2016 Ministry Overview

In 2011, God began to place a burden in my heart for the Hmong people in Southeast Asia. At that time, I was finishing my tenth year of serving as a pastor at The First Hmong Mennonite Church in Kitchener, Ontario. While seeking for the Lord’s will, I had the opportunities to visit Thailand on several occasions. During these visits I saw that there was a need for a young adult ministry in Chiang Mai, one of the major cities in Northern Thailand. There, I was introduced to The Friendship Church, which was a newly established church located in the centre of Chiang Mai. The church comprised of mostly young Hmong members who came to the city seeking for education and job opportunities. However, the church struggled with the lack of a consistent leadership. During these times I also had the opportunities to attend the World Mission Conventions in South Korea, where I was inspired and encouraged to pursue my vision for the Hmong ministry.    

   

After spending much time praying and consulting with family and friends, God opened the door for my wife, Sarah, and I for the Hmong ministry in Southeast Asia. Initially, we were able to partner with African Christian Mission Canada (ACM Canada) for our mission. They did not financially support us, but acted as a medium for income tax purposes. To begin our mission work, we received our initial funding from several sources, including our own savings, Mission Day fundraisings, financial gifts from friends and churches, and monthly financial support from our three children, the Covenant Church in Mississauga as well as the Covenant Church in South Korea.

In November 2012, we left Canada to visit Kenya, where we experienced ACM Canada’s ministry in the African region. After spending several weeks in Kenya, we left to begin our own ministry in Thailand. We spent the first several months settling down and establishing our ministry in Chiang Mai. At this time we began to work closely with The Friendship Church as missionaries. In June 2013, we returned to Canada to share our experiences with friends and family as well as to host the Mission Day event as a fundraiser for our mission. By July 2013, we permanently moved back to Thailand to focus on our mission work.

The next two years were productive years for our ministry as we began many of our mission projects, which included establishing a male student dormitory, creating a church council for The Friendship Church, sharing the Gospel Message with the congregation, connecting with and mentoring to Phayao Bible College students, holding discipleship and leadership trainings for Hmong leaders, speaking at various Hmong Christian conferences, and visiting rural Hmong churches in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Currently, I am now serving at the Friendship Church as the fulltime pastor while Sarah teaches Sunday school on a regular basis.

By the end of 2014, ACM Canada ended their partnership with us due to lack of funding. However, the Lord is faithful and we continued to receive monthly financial support from our children and the Covenant Churches.

While doing our outreach ministry to the Northern and Eastern Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, we realized there was also a great hunger for the Gospel Message among the Hmong people living in the rural areas. The Hmong people desire to know more about the Gospel Message, but they lack those who could minister and share the message with them. Therefore, along with ministering and building up the Hmong young adults in the urban centre, another main focus of our ministry is to establish a training centre where Hmong Christian leaders and pastors can gather and learn about discipleship and leadership so that they can effectively minister to their rural communities. Presently, we continue to serve full time at the Friendship Church as well as working on many of our mission projects.  

For the past three years we see that the Lord’s work is constantly growing and that many are seeking to know Christ. We feel burdened for the Hmong people in Southeast Asia and see a great need for more leaders to step up and minister to the Hmong people. For the year 2016, there are six mission projects that we would like to focus on in our ministry:

1)      Ministry at the Friendship Church

2)      The Friendship Church Dormitory Project

3)      Remnant Ministry Headquarter and Leadership Training Centre/Life Skill Centre

4)      Leadership and Discipleship Training

5)      Student Sponsorship

6)      Outreach Ministry in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos and Vietnam)

It is exciting to see that God’s kingdom is at work and that we can be a part of it. We thank the Lord for His guidance and provision in this ministry for the past three years. There were many challenges and difficulties that we had to face along the way, but through Him we feel encouraged and look forward to see this ministry continue to grow. We are also thankful to our friends and supporters for their prayers, generosity, and interests in being a part of our ministry. This ministry would not have been possible without the Lord’s mercy. We live each day by faith and will continue to serve the Lord and give Him all the glory.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dan & Sarah Yang