Mission strategies in the making: Protestant missionaries in the Chiang Mai City

Abstract

This thesis is a case study against the backdrop of conversion to evangelical Christianity in Thai society, which is a dynamic process rather than a static event (Zehner, 2004). The project investigated the mission strategies used by Protestant missionaries in Chiang Mai to convert Thais in the city to reveal the role of modernity in the success of the Protestant missionaries. The research method for this study consisted of semi-structured, in-depth qualitative data collection such as in-depth interviews, informal interviews, snowball sampling, documentary research, participant and non-participant observation, existing literature and social media for data collection. Through comparative analysis, the findings of this research study confirm that the "classical triad" or the traditional "three-self' formula in church planting work is no longer a yardstick or a Standard Solution Strategy (Dayton and Fraser, 1990) to the success of Protestant missionaries. By investigating the mission strategies used by the Protestant missionaries at my research site, this case study demonstates that the Smart Approach utilized by Missionary Nick has a high success rate in Acts Church even though Nick did not apply the "classical triad" or the traditional "three-self' formula in his church planting work. On the other hand, Missionary Sam who adhered to the "classical triad" principle and used the Care and Concern Approach has had a medium level of success in Calvary Church. Missionary Olivia also followed closely the "classical triad" principle and applied the Self- Motivated Approach, which has a low success rate in Charis Church. This thesis also seeks to explain the interconnectedness of modernity and conversion to Christianity in Thai urban society. This case study shows that Protestant missionaries who applied the suitable type of missiological contextualization and the right type of self- theologization, such as establishing Cyberspace Ministry, conducting Prayer cum Healing Ministry, holding Christmas Celebrations, using musical accompaniment during singing, and accepting females in the church leadership role enjoyed successful church growth and a higher rate of conversion to Christianity. The research findings reveal that Nick utilized the Internet to pioneer satellite churches, and posted his preaching and teaching sessions on social media platforms to draw Thais into his Christian community. At the same time, Nick's Prayer and Healing Ministry provided spiritual healing and body-mind stabilization to the new settlers and the local Thais in modern Chiang Mai. The same technology of mind-body stabilization can also be found in the Christian community established by Sam as he applied Care and Concern Approach in the Homecell Ministry. At the epistemological dimension, this research study shows that the dynamic relationship between urbanization and the mind-body relationship among the new settlers in Chiang Mai because of the challenges they needed to overcome when they worked in urban areas. Second, it explores the connection between globalization and English because the interest in learning English in urban Thai society is linked to the requirements and expectations in the global marketplace. This case study also shows that the utilization of modern media technologies enables the existence of satellite churches and the digital memberships become an Imagined Community (Anderson, 1983). Additionally, the use of English during Sunday Worship Services and bilingual homecell gatherings has resulted in the formation of an Imagined Community because "nations are no longer created in blood but imagined in language" in a globalized world (Pavlenko and Norton, 2007: 671-673). Hence, this case study demonstrates that the social political ontology of modernity (Wagner, 2005) in the aspects of urbanization and globalization plays a vital role in the success of the Protestant missionaries in my research site. Overall, this thesis argues that Christianity, which was once considered a foreign religion, has become a new choice and an expression of one's personal identity in Thai urban society and therefore, conversion to Christianity is no longer having a pessimistic outlook in comparison to the days of the old-time Protestant missionaries who had an anti-Buddhist mentality and a dualistic theology regarding conversion.