Laos Ministries:
What: This project
is an opportunity to make a real
difference by providing literature in
languages appropriate to the tribes
being reached. In conjunction with
believers from neighbouring Thailand,
follow-up work is conducted among those
who will read the material. This project
provides enough finance to print and
distribute packs of materials. Why:
There are very few opportunities for
mission work inside Laos. Doors are
tightly shut, persecution is, at times,
intense, and all traditional
missionaries along with the overwhelming
majority of national church leadership
fled in 1975 at the height of Communist
opposition. There are some
state-approved churches now in Southern
Laos though they tend to be restricted
in their freedom by government controls.
Most evangelicals function in secret.
The provision of literature and video
material is a marvellous boost to local
evangelists in their work.
Target Peoples:
Mainly among people groups in Northern
Laos .
Cost : Each packet
of cassettes, books, gospel tracts and
material for children costs about £5 to
prepare and distribute. Generally a full
rucksack of about 50 packets is carried
into Laos, each rucksack costing around
£250 to fill.
Prayer: For
protection on teams regularly taking
material into Laos. For the Lord to
prepare the ground in those tribes being
reached. For local vision to evangelize
among unreached tribes. There are over
130 distinct people groups in Laos. For
increased freedom to church plant and
evangelize. The Church has suffered
greatly since the Communist take over in
1975.
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Buddhism has become heavily synchronised with animism. Communist persecution was very acute in the mid-1970s and has returned and remained since the late 1990s with the government aiming to completely eradicate the Church. Indigenous believers have been very active in evangelizing among their own unreaced groups but little has happened across other tribal groups. Missionaries left in 1975. Some expatriate believers have able to work in aid opportunities.
Those in the north where there has never been formal missionary work. Some believers are coming across borders from China and Thailand . The Lao are the country's main group with but a few thousand believers among them. The Tai speak 15 different languages. The Hmong have many believers from their tribe living outside Laos having fled persecution in 1975 and appear to be a fairly responsive people group. In the south, there are some small unreached groups. Altogether there are about 138 separate ethnic groups in Laos . Perhaps 129 of these are considered to be ‘unreached'. It is this complex linguistic and ethnic diversity that has proved the most serious obstacle to the spread of the Gospel. Bibles are being printed but at least 21 languages still need translations.
Every six months, Open Doors World
Watch publishes an index which grades
countries according to the levels
of persecution religious believers,
and of Christians especially. 