Dear Ministry Partners,
We pray this newsletter finds you well and experiencing the presence of God every day. New Heights Ministry rejoices in the growing mission that God is giving us and the prayer and financial support you are providing. It is a team effort with God leading the way that makes our ministry in Thailand thrive. We are excited to share that God is leading New Heights Ministry (NHM) to expand our current ministry and to begin planning the next step for NHM. There will be more on the ‘next step’ at the end of this newsletter.
Over the past six months, God has opened doors to new villages for our evangelists to introduce the Gospel, especially in Northwest Thailand. The villagers are mostly Animists (worshipping the spirits of all natural things), but also adhere to certain beliefs of Buddhism. They are receptive to spiritual things and are drawn to Bible teaching on life after death. The idea of a single God that graciously forgives and offers eternal life is quite different than anything they have heard before. The sacrificial and substitutional death of Christ to pay for all our sins is indeed radical, but at the same time, very appealing.
When our evangelists have sufficient interest from the villagers in Christianity, they arrange for Jung Dangshing, our ministry director, to come to the village to conduct a week or more of Bible study. After nearly thirty years of ministry, Jung is skilled at helping the villagers transition from believing in many spirits and many lives to Christianity that provides a very real Holy Spirit that is ever present in our lives and connects us with God the Father.
MAKING DISCIPLES. Early in this quarter, NHM evangelist Sukchai arranged for Jung to join him in Mae Po village, Tha Song Yang District, to conduct an intensive Bible class for Mae Po villagers who wanted to be baptized. NHM is dedicated to ensuring each candidate for baptism has a clear understanding of Christianity and has resolved conflicts caused by past spiritual beliefs. The plan was to conduct five days of Bible education for villagers. However, the villagers were only able to sit in class for a few hours in the morning for the first two days. The villagers requested to have a two-day break before another class. Schedule changes can happen when the villagers must tend to their crops or when they need to talk among themselves. We recognize that the villagers have spent their entire lives together as a close-knit community and possess common views towards life, work, and religion.
Jung explains that after many years ministering in Thai villages and learning from their comments, questions, and deep discussions that the villagers are primarily Animists but call themselves Buddhists. Jung notes that Buddhism is a parasitic faith, able to entwine itself with other religions and exist without displacing the villagers’ beliefs. Buddhism grafts to other faiths without changing the nature of the fruit of those faiths, yet giving it a flavor of its own.
Our objective is to reach the villagers for Christ, and accommodating these types of schedule changes allows us to show empathy, patience, and grace just as Jesus shows us. Jung returned home to Chiang Mai for a few days and then returned to Mae Po and conducted three half-days of Bible teaching and answering questions and concerns. After that, several of the villagers were ready to be baptized. It is the practice of NHM to give our evangelist or the local pastor the honor of baptizing the new believers. This practice strengthens and edifies our evangelists.
As with every village visit, NHM is eager to share the love of God by bringing food and other goodies to hand out to the villagers. See photos below.
It is a joy to bless the villagers with gifts like these. It is unexpected and undeserved, just as it is when we receive blessings from Jesus. Thank you for supporting New Heights Ministry in blessing the villagers with food through your prayers and support.
Most recently, Jung was in the Sop Moei District for two weeks teaching the Bible to a large number of villagers. As in Mae Po, Jung taught at different times each day as the villagers were busy preparing their paddy fields for the upcoming rainy season. Ten of the villagers accepted Christ and are seeking to be baptized. Their baptism preparation and celebration will take place later in July, after the fields have been planted.
Recently, Sukchai, one of our evangelists, arranged for Jung to teach the Bible to Mae Po villagers over two weeks. Jung would teach the tenets of the Christian faith three hours a day, for two to three days at a time. The villagers would hear the teaching and then go into the fields to plant their crops for the growing season. Jung would return after a day or two and continue teaching. At the end of Jung’s time in the village, many villagers were baptized. Whereas Jung is the primary Bible teacher for these teaching seminars, our evangelists have the honor of baptizing the new believers. This practice allows our evangelists, who are local to the village, to be more effective when they are ministering in the village.
THE NEXT STEP. In last quarter’s newsletter, we shared how NHM evangelist Chakrapan, was called to become the pastor in the Beroa Village Church. We are excited to announce that God is leading NHM to prepare for the next phase of ministry, progressing beyond meeting physical needs such as fresh-water storage and food, beyond meeting spiritual needs 
through evangelism and Bible education, and beyond providing full-time pastors. The next step in NHM is to provide a church building where village Christians can gather to worship God. The church building will also be a center of community that will serve the entire village. The photo below is a concept for a worship center. The structure would be concrete, and the windows would be open, without glass. The rest of the church structure would include a nursery, kitchen, meeting room(s), and an office. The structure would also provide roof-covered open space that would allow the congregants to meet for meals and other activities, even during the rainy season. There will be a separate small building for restrooms and storage. The church would be scaled in size – small, medium, and large, to fit the size of the village. A church might be placed in proximity to several small villages.
This fall, NHM will begin a fundraising drive to secure the funds to have a Thailand architectural firm design and engineer the church. Upon approval of the design, the architect will produce the engineering and construction plans for the three sizes of the church. By the second quarter of 2026, NHM will identify a target location, identify potential contractors, and secure bids. After this, we will raise the funds needed to build the first church.
Please pray that we will continue to passionately pursue the work that God is giving us. Pray that we will continue to minister to villages through community development projects to improve the quality of life in the villages. Pray that we will equip our evangelists with the training and resources to effectively share the Gospel and the love of Jesus with villagers. Pray that we will effectively partner with village Christian Churches throughout northern Thailand. Pray especially for the ‘next step’ of constructing a church building that will advance the Gospel in a village of God’s choice.
You can learn more about NHM at our website, https://www.newheightsministry.org/. If you have any questions, please contact Ron Oholendt at ron.oholendt@newheightsministry.org or (719) 201-8410.
In His service,
Ron Oholendt
Jung Dangshing
Director, New Heights Ministry
Del Giddings
Chairman, Board of Directors