Huay Gok Church

Huay Gok, Chiang Rai

Location

Huay Gok is a Khmu village just north of the city of Chiang Khong. Chiang Khong is a tourist hub with the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge serving as a key gateway to the country of Laos.

Huay Gok is situated on highway 1290 which leads to another Khmu village Huay Yen. The Chiang Mai church has great opportunity to minister to their community as most that live in the neighborhood are working in low income jobs or none at all. Chiang Mai is a tapestry of many tribal ethnicities and therefore the church has reflected their context, our church unites many different ethnicities under our family bond through Christ.

Planter- Srinuan

Srinuan is married to Phan and are Khmu from Huay Gok. They raised their family there and remember Tia travelling to Huay Gok for evangelism long before a church was birthed here.

Srinuan had such a heartbeat for her church to be rebirthed in the village that she travelled to Mae Phrao for a retreat in order to ask for support in re-planting the church that had died in her village

Srinuan is passionate about caring for the sick and downcast in her village, often off doing pastoral visitations and feeding those in need.

The "Church"

The people of Huay Gok church have experienced miraculous healings and God's grace in various ways, therefore their faith in God as healer is high. The church is quick to pray and lean on God in tough circumstances.

They are filled with gratitude as they come together, quick to praise God for the big and small things God does in their lives. Joy is building in this small village because of God's faithfulness, mercy and grace.

History

Context

Worship Services

In 2013 a young Khmu planter began a church in this village. Not many years after starting, he stepped away from it as the pressure of animism in the community and opposition compelled him to give up.

Years passed with no ministry efforts when Srinuan and Phan felt the Holy Spirit nudging them to "re-plant" the church that was abandoned. There had been no more worship services and many of the original believers had seemingly given up their faith.

The church is growing again and Srinuan and Phan persevere in the face of opposition.

Another rural Khmu village setting, Huay Gok is a rather small village. Steeped in the traditional cultural ways of animism that the Khmu come out of, most of the people in the village who are not Christian will be animists more than buddhists.

Appeasing spirits is common practice, so there will be animal sacrifices, ceremonies, curses, and other practices for ones health or prosperity.

As the village is predominantly farmers, income levels are low and lifestyles are quite modest with most living in wooden stilted houses.

The Huay Gok church worships in their church building at the top of the hill in the village. A steep climb up the path leads you to their place of worship.

It is a small building where they gather to worship, pray, grow and fellowship together. From little kids to elderly, the church is quite intergenerational, with everyone joining together like a large family.

The church mostly worships in Khmu when they don't have visitors as all the members are Khmu.