from North Park Theological Seminary<\/a> recently participated in efforts to rebuild the farm during a mission trip. The students also lived among the poor in the slums of Bangkok and helped host a conference of missionaries from 17 different countries.<\/p>\n

The experiences were part of the Mission and Ministry in Asia (Thailand) class that included the two-week mission trip designed to educate students on how to do ministry in a Buddhist context. Course readings covered Thai customs and history, as well as strategies for missions to other cultures\u2014including conflict resolution due to language or cultural differences.<\/p>\n

While in Thailand, the students didn\u2019t focus on leading vacation Bible school or worship services as often happens on such trips. Although they taught English to children and helped with the rebuilding of the fish farm, the students were there primarily to listen, says Paul De Neui, professor of Intercultural Studies and Missiology, who teaches the course.<\/p>\n

Seminary student Nathan Albert, who came to the seminary from Life Covenant Church<\/a>, a multi-site Covenant congregation, says the trip is helping him to make life decisions. \u201cI am drawn to Thai culture, and it became a couple weeks of discerning whether missions to Thailand is something God may have in store for me in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students learned the power of incarnational evangelism. \u201cThe mayor of the chum chon invited us back, concluding that Christians would always be allowed in his village,\u201d Albert says. \u201cA Buddhist woman we called Bah felt honored to house Christians for a week and as we said our goodbyes remarked, \u2018When you come back to Thailand you stay with me. You always have a mother in Thailand.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

In a world that often seems connected primarily through technology, the person-to-person ministry is vital, Albert says. \u201cGod\u2019s love was brought to us through the Incarnation, and as the body of Christ, we must continue to be incarnate, especially in a text-message, cell phone, and Internet-crazed world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albert says he gained a deeper understanding of the love of God from an eight-year-old Buddhist girl. (For his reflection on that experience, click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

De Neui, who is a former missionary to Thailand, says he hopes that one day all students and faculty will participate in a cross-cultural ministry trip to a different country. This was the fourth trip to Thailand offered by the seminary.<\/p>\n

Covenant World Relief<\/a> provided much of the funding for the trip.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO, IL (February 17, 2009) \u2013 In 2005, flooding destroyed a fish farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand, that had been sponsored by the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of World Mission. Damages reached $90,000 and deprived many people of steady income. (Click here to see previous story.) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nDoing Ministry in a Buddhist Context - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHICAGO, IL (February 17, 2009) \u2013 In 2005, flooding destroyed a fish farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand, that had been sponsored by the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of World Mission. Damages reached $90,000 and deprived many people of steady income. (Click here to see previous story.)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-02-17T16:03:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-12-22T18:10:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"headline\":\"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-02-17T16:03:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-22T18:10:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":451,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context - Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-02-17T16:03:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-22T18:10:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2009\\\/02\\\/17\\\/6874-2\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"description\":\"Evangelical Covenant Church\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/author\\\/covwebster\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context - Covenant Newswire Archives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context - Covenant Newswire Archives","og_description":"CHICAGO, IL (February 17, 2009) \u2013 In 2005, flooding destroyed a fish farm in Chiang Mai, Thailand, that had been sponsored by the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of World Mission. Damages reached $90,000 and deprived many people of steady income. (Click here to see previous story.)","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/","og_site_name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","article_published_time":"2009-02-17T16:03:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2010-12-22T18:10:02+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"headline":"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context","datePublished":"2009-02-17T16:03:23+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-22T18:10:02+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/"},"wordCount":451,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/","name":"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context - Covenant Newswire Archives","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-02-17T16:03:23+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-22T18:10:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2009\/02\/17\/6874-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Doing Ministry in a Buddhist Context"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/","name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","description":"Evangelical Covenant Church","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/author\/covwebster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6409,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188\/revisions\/6409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}