Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand

Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand
EFT
สหกิจคริสเตียนแห่งประเทศไทย
Country	Thailand
Denomination	interdenominational evangelical Protestant
History
Founded	June 19,  1969

The Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand (Thai: สหกิจคริสเตียนแห่งประเทศไทย) is an umbrella organization for various evangelical churches, parachurch organizations, and foundations, and is one of five Christian groups legally recognized by the Thai government.

History

Following World War II, many evangelical missionary groups began missionary work in Thailand, including OMF International, the Southern Baptists, WEC, New Tribes Mission, Finnish Free Foreign Mission, Marburger Mission, Presbyterian Church in Korea (K.I.M.), Child Evangelism Fellowship, Christian and Missionary Alliance and Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. ^[1] These groups chose to not work under the existing national church, the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT), due to concerns about that denomination’s ecumenical activity and ties to the World Council of Churches and the mainline American denomination Presbyterian Church (USA). These varied evangelical groups worked independently from both the CCT and each other, but in the mid-1950s a number of them decided that inter-denominational and inter-organizational co-operation and fellowship was needed. This desire on the part of both evangelical missionaries and Thai Christian leaders led to the formation of the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand (EFT). The EFT was formally recognized as a legal entity on June 19, 1969, and its first moderator was Rev. Suk Phongnoi. ^[2]

Present Work

The EFT today includes over 100 member churches or organizations, and publishes a quarterly magazine called “Bible Torch” (Thai: พระคริสตธรรมประทีป). The EFT is a member and active participant in the Thailand Protestant Churches Coordinating Committee, whose goal is to promote evangelism and discipleship among Protestant churches in Thailand. ^[3]

Location

The main office of the EFT is located at 64/1 Ramkhamheng Road, Soi 22, Bangkok, Thailand. The EFT official website is www.eft.or.th

References

1. Smith, Alex, "Siamese Gold, A History of Church Growth in Thailand: An Interpretive Analysis 1816-1982", Bangkok: Kanok Bannasan (OMF Publishers Thailand),1982, p.222, 226.
2. "History of the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand". Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
3. "About Us". Thailand Protestant Churches Coordinating Committee. Retrieved December 31, 2013.