Bangkok, the capital of Thailand is a city of sharp contrasts. It is a place where gleaming skyscrapers of glass and steel overlook ancient canal-side communities that haven’t changed in a century. It is a city of incredible kindness, yet it sits in the center of a spiritual desert.

Thailand is known globally as the "Land of Smiles," but beneath the surface lies a profound spiritual need. In this Buddhist nation of over 70 million people, Christians make up only about 0.5% of the population of ethnic Thais. In their spiritual thirst, Thais worship and ask blessings from thousands of different gods and spirits at temples and shrines found everywhere.

For the vast majority of Thais, the Gospel is not something they have rejected—it is something they have quite simply never heard. This is even after there have been Christian missionaries in the country for over 500 years already.

For half a millennium, the Gospel has also been perceived as a "foreign coat" that doesn't fit the Thai heart. This is not a failure of the Message, but a challenge in communication and trust. Thai worldview is a combination of Buddhism and animism which requires deep understanding for the Gospel to be understandably communicated.