Preacher Ko Lingkang

The Ministry of the BDC

BDC stands for Bethel Development Centre. It is a ministry in Chiang Rai, Thailand that is supported by Calvary Pandan BP Church. What started out originally as a children’s hostel for students from the hill tribes is now also a church and Bible College. All the ministries are conducted in the Lahu language, specifically reaching out to the Lahu people, an ethnic minority group that resides in North Thailand.

Earlier this month, from the 7th to 14th of November, I had the blessed opportunity of going to the Bethel Development Centre (BDC) in Chiang Rai, Thailand for a week. The main purpose of my trip there was to teach a one week course at the Bible College, and also to preach at the Sunday worship service.

There were close to 30 students who signed up for the one week course that ran from Monday to Friday. Slightly more than half of them sat for the exam. For the course, I taught the first half of the book of Ecclesiastes, from chapter 1-6. As we studied Solomon’s personal quest to find meaning and fulfilment in his life (ch. 1-2), and then his observations of the many vanities in this world (ch. 3-6), the main thought that surfaced continually was how empty a life under the sun, apart from God can be. For the daily morning devotions, we look at various passages of the Word of God, in that it has authority (1 Thess 2:13), is precious (Matt 13:44-46), pure (Ps 12:6-7), effective (Ps 119:97-104), and promises success (Joshua 1:7-9). For the night devotions, where the children also joined us, we studied the passage in 2 Timothy 4:12-16, looking at the importance, elements and requirements and results of being a good example for the Lord.

Through the week, I also had the blessed opportunity to catch up and have a wonderful time of fellowship with the Harichaikul family, especially the three siblings Warunee, Weerapong (Billy) and Alongkorn (Popeye) whom I studied with at FEBC. They are the main people on the ground who are labouring in this vineyard, being actively involved in each aspect of the ministry. Through my conversations with them, and also general observations of what was going on, here are a few observations, sharings and thoughts about this ministry. I share them for our encouragement, and also so that we can know how to better pray and support this work.

The Lahu Language

In North Thailand, the population of the Lahu people number at around 60,000. They are traditionally farmers who reside in the regions around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces. Most of them speak the same Lahu dialect, but not all can read in write. In fact, the Lahu language was only romanised into a written form in the past 100 years when missionaries tried to evangelise to the Lahu people. Then they translated the Bible and hymn books, which greatly aided the spread of Christianity throughout the Lahu tribes. One interesting development is that the literacy rate amongst Christians especially is fairly high. Some of the participants in the Bible course testified that they specially learned to read in order to read God’s Word and participate in worship services.

Because of increasing globalization and modernisation, many of the Lahu, especially the young people, are giving up their language and traditional way of life, and moving away from their villages to the larger towns and cities. The ministry of the BDC hostel is therefore a very important one, for they teach the children to be literate in Lahu – something the local schools do not do. In so doing, they enable the children to be able to study God’s Word and worship Him in their own language. Nonetheless there remains a sizable part of the populace that speaks only Lahu and no Thai. Therefore it is important that a Lahu ministry remains to reach out to such people. The numbers may be small, it is nonetheless very needful, for every single one, regardless of race or language, needs the pure gospel and the truth of God’s Word.

Another issue is that because of the infancy of this written language, the Bible resources available to them are very limited. Aside from the hymnbook and the Bible they have, there is little other good Christian literature available. At the present, there is only one published translation of the Bible, and it seems to be translated from the English Good News Bible translation – one of the most corrupt and loosely paraphrased modern English version. Not only are there many missing words and verses, but the translation itself often mangles the meaning of the verses. This problem was especially evident when trying to teach passages in Old Testament poetry books like Ecclesiastes, where the translations were not translations at all, but more like a commentary of what the translator thought the verse meant. At best, it became a shallow explanation of the verse. At worse, the meaning brought out became the complete opposite of what the verse actually intends to say. Therefore in teaching the book, I had to also read through the Good News Bible’s translation of it to anticipate any issues that may arise due to the poor translation, and discuss with Billy how to rightly interpret and explain the verses.

From this, what we realised was that there is a great need to increase the awareness of such issues, especially to the pastors and ministers in the Lahu churches, in order that they may know to compare their translation with the Thai King James Version translation for greater accuracy. This was one of the discussions that arose during one of the break times, as some of the students were asking about the differences in translations, and wanted to know more about these issues. We must also pray that in time, God would raise up scholars who are well versed in both the original languages and also the Lahu language, in order that a better translation of the Bible in their language can be made for the growth and edification of the people.

The Need for the Truth

We know that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (1 Tim 4:1). I learnt that this is no different amongst the Lahu churches, for they are also very strongly influenced by Charismatic, Modernistic and even cult teachings. Most churches also have no qualms about employing Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) in their worship. There is very little discernment on these issues amongst the pastors, and basically would welcome anyone that is willing to support them and help their ministries, regardless of their doctrinal or denominational affiliations.

I was told that once a year, there would be a large conference of all the Lahu Christians in Thailand, where all the influential leaders and church members will gather for a few days at a Bible camp. In order to attract the crowds (that can number up to a 1000+), they would invite popular singers from Myanmar to perform CCM at their meetings – the greater the fame of the singers, the more respect and favour the organisers get. Apparently, there is also much politicking going on in the organisation of these events, where we were told by some of the pastors attending the course that bribes were paid to the committee to decide which speakers to invite. The concern was not about the quality of teachings, but more on the personal benefit of the leaders organising the event.

The BDC is one of very few Lahu ministries that have separated and refused to participate in these large gatherings. We must continue to pray that they will be firm to remain steadfast upon the truth of God’s Word, and be discerning in these last days. It also shows the great need for a faithful Bible College to educate the pastors and ministers on what the truth of God Word says, and how one must be discerning about the truth.

The Hunger for the Truth

Yet amidst the discouraging news of much apostasy amongst the Lahu churches, I was also privileged to witness many encouraging signs that there are a remnant who continue to desire to study God’s Word and know the truth. Amongst the students that came for the course were a mix of pastors, ministers, full time students, and also lay persons. Two students were mothers who brought their young children (1 month and 14 months old) to class. They both sat for and passed the exam. Another student was a 74 year old pastor who has regularly been attending this annual Bible class organised by the BDC Bible College, and is one who is valiant for the truth. During the break times, he shared of the many encounters he had with the erroneous teachings of the Charismatics and other cult groups, and how he was very much against them. He shared that even at this elderly age, he wants to continue learning, and acknowledges that there is still much for him to learn. He studied very hard and had the second highest score amongst all the students. This year also saw a newcomer who had only heard about the course from a friend the Sunday before it started. He was staying quite a distance away, and woke up early on Monday morning to begin his journey which involved hitching a ride on a friend’s bike, truck, and then on another bike in order to arrive for class, albeit a little late. These are but some heartening testimonies to know that there is still a hunger for the truth, and that it is certainly a very worthwhile and needful ministry that is being done for the Lord here in Chiang Rai.

I thank God for the opportunity to be a part of this ministry during my one week stint there. There are also many other challenges and needs that this ministry has,and we would do well to continue to uphold them in prayer to the glory of our gracious God. Amen.