LHF Conference in Thailand Connects Church Leaders July 23, 2025

When LHF was founded in 1992, there were no Lutheran churches in Thailand or Cambodia. There also was no publicly available Internet, and only about 2 percent of Americans had rudimentary cell phones. Very few printers offered digital printing.

Thirty-three years later, much has changed! Most importantly, there are now thriving Lutheran church bodies in Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Lutheran missions have been established in countries like Myanmar (Burma) and Vietnam. But in many cases, small groups of Lutherans in each country were operating on their own, isolated from one another.

LHF’s coordinator for Southeast Asia translation projects, Rev. Ted NaThalang, sought to change that.

Bringing scattered Lutherans together

“In most countries in Southeast Asia, Christians are a small minority of the people, and Lutherans are a small minority of the Christians,” Rev. NaThalang said. “But when we come together to share ideas, work and pray, more can be accomplished. And it’s very encouraging and uplifting for these young Lutherans to spend time with one another.”

And so Rev. NaThalang organized a first-of-its-kind workshop for LHF project managers and translators from throughout Southeast Asia.

“Each team has their own strengths,” reflected Rev. NaThalang. “For example, our Thai team is very skilled in graphic design and computer layout. In Cambodia, they have really good methods of outreach and distribution of LHF books. Our Indonesian office is producing great social media posts that share LHF books with people we couldn’t have reached in other ways. Everyone has something to share that will make other teams and their proclamation of the Gospel stronger.”

As plans for the conference got underway, LHF leaders from India and Kenya, Africa also saw the value of this collaboration and journeyed to Thailand to join.

Shared knowledge = growth

In the course of a week, the men and women shared what their LHF offices are doing in their countries. They also explored lots of new approaches to using today’s technology to share the Good News, including audio books, ebooks and social media posts. The group traveled to local printers to gain a better understanding of how the process works, and they discussed the possibility of using artificial intelligence (AI) to do some basic translation tasks.

“The discussions and examples shared gave us practical insights into how we might better communicate the Gospel in ways that resonate with the Filipino cultural setting,” said Arlene Reyes, who coordinates LHF projects in the Philippines. “For example, [the distribution of] LHF’s upcoming children’s books in our country will prioritize those with limited internet access and low English proficiency, particularly in rural areas.”

Simon Obiayo, a layout and design artist from Kenya who is new to the LHF team, was especially excited by all the wealth of knowledge and training. “It was a wonderful learning experience,” he enthused. “If I were to write down all the experiences and things I learned, you can be sure it would quite a good number of pages. I had an extended week of training, a practical session with LHF’s Thai team on the best ways to do book formatting, create book covers, and improve the quality of the graphics we use in Kenya. It was the best example of in-service training for me!”

Most of all, the participants agreed that the best part of the conference was the shared prayer, worship and fellowship in the faith.

“We were reminded of the importance of supporting and uplifting one another as we serve the Lord,” said Rev. Niran Temsakun, who with his wife Esther translates and distributes LHF books throughout northern Thailand. “It was wonderful to see the intergenerational cooperation within LHF. It’s important work across age groups, learning from one another, passing on wisdom and renewing our understanding to better serve. It was a rich and unforgettable experience.”

“We were reminded by Rev. NaThalang that we are delivering bread to a hungry world,” agreed Arlene. “The Holy Spirit, working through us, is shaping the next generation of Lutherans in Southeast Asia.”