Ducking into the gym of Converge’s Grace Fellowship Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, on any given Sunday, you’d hear two to four languages bouncing off the walls. Dark heads bend over folding tables, delectable aromas of Massaman Curry, Tom Yum Soup or Pad Sii Ew curling through the air.
But don’t miss the true feast at hand. This mix of Thai immigrants, Americans and others is devouring the Word of God together through Discovery Bible Study.
The Power of Discovery Bible Study
Each week after church, local Thai restaurant-owners-turned-church-members and other attendees unpack their tastiest dishes for the group’s potluck.
Discussion begins with questions like, What are you thankful for? What is causing you stress? Who needs our help? By nature, the study shapes an intimate community.
At their tables in Thai, English or other represented languages, they retell the previous meeting’s Bible story or passage studied. Then, they reread the passage from that day’s bilingual sermon; so far, they’ve covered Luke and Acts.
The only true “expert” or “teacher” at the table in the Discovery Bible Study method is the Holy Spirit. So the entire group seeks to understand, interpret and discuss what this passage says about God, Jesus, his plan and humans.
Together, they reflect on questions like, According to this study, what am I doing well?
The study structure also lends itself to multiplication and accountability. Questions like What do I need to change? Who needs to hear this story? How can I tell them? and Who can I invite to study the Bible? are answered by participants’ “I will” statements—commitments to action.
Facilitators at the table model vulnerability and genuine compassion, and write down the “I will” statements to check back the following week. Slowly, group members there are beginning to open up, sharing the stuff of their lives.
Their time together feels reminiscent of Acts 2:
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul
… And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (vv. 42, 46-47)
It’s a vital, beautiful reality as this young church continues to make disciples from one of the least-reached nations of the world.
Reaching the Thai Diaspora
Converge’s Thai Fellowship Church launched just over a year ago. It continues to add members, hold baptisms, and reach out to the 9500-strong Thai diaspora in the Twin Cities.
Kathie Pederson and her husband John, members and former missionaries to Venezuela, explain that finding and building relationships with the Thai is one of their largest obstacles. The people group she seeks isn’t available right outside the door, as it was for her in Rubio, Venezuela.
So the new church continues to reach out at local events like the Thai Cultural Council’s Songkran Festival; a sports camp run in tandem with the Council; and the church’s Christmas outreach, with a meal, worship, skits, gingerbread houses and gifts for all. Last year, over 100 attended—a big deal for a church of 30.
Pederson is encouraged, yet hungry for more. These 9500 souls, existing without hope, fill her prayers as she begs God for a greater harvest.
Thankfully, the Discovery Bible Study trains knowledgeable, transformed disciples who make disciples. Around the world, Pederson reflects, the study has been credited with cultivating disciples to even the tenth generation.
The people of Thai Fellowship are praying for multiplication to happen in the coming year. Pederson knows of three “pre-believers” in the Bible study. And as participants learn, they reach out to family back in Thailand, a nation of 61 million unreached people.
Stories of Transformation and Prayer
In Kathie’s first Discovery Bible study with Thai women before Thai Fellowship formed, one Thai woman was very serious about fulfilling her I will statement. She committed to witness to her sister in Thailand, who was suicidal. This sister became a believer and was baptized, bringing an end to a series of family feuds.
Yet another Bible study member felt convicted to reach out to an estranged family member. Members have prayed for each other through cancer, wayward children and unwed pregnancy.
Clearly, the Holy Spirit is on the move, bringing life change, multiplication, conviction and intimate connection. Around the table, Pederson explains, “Everybody gets to participate. Everyone gets prayer if they’re facing something.”
Each week, she says, the “one anothers” of Scripture are on display: Love one another. Forgive one another. Pray for one another.
How can you pray for this pioneering work? Pederson asks for prayer toward more — and more meaningful — contact with Thai diaspora. From her dentist appointment with a Thai believer to a Thai shaman in Pederson’s checkout line at Wal-Mart, God has faithfully provided Kathie with unexpected relationships with the Thai around her.
“Love is cross-cultural,” she smiles.