Laos Mission Initiative
The Lao Samphang Methodist Church (LSMC) has 77 congregations and is growing steadily. Several new church buildings are in process. Evangelism and education are high priorities, especially for school-age children and women in the church. The mission also provides seed to allow families to grow food, including the Seed Project loan for mushroom, goat, and green rice farming.
GBGM Photo
The training and Bible education of lay preachers is a pressing need in the emerging LSMC. By May 2008, 44 out of 56 people completed the lay preachers and Bible study training; of the 44, only two had high school diplomas. Of 4,800 church members, 60 percent of the women cannot read or write, and 700 children do not have the opportunity to go to school.
But prospects for education are looking better. The Laotian church arranged for eight students to enroll in Phayuao Bible College in northern Thailand in 2007, and another four in 2009. It hopes to send 12 Bible students to study in Thailand or the US and return by 2016, the 15th anniversary of the LSMC, ready to preach and lead the LSMC into the next century.
Lao Samphang Methodists T and J Vang serve in Laos. The Rev. T Vang coordinates the ministries within the LSMC Mission--lay preacher Bible study training and church building--and is a liaison between the LSMC and the Lao government. His wife works in ministries with women, youth, and children, and in training women in the Bible, leadership, and microeconomics.
Initiative News
Mushrooms of Faith Flourish in Laos
Global Ministries News10/10/08: Economic and congregational development both benefit from this mushroom cultivation program.
- Laotian United Methodists Seek to Educate Leaders for Tomorrow, January 3, 2007
