Note: We have resigned in the wake of these allegations. Read our story here.

Table of Contents

• The Allegations
  • Sexual Abuse
  • The 24 Non-Sexual Accusations
• Vision Baptist Missions’ Response
  • Summary
  • 8/3 – Initial Email Thread
  • 8/4 – Talking points handed out
  • 8/5 – VBM Public Statement #1
  • 8/3-6 – Pressure from Pastors
  • 8/5 – Internal Email Conversation
  • 8/7 – VBM Public Statement #2
  • 8/17 – Investigator #1 – National Center for Life and Liberty
  • 8/24 – Investigator #2 – Law Firm hired by Vision and Public Statement #3
  • 8/24 – The So-Called “External, Independent Investigation”
    • Independent Investigation?
  • 9/2 – Reinstatement begins
  • VBM Missionary Defenses on Social Media
• Austin Gardner Response
  • Previous Responses to Confrontation
  • List of typical narcissist behaviors
• Conclusion
• Some Advice on Discerning Deceptive Behavior
• Where this all leaves us

The Allegations

Sexual Abuse

On August 3, This video was posted with accusations of child abuse, child molestation, etc.:

I have witnessed, not sexual improprieties, but numerous leadership behaviors that go hand-in-hand with characteristics described.

Even in my own private investigation I learned of several more accusers with claims, that have not yet shared their stories publicly. 

That is extremely concerning.

I hate to think that these could be true, but a legitimate investigation MUST be done to clear his name if he is innocent, but call him to justice if not. 

The 24 Non-Sexual Accusations

While the sexual allegations got the most attention, they are far from the only accusation brought up. VBM would have the public believe that there is only one “40 year old allegation” from a bitter woman with psychological issues. 

In fact, there are serious allegations raised that, if true, disqualify Austin Gardner from ministry.

I believe they do.

In the Earnhart’s video, they mentioned many other serious allegations:

• Forced Abortions
• Misappropriation of funds
• Shuffling of men to other ministries as well as out of the country to cover misdeeds such as adultery and fornication.
• Boys and Girls being raped in the Children’s Home and their adult abusers were never turned over to authorities
• Intimidation and insults if you dared to disagree
• Beatings
• Control by fear
• Isolation if you chose to challenge him
• Verbal Abuse
• This philosophy is one of control, manipulation, cover ups and defying accountability when crimes are committed.
• Loss or withholding of money – medicine, food
• A Team culture that was used to control;
• independent thoughts or ideas were not allowed.
• This Dangerous philosophy of ministry taught and practiced by Austin Gardner, his sons, and many who are under his influence.

Days later, in another video the Earnharts reported additional submissions with specific details of abuse reported on their website.

In addition to the Earnharts, 17 more missionaries published a joint statement with accusations of:

• Manipulation
• Bullying
• Slander
• Spiritual abuse
• Mental abuse
• Fits of anger
• Pastoral neglect
• Abuse of power
• Breach of confidentiality
• Mishandling of sexual trauma

These kind of allegations must be investigated seriously by a qualified, unaffiliated, unbiased investigator. But VBM leadership has refused to look into these things despite giving the impression to the public that they are indeed conducting a third party investigation.

Instead, VBM leadership is choosing to protect Austin Gardner and themselves instead.

But I am a personal witness to much of this behavior and culture, and I’ve stayed silent too long.

By doing a little bit of personal investigation, I am now aware of several more extremely serious allegations from people that have not yet shared their story publicly, but likely will in the near future.

To be clear, these allegations do not implicate Austin Gardner alone, but also the ministry philosophy and culture that he has created and led at Vision Baptist Missions, especially, but also Vision Baptist Church.

Vision Baptist Missions’ Response

Every response from VBM so far addresses only one accuser and her sexual allegations, ignoring the other serious allegations and other accusers.

That is unacceptable.

Up to this point, you may have had no reason to not believe what you have heard from VBM, but I ask you to be skeptical  and challenge their answers to you on this matter.

No doubt many of you have called in with questions and no doubt have been assured that everything is being handled above board properly.

I want to highlight some inconsistencies between the public portrayal and what I see from the inside group communications and how they are in fact responding. Their actions contradict their public claim of “openness, transparency, and dedication to the truth”

Here are the public statements from VBM so far. 

In contrast, these are the facts that I know from being part of the internal discussions:

• The initial internal response to the allegations by those inside the organization were almost exclusively affirmations of loyalty, declaring all allegations to be lies, slander, an attack, etc. and concluding innocence. 
• A decision to investigate was delayed and resisted
• A commitment to investigate at all only came after extreme pressure from pastors externally, and me internally.
• Their actions contradict their public claim of “openness, transparency, and dedication to the truth”
• The scope of the investigation has been severely limited rather than truly ‘seeking the truth’.
• To the public they have tried to demonstrate that they are conducting an “independent, external” (unbiased) investigation, but in reality, they are investigating as little as possible. See section: Independent Investigation?
• Their response mirrors that of a Cover Up — more interested in protecting their public image rather than truth-finding
• VBM has released THREE statements, minimizing, downplaying, and misrepresenting the accusations.
• VBM has refused to independently investigate 23 of the 24 accusations, instead delegating that to an internal, unqualified, and biased group that has a history of overlooking Austin’s behavior when previous issues have been raised.
• VBM has hired an investigator accountable to them, rather than a truly unbiased and qualified investigator
• VBM is controlling the release of the results of this investigation concluding statement after investigation complete
• They have worked to scrub incriminating information:
  • Deleting email rings, groups, pages on the website
  • Message history in video messaging groups (Marco polo) 
  • Posting 30 posts in 12 days to bury the story on the VBM Facebook page (vs. 3 posts in the previous 2 months)
• Internal speech from some current vbm missionaries has been to mock and belittle the very idea of spiritual abuse (See image below)

In response to what “Spiritual Abuse” means:

Consider this quote from a book about the unethical handling of scandals:

8/3 – Initial Email Thread

When the news was first mentioned on internal email, there was almost exclusive declarations of this being lies, slander, evil, etc. No serious calls for an investigation.

8/4 – Talking points handed out

Directors organized a Zoom call to give us our talking points. Mark denies it, but my voice on that video call was awfully lonely. I have a recording of it though.

8/5 – VBM Public Statement #1

“Our Founder and President, W. Austin Gardner, was recently confronted with some accusations from around forty years ago. His primary desire is to promote the Gospel and he decided that continuing as President of the Mission Board would create a protracted distraction. Rather than allowing that to occur, he tendered his resignation today as President and Board member, and he wants the entire world-wide team to focus on their ministries and the cause of Christ. The world desperately needs the good news of Jesus Christ, and global mission efforts are challenging enough without additional complications.

To be clear, Vision Baptist Mission Board does not cover up abuse, and we have zero tolerance for child abuse in our ministry. As a matter of policy, this Board reports all reasonable suspicions of child abuse to the authorities. We carefully interview and screen our missionaries and volunteers, and our leadership team works to maintain child protection policies based on best practices nationally. We believe that transparency, child safety, and accountability are essential for successful ministry, and we are fully committed to ministering in a safe and responsible manner.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our General Director Jeff Bush if you have any questions. Please pray for everyone involved in this deeply personal and highly painful situation.”

– VBM Statement #1

Notice:

1. No mention of an investigation that they supposedly “launched immediately” (mentioned later)
2. Minimized the accusations by not naming them.
3. Distanced the accusations saying they were “from 40 years ago”
4. Lifted him up as the hero martyr that is willing to resign rather than “distract”
5. Directs you to focus on something else.
6. Points to a policy instead of committing to the bottom of this real accusation.

8/3-6 – Pressure from Pastors

Then they began to receive letters like this one from supporting Pastors:

“Dear Mr. Bush:

I read the statement that was published on your Facebook page regarding Austin Gardner’s resignation. cannot express how profoundly disappointed am with this statement. It is both grammatically and factual incorrect.

If this statement stands without amendment, then (redacted)—- Baptist Church will discontinue any association with Vision Baptist Missions. As you know. (redacted)—– Baptist Church currently sends S1.250 per month or $15,000 per year to support VBM missionaries. I will also publicly write a letter stating the reasons that we no longer have any association with Vision Baptist Missions.

The glaring error in the Vision Baptist Missions statement are the words, “some accusations.” Sir, there are very real, detailed and specific allegations. The Vision Baptist Missions statement implies that Austin Gardner is resigning as a favor to others. In fact, if the second paragraph of the statement is true, Vision Baptist Missions should have clearly stated that Austin Gardner was terminated from his position.

Although I can appreciate allegiance and loyalty to a man, the greater issue is the Gospel. There seems to be a genuine disconnect within the Vision Baptist Missions family on this issue. I am praying for a proper correction from the leadership of Vision Baptist Missions. You might even consider the careful and thorough statement that Josh Teis recently wrote about his best friend Josh Irmler as a reference. It was masterfully written and left no room for any ambiguity.

With kindest regards, —–“

– A Supporting Pastor

8/5 – Internal Email Conversation

And internally, frustrated that no one was calling for an investigation into the allegations, I sent an email with the subject “Investigate” on Thu, Aug 5, 2021 at 5:22 PM

To the outside observer it may seem that my emails judge too prematurely, but remember, I know these people very well and have seen, for many years, the subtle and deceptive ways this culture operates.

They operate in plausible deniability and double-speak.

You may read the conversation and think I am reading too much into it, and that their actions seem perfectly noble, but I caution you to be more suspicious than that.

Furthermore, my suspicions were proven right by what has taken place since — they have not done a full independent and unbiased investigation, but rather hired a lawyer to investigate only a single part of the accusation, and refused to investigate anything else.

So, under enormous pressure, they put out a 2nd statement:

8/7 – VBM Public Statement #2

“Vision Baptist Missions takes all sin seriously and is committed to integrity and transparency.

On August 4th, serious allegations were made against Austin Gardner. Within 24 hours, he was officially removed from our organization. We immediately began investigating these allegations and our commitment to truth has led us to launch an independent, external investigation. Any future allegations against any missionary or staff at Vision Baptist Missions will be thoroughly investigated.

In an effort to foster transparency, Vision Baptist Missions has an appointed ombudsman to receive any complaints or accusations. We encourage all abuse victims to report to abuse@visionemail.org.

We are committed to truth and accountability. We take all accusations seriously and we have a zero-tolerance policy against sexual misconduct.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our General Director, Jeff Bush, at 770-362-3795 if you have any questions. Please pray for everyone affected.”

– VBM Statement #2

Notice:

1. He was not “removed”, he resigned with everyone begging him not to.
2. “Immediately began investigating” – The emails state what they were busy doing, and nowhere is investigation in there. Only statements that he has already been declared innocent by a biased investigation previously.
3. Keep reading to learn more about this “independent, external investigation”
4. Is This “ombudsman” (a neutral party to receive complaints) not the sister of Teri Snode? No one will answer.    Stephanie Grant –> The sister of Teri Snode –> The wife of Travis Snode –> Director at VBM. I don’t think that counts as an unbiased party. I can’t confirm that the Stephanie Grant that answered the abuse email is 100% Teri’s sister, but I can confirm that Teri has a sister named Stephanie Grant who either used to go to Vision or still does. Perhaps it’s a coincidence but I doubt it.
5. Several people have emailed this  and asked about who would receive the report if they were to report their experience at this email address and have received no response.

8/17 – Investigator #1 – National Center for Life and Liberty

Earnhart suggested to VBM that the investigation be done by the “National Center for Life and Liberty” with David Gibbs III. They specialize in these types of investigations.

But almost immediately, NCLL walked away from working with them because Vision Baptist Missions refused to investigate any spiritual or emotional abuse.

8/24 – Investigator #2 – Law Firm hired by Vision and Public Statement #3

“On August 4th 2021, allegations were published on several social media platforms by Becky Earnhart claiming Austin Gardner, our former president and founder, abused her as a child several decades ago. The Board of Directors of Vision Baptist Missions has authorized A. Lee Parks, senior partner at the law firm of Parks, Chesin, & Walbert of Atlanta, Georgia, to conduct an independent external investigation of these accusations. Vision Baptist Missions has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse and is committed to integrity and transparency. Even though Mr. Gardner is no longer with our organization, the board believes an independent investigation is necessary to establish the facts and bring the truth to light.

Upon completion of the independent investigation, we will release an official statement regarding its findings to ensure this process is trustworthy and transparent. Please be in prayer for everyone involved in this process.”

– VBM Statement #3

Notice:

1. Allegations are limited down to 1 of the 20+ allegations to only the child abuse. Probably the most difficult to prove.
2. The scope of the investigation is severely limited to exclude almost everything, insuring the culture, finances, or anything else at VBM is never looked at.
3. A law firm has fiduciary responsibility to their client (VBM), so VBM is in effect in control of the investigation.
4. VBM is in control of what will be released: “we will release an official statement regarding its findings”. A statement about the findings, not the findings themselves. And they get to release it, so they can filter whatever they want.
5. At this point a legal disclaimer was auto-added to all emails on our email ring to scare us away from sharing anything.
6. Their website states “we are committed to our clients.” It sounds like their job is to protect their client, not necessarily get to the truth.

8/24 – The So-Called “External, Independent Investigation”

INTERNAL Investigation for ALL Accusations save ONE. “Independent, external” for 1.

“Hello Missionaries,

The directors also wanted me to pass on the following information regarding a statement released by a group of missionaries or interns formerly associated with Austin Gardner in a private Facebook group in which they claimed to have observed and called out a repeated pattern of “spiritual abuse”.

Pastor Trent Cornwell has informed us that he has put together a special committee of current and former deacons of Vision Baptist Church to receive these accusations related to Austin Gardner, a member of their church, and deal with them as a local church.

We would like to ask you to pray for Pastor Trent Cornwell, Vision Baptist Church, and everyone involved.

God bless,

Travis Snode (on behalf of the Directors of VBM)”

– Internal Email

Notice:

1. “Spiritual Abuse” is mocked at VBM, and seems to be mocked here.
2. The investigation is entirely internal, and thus open to bias. Preserving the church’s reputation was mentioned to me several times in conversation with them because ‘he is no longer the pastor.’
3. They are not qualified to do this type of investigation.
4. Requiring victims to report abuse to the very people who overlooked it the first time, does not encourage an open sharing of information.

Independent Investigation?

What determines a truly ‘independent’ investigation?

The important factors, according to Boz Tchividijan, are that those being investigated:

• Don’t control the Investigator
  • “We authorized…” – VBM Statement
• Don’t Control the Process
  • limiting the scope to abuse of her as a child “several decades ago” – VBM Statement
  • “investigation of these accusations” – VBM Statement
• Don’t Control the Findings
  • “We will release an official statement regarding its findings…” – VBM Statement
  • Email accounts are internally controlled. support@visionemail.org & abuse@visionemail.org <– Unless something has changed, Mark Tolson (director) runs these email domains, allowing them to see all evidence as it comes in and prepare defenses for it.
• Don’t Control the Final Report
  • “We will release an official statement regarding its findings…” – VBM Statement
  • The email said, we will let you know what we find.

VBM Missionary Defenses on Social Media

The comments of the vast majority of VBM missionaries prove that this is a systemic battle. I pray for eyes and hearts to be open on all levels of VBM/VBC.

These are all quotes from VBM families on Facebook. Mostly connected to Austin Gardner’s rebuttal video.

This is all BEFORE any investigation has taken place!

Austin Gardner’s Response

9/2 – Reinstatement begins

• August 29 – Austin Gardner hires a Public Relations (PR) Firm to help him craft a response and polish his reputation
• August 27 – Sept 5 – 30 posts are posted on the VBM page in 12 days to bury the negative statements (vs. 3 posts in the previous 2 months before the accusations)

• September 2 – Austin releases video response wherein he avoids all specific allegations, highlights his “good works,” tries to discredit the accuser by emphasizing her devotion to them (common for victims of abuse), acknowledges nothing, plays the victim, and states his intent to return to ministry and power.

Conclusion

Trent Cornwell, the deacons, and Vision Baptist Church still have the opportunity to meaningfully renounce these practices and separate themselves from any association with an unrepentant Austin Gardner and Vision Baptist Missions. I believe they see, at least to some degree, these things as wrong. I publicly call on them to respond in a godly way for the cause of Christ and his Church. Most are also aware of the pseudo-apologies of the past, false confessions, and deceptive demonstrations of piety that have been used to excuse and ultimately continue in this behavior. With this knowledge, it cannot be allowed to happen again. 

As long as the leadership of VBM is Jeff Bush, Jason Holt, Mark Tolson, Mark Coffey, Robert Canfield, Travis Snode, and Brendon Wung, I do not have much hope for Vision Baptist Missions. These men have been the most complicit perpetrators of this culture. They defend and downplay these actions when confronted and teach and practice them in their leadership.

Footnote: Some Advice on Discerning Deceptive Behavior

This is new to all of us. so we need some education on the subject.

There are likely certain things that I have interpreted as deceptive that were just imperfect communication, but the consistency of questionable communication confirmed by the resistance to opening up to a truly impartial investigation is extremely concerning.

“Demonstrations” from “Something’s Not Right“

QUOTES FROM CHAPTER 8 — DEMONSTRATIONS

“Once an abuse is brought to light, an abusive person or organization will offer concessions and then demonstrations to reassure others that the abuse is in the past. These demonstrations can be dangerous if they are insincere and are employed merely as a way to protect an abuser’s image or to keep an abuser in power. Demonstrations come in various forms: statements, distancing, and rehabilitation. Demonstrations seek to repair an image rather than engage in genuine change.”

“When organizations devote greater urgency to demonstrating change than to pursuing an understanding of the problems, they sacrifice truth.”

“If you’ve been the victim of church hurt or spiritual abuse, it’s likely that the above scene feels uncannily familiar. The abuse you endured was finally brought to light, but instead of an authentic apology, it felt like you got the opposite: an insincere concession followed by a barrage of displays and reassurances that the church was still good and thriving.”

“By drawing attention to successes, the good done since the exposure, or the positive influence on the community, the abusive person or organization demonstrates to a watching world that they deserve to possess what they want. What they want, of course, is continued control and reputation. By drowning a negative event in a sea of positivity, the organization manipulates its stakeholders into overlooking or justifying wrongs. It’s terribly effective because the people ultimately conclude, “Let’s not be concerned about one drop of bad in a sea of good.”

“It’s true: we should be discerning and supportive of good-faith efforts. But it’s equally important not to blindly accept the mirage they offer. Whenever an organization apologizes for its unethical behavior but then goes on to promote its values, successes, and contributions to society, you can be sure it is more interested in repairing its image for its own benefit than it is in making amends for the good of the wronged.”

The Danger of Demonstrations

“Because these demonstrations are based on deception and designed to protect the abuser’s image, they present a dangerous false hope that can do great damage to a person’s religious faith, trust in others, and hope for justice. ”

“This is the tragedy of demonstrations of change without regard for truth. They lead to a superficial treatment of people’s brokenness.”

“At best, this allows blind spots in the organization to remain. At worst, the “change” is a form of stagecraft used to maintain favor with an audience. To borrow a biblical phrase, the community claims, “Peace!” when there is no peace. They desire to be seen as good without having to meet the demands of goodness. They want to be granted trust without having to earn it. They want to be seen as agents of healing without repairing any wounds. They want to collect a following without stopping to serve those they’ve trampled over.”

“Victims, pushed to the margins, are left to watch the victory of hypocrisy. At this point, there is nothing left for them to do. They’ve done what they could, and it wasn’t enough.”

“It is very difficult to discern these final acts of deception.”

“Demonstrations are used to win your favor, and because they appear good, you naturally want to believe they are free of hidden agendas. ”

“You can choose not to celebrate a demonstration of change if an actual change hasn’t followed truth telling. You can choose to voice your concern and call the powerful to do the right thing. You can dissent, even if it might seem as if everyone else is ready to applaud the demonstrations.”

Decoding Demonstrations

“Demonstrations are deceptions that divert attention from the negativity of the harm and toward the positivity of well-sounding statements and philanthropic actions.”

Statements

“it is common for an organization or individual to respond with a demonstration that includes a plethora of prosocial statements that align with societal values. These statements condemn abusive behavior and highlight best practices, renewed commitments, and future potential.”

Distancing

“The exposed person who emphasizes how long ago the abuse was is attempting to create distance between who they were then and who they are now. We tend to care more about recent harm. By highlighting a gap in time, the offender implies that the actions are in the distant past.”

Telltale Signs

“narrow-mindedness, arrogance, and an insistence on leading are telltale signs the demonstration of change is only for the sake of repairing an image, not a genuine change. They will do only what is needed to survive the scandal instead of doing all they must to make amends. They will be unwilling to consider all the factors that might have contributed to their abusive behavior when pushed. They alone will determine what is up for discussion and what is not.”

Exactly what I have seen in the past

“The overconfident will shun outside help from experts because they believe they already know what they need to know—how could someone from the outside be more of an expert? Concerned only about appearances, they refuse to engage with outsiders who might inform their initiatives and expose any blind spots. They stay far away from those who might reveal their limitations. Trusting in their own ability to investigate claims and to render judgment, they go on their own fact-finding missions and refuse to hire outside, nonbiased investigators. At the same time, they avoid giving any credibility to the power of public opinion—to those who have exposed them. Such acknowledgment would give the perception that they do not know what they are doing, an admission they perceive to be fatal and one that would simultaneously give credit to the effectiveness of the public outcry, which they fear would empower their critics even more. They have now entered into a cycle of impression management as they feel they must defend their legitimacy at every turn so as to quell the growing concerns.”

“What happens when the organization’s quest to positively influence public perception does not end with the success they had hoped for? They turn their attention to managing the impressions others are forming of the critics, labeling them as malicious, hateful, and arrogant. The deceived who support the organization’s efforts then condemn those they are led to believe are worse than they really are. Sadly, the very people who were repeatedly ignored are now publicly scorned. The quest to qualify themselves has now become a quest to disqualify others. ”

This is me now, and everyone else who has spoken up in the past.

What Can I Do?

“Because demonstrations seek to distract, a practical way to counter that effort is to keep pointing back to the unresolved issues. For example, you could say, ““While I can understand your desire to show me how you are changing, I still don’t believe you have looked at everything that went wrong. I’m concerned you have not done the work needed to understand your responsibility for the hurt you caused.””

“This is why you must use the above information to be extremely discerning whenever you’re faced with a demonstrative response that promises that everything will be different. Because here’s the unfortunate truth: no amount of patience will produce change in an abusive community that isn’t willing to surrender its legitimacy and pursue the entire truth. No amount of faith will be rewarded when the object of that faith is a falsehood. ”

Notes From: Mullen, Wade. “Something’s Not Right: Decoding the Hidden Tactics of Abuse–and Freeing Yourself from Its Power.”

“The vast majority are set up in a way that is biased toward the offender” “they have become farces. Do we want one? Yes. But there are so few 3rd party investigations that are truly independent “

In early August, you received my latest prayer letter, which stated that we finally had our visas and would be returning to Thailand September 23. The day after I sent that letter, there were serious public accusations made against the founder and president of our home church and mission board, Austin Gardner.

I have decided that a ministry change is necessary for me. 

As background, I want you to know that I love Bro. Gardner. He played a large part after my college graduation in getting me to where I am today. I served a 6-month internship under his leadership in Peru in 2005, then helped him and others start Vision Baptist Church when he left Peru and came to Georgia. He was like a father to me, and was my father in the ministry.

I am gravely concerned about the recent allegations. There are two reasons for that. 

First, I have witnessed, not sexual improprieties, but numerous leadership behaviors that go hand-in-hand with the characteristics described in the accuser’s testimony. 

• Sinful treatment of subordinates
• Sinful attitudes about church members, other churches, ministries, pastors, and missionaries
• Pride and egomania  
• Mishandling of God’s word and ungodly counsel
• Gossip and untrustworthiness

Second, from inside VBM, I have seen their response to the allegations of sexual abuse have been unethical and wholly inadequate, indicative of the idolization of Austin Gardner.

Our hearts break to conclude this way, compelled to expose ungodly behavior, knowing that it will be misunderstood by many, and it will hurt many of our closest friends, but the sin and pervasive culture at Vision Baptist Missions must not continue as it is.

For a documented expose of VBM’s response in the wake of these allegations, click here, where I have documented the accusations and detailed VBM’s inadequate response. 

 HOW VBM HAS HANDLED THE SCANDAL → 

My perspective recognizing the ungodly ministry culture, and why we must leave, is below.

Please read it prayerfully. 

Our VBM / Austin Gardner Story

This scandal has forced me to process things that I have been struggling with for a long time.

I have been trying to figure out the right thing to do about glaring problems in our organization and its leadership for a long time. An event like this exaggerates and consolidates situations to actually clarify suspicions, but in the midst of the fog, it is not so easy to discern. It starts wonderfully. If it were otherwise you wouldn’t have joined in the first place. And as time progresses you start to see cracks and flaws. But that is natural — we are all sinners after all, so you learn to forgive and show patience and grace. I told myself a thousand times, “There is no perfect organization. If I went to the most perfect one, still, I would eventually start to see problems there as well, only different ones. So just learn to deal with it, be patient and gracious with people, and do right, no matter if others are or not.” I still think that is fairly good logic. But when you are in a dysfunctional system that is “doing so much good” with so many good people, it takes a long time to see the subtle, manipulative and egocentric behavior is far more than run-of-the-mill human weakness. And it is quite confusing, because now you are in deep, and everyone around you is largely gung-ho, so you think you are just taking things too personally or reading into it too much. When you confront, there are concessions and admissions made that sound genuine, but you later realize were meaningless. Your desire to show grace and forgiveness is taken advantage of, but nothing of substance changes. Your trust score just goes down, and that sin is hidden more from you in the future.

I helped start Vision Baptist Church. I was missionary #2 with Vision Baptist Missions. When I first came around there was already a group of several smart, strong, spiritual friends, most of whom had graduated from a Bible college. These acted as a restraint to some of the worst tendencies of Austin Gardner. But over time, they left, mostly to the mission field. The new recruits got younger, and at the same time, the missionaries with the most discernment that I most respected began to resign one-by-one over years. I remained friends with them so it felt much the same to me, but what was slowly happening was that the most mature and strong among us, that provided much-needed balance to our organization, were slowly disappearing and being replaced by younger zealots that did not yet have the discernment or maturity to recognize what was going on, or the strength to stand up against it.

Disciples of Who?

There was a day in Thailand when something clicked for me. We had started a church, and something wonderful was happening. There was a growing group of people that were excited and hungry to grow in their new faith, so we gathered around a large table every day at the church, and just opened up the Bible and spent hours every day falling in love with it — amazed every day at God’s wisdom and grace displayed therein. It was glorious. No Bible college class I ever had held a candle to what we learned through that time together. But one day, I distinctly remember looking up from the head of the table to see about a dozen of the most excited and eager eyes looking back at me. I thought to myself, “I know I could talk every one of these people into going into full-time ministry.” Most were young, and in an overwhelmingly Buddhist culture, they had zero preconceptions of what it meant to live the Christian life. They were a blank slate, and it was my grave responsibility to help guide them to maturity. I had a choice to make. Was I going to continue to allow the Holy Spirit and scripture alone to guide their growth, as we had been doing, or should I subtly begin to start hinting that the ‘superior’ life was full-time ministry, and anything else was inferior. I know what I had been modeled for me, and taught directly by Austin Gardner. Use their genuine desire to grow and serve *God*, and give them small ways to serve *you*. Have them carry your bag for you, be your “personal assistant”, serve you. Tell them that by serving ‘the man of God’ they are serving God. Have them display their humility by showing their submission to you. And as they follow your ‘training’, you lead them down a trail, step by step, in submission to you, where soon, they are in training to become a pastor / church planter / etc.

The ministerial temptation to manipulate became clear to me that day. Would I choose to make disciples of me, or Jesus? Would I use my trusted place of authority to submit these young believers to the care and direction of the Holy Spirit alone, or would I allow my ambition and desire to be respected by others to move me to consolidate a little power here and begin to establish my kingdom?

As I looked at that room of people that I was taught to manipulate into ministry, I could not do it. The genuine work of God was far more beautiful than Austin’s little kingdom. But official policy is that you must start a second church by your 2nd term. Sure it is possible, but numbers are not more important than health. But at Vision, your “accomplishments” determine your rank; and the number of churches you have started is the ultimate bragging right. It trumps all else. The concern for the nationals under your leadership extends as far as they are able to make you look good.  Their health and the health of the congregation is faaaar less important. Produce, produce, produce. Pump out churches.

This is also when I realized that what I used to perceive as strength in Austin was not strength, but weakness. So many people so submissive to him used to impress me. “Wow, he is a great leader to have so many devoted followers.” In reality, he had failed to resist the temptation time and time again— directing people to submit to him, in the place of God.

Clarity

After 10 years of distance from the heart of what was happening at Vision, I returned on furlough to a much more radical version of what I left. Many needed restraints (mature believers) were no longer around to bring balance to the force.

I soon became extremely uncomfortable. We had pioneered a new work, alone, in a difficult place. We learned a very difficult language, planted a wonderful and thriving church in a land that was 99% non-Christian. We saw God do some truly amazing things. I had grown more through that experience more than I could have ever imagined. My heart was enlarged, and fresh back from the front lines, I was eager to help the next generation. But anything that challenged Austin’s opinion was drowned out by enthusiastic and unquestioning support for whatever Austin’s opinion was on the matter. He is the arbiter of truth. Any dissenting opinion was reported and ridiculed. It didn’t make sense to me.

This attitude was also in the church, and it made for a very unhealthy church. Also a very segregated one. Missionaries are definitely the higher class, and they are honored in every way imaginable. But your average church member? “Losers”, mostly—except for the ones that were rich and could help fund him. But the pinnacle of spirituality is being a missionary — specifically a missionary exactly like him, and therefore necessarily submissive to him.

This was my home church, and I was seeing the mature result of what I had been taught to reproduce.

And it was wrong.

But I am leading a ministry in Thailand and need this to be crystal clear so that I don’t reproduce what is clearly extremely weak. I talked to everyone I thought might be able to help me clarify things including pastors, missionaries, in our circles, out of our circles, ones that know me and don’t. I read books, and tried to figure it all out. I’ve learned and considered and sought. I don’t have it all figured out, but I have enough figured out to know that the current road I’m headed down isn’t going to lead to the healthy, God-honoring ministry and fruit that I want to have a part in.

I know it sounds like a few counsellors will be able to make it all clear real quick, but this just culminates what I have been considering for 10 years, and intently for the past 5, and it is difficult to discern. Especially when you are alone in a country and culture that is so void of Christianity and you are supposed to be the one that pioneers the path for everyone to follow.

The weakness of Vision’s ministry philosophy, embodied in Austin’s narcissistic personality is extremely clear to me, but so is my own weakness. I now know that I desperately need others to strengthen me and correct for my weaknesses. The man-centered ministry culture that Austin has created is a path of destruction. Missions is already a high-casualty occupation, but sending out dozens of lightly-trained, theologically anemic Austin-clones is a recipe for disaster. Too many of my close friends have been broken trying to copy-paste what he taught them to do, and then made fun of in a million different ways if it wasn’t ‘successful’. If you do what he says, you will succeed 100%, and if you did not succeed, it was because you didn’t do what he said.

You see how that works? He is always right, and you are always wrong and should listen to him more. It shames anyone who doesn’t measure up. So you act stronger than you actually are, for fear of being categorized with the losers, and you don’t get the help you desperately need.

Our Future

I would like to return to Thailand and work in a healthy team environment that includes others above, below, and around me, but that is just not the situation, and this has made that abundantly clear. And now, we have no home church that knows us. We have no mission organization that we trust and that knows us. Sure, we could join a church, and join a different board real quick. But that would just be symbolic, and I need real support, accountability, and help. I just think it’s far too dangerous to put myself and family back into after all of this. I don’t know what “missions” should look like, but it is something different than this. And since I don’t even know what it should look like, I don’t know how I am supposed to create it, or even recognize a place of ministry that I could join and thrive in. So, even with the greatest of intentions and all the spirituality I can muster, it doesnt change the perilous circumstances I’d be walking into.

The isolation that this scandal creates for us is bad, but it is 10x worse in Thailand. While adding 20x the pressure and responsibility.

So, I have tried to meditate on these things and hopefully things would marinate and become more clear, but they aren’t clear enough. It’s too much for me. And it’s not just a ‘you need to trust God more’ kind of too much, it is a ‘this is too much to be correct or wise’ kind of too much.

I’d like to continue this experiment and come out the other side having figured it all out, and write a book and amaze everyone, but I just don’t see that happening. I’ve learned a ton, gained lots of grey hair that fell out, and I think our hearts have been enlarged, but they are also breaking.

I have disassociated myself from Vision Baptist Missions and Vision Baptist Church. I must also resign my full-time missionary role for now.

Of course it hurts to leave what has been my purpose for a long long time, but the work accomplished wasn’t about me and doesn’t end with me. I have had a part in it, and I am thankful how we were able to invest in and help people— I think we have done that in a good way having invested thousands of hours in discipleship, help, and loving people, so there is no regret there. But I’m concerned about leading my family and Thailand well, and do not see how returning will be leading either one well.

Some may interpret this frustrating pursuit, ending here with a scandal, as not being spiritual or strong, but I disagree. These are high and heavy questions and hard to discern. And I think we can trust the Lord to lead us, despite us. We aren’t running from Him. But following Him doesn’t mean that there is going to be a simplistic and satisfactory answer to all our questions here and now, or even in this life. We are broken, the situation is broken, and the world is broken. And he will restore it all one day—not I. I look forward to that day when everything is made right, and I hope in that. He is the Savior not I. He is Sovereign, not I. I am just a servant that He allowed to serve a while in Thailand, and now looks like I’ll be serving somewhere else. I am ok with that. And everything I know about God’s tender and gracious heart displayed in the Gospel tells me that he is too.

I realize that this is a virtual “overturning of the tables in the temple”, but I am thankful that this is consistent with the character of Jesus who died for His church, and calls it to stand for the truth. Calling out unrepentant and ungodly leadership is not hurting the church, it is serving it.

But it is going to be costly. I do not know how God will provide for us next, but I trust that He will.

As our family makes this sudden and unplanned transition, would you consider helping us financially for a few months?

It was very clear up to this point what we must do for the sake of the truth and for the many voices/victims that have been hushed in the past, to stand against it before more harm is done, but from here it is completely unknown. I believe the wisest thing for our family at this time is to take a break from full-time ministry for a while, and allow some time to regroup and heal. We want to find a healthy church, centered on the glorious God of the Gospel, and a healthy community of believers that we can serve with, and maybe one day the Lord will lead us back to Thailand. 

We still have much to do in Thailand as well to wrap things up there. We must help the church there to transition to life without us. Basically everything we own is there, so we have to determine what to do with our personal belongings, whether that be shipping, selling, or what. 

Once that is done, I will be identifying possibilities and looking for a job while we also secure a place to live, find another church, decide on school for our three daughters, etc.. Please, please pray with us for the people in Thailand, for God’s healing, and for his will to be done as we move forward in His grace.

Vision Baptist Missions has committed to handle our support for 3 more months, but I have set up a separate donation form that does not go through Vision, if you would like to help us that way instead. 

If you want to give monthly for a few months, your email confirmation will contain a link where you will be able to manage (stop) your donation at any point in the future.

Some Quick Rebuttals for what I anticipate defenders of Austin will say of me:

• “He’s against church planting and man training, Bc that’s our philosophy” – No, I am against leadership and training that rejects biblical accountability, invokes God’s name to build their own name, and tears down everyone outside of you.  

• “He couldn’t hack it as a Vision missionary, because we are ‘elite’ and have high standards.” – One of their Classic put downs of people that leave them with prejudice. But sorry, no. I would argue that I hacked it just fine. 

• “Austin is gone, so all better!” – No, now it is Hydra. The men that questioned him the very least were put in leadership from the top down, and they continue to defend and perpetuate this exact culture and philosophy.
  • Jeff Bush – General Director
  • Jason Holt – South American Director
  • Mark Tolson – Asia Director
  • Mark Coffey – Africa Director
  • Travis Snode – European Director
  • Robert Canfield – African Representative
  • Brendon Wung – Deputation Director (Update: has since resigned for many of the reasons listed in this post)

• ”Isolating himself is his own fault, we offer more help than anyone.” – And when your help is twisted and insufficient?

• “He’s bitter / discouraged / depressed / Calvinist / a loser” – the Classic reasons given for anyone who has had a problem with them.

• “He is being vengeful because he’s angry. He should forgive and move along quietly if he disagrees.” – I am angry at the sin that continues unrepented of after multiple confrontations. I am concerned for the victims that have their lives ruined. Half-measures have not worked.  

• “This is Gossip, talebearing, etc.” – When we point out sin in the church we are doing what Paul did with Peter: withstanding him to the face, calling him to live out the gospel that he preaches and believes in. We are saying that the gospel should inform leadership in the church and that if it does not, we have no message left worth preaching. To publicly expose the sin of elders (I Tim 5:20-21) is a good and gospel fight. We are engaged in a battle that has the gospel at the very center. We are attacking cancer in the bride of Christ. 

• Furthermore, it is common for people to ignore Austin’s daily gossip and slander and to excuse it as his style of helping others, but then when someone speaks the truth (not gossip, not slander) suddenly these defenders of Austin have all sorts of time and energy to call that person out.

• “This is not the Biblical way of handling it.” – This is not a new issue that began August 3rd with Becky’s video. It is sin that has been confronted MANY times by MANY people in the past— individually, and in groups—following the Biblical pattern. But rather than it resulting in repentance, the biblical process has been short-circuited by those required to hold him accountable, and the sin of Austin Gardner has been covered and continues. More than that, the leadership that has covered his sin in the past, now lead in many of the same ways themselves. It has grown into the culture of the organization as a whole. This is evidenced in the recent handling of the allegations, but it is only the latest symptom of a much deeper problem at VBM that I and others have confronted in the past. So, what do you do when those in authority refuse to hold him accountable? What happens when you take it to the “church” and the church excuses the sin?
  • 1 Tim 5:19-21 – _19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. 20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. 21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality._
  • “2-3 witnesses” (19) – MANY have addressed these issues privately, then with a group.
  • “rebuke before all” (20) – Disqualifying sin should be publicly exposed and denounced, because sin is serious, especially in leadership. New Testament examples include within a local church congregation, and between churches (Paul rebuking Peter, for instance.)
  • (21) Partiality and preference for leaders we love tempts us to overlook sin, but it must be done.

• “All of this because of ONE accusation against one man??” – The public accusation by Becky definitely accelerated and clarified things. But if you read the above, it is clear that there are deeper issues only further displayed in the recent handling.

• “This is slander” – Slander is false.

Visas Finally Processed!! – Departure Plans

We finally heard back about our visas! After months and months of waiting on our visa to be processed, our visas have finally been approved by Thai Immigration! This is what we have been waiting on since the travel restrictions were first put in place!

We were going to have to travel to the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles to pick up our passports, but that is closed due to Covid, so we have to do that by mail. 35 documents later, including new plane tickets and new medical insurance that covers Covid in Thailand, I was able to get that into the mail, and we should have that back in just a couple of weeks!

We rescheduled our flights (that were canceled last year) for September 23. That is a few weeks away still, but that should give us time to get our passports back and finish the remaining plans for our arrival in Thailand, and give us time to help some more with Lori’s dad before we leave.

Lori’s Dad on Ventilator

An added complication as we get ready to go is that Lori’s dad has contracted Covid and has been in ICU on the ventilator for over a month an a half now. This has added quite a bit of stress to our last days in the States, especially for Lori.

We became the point person with the hospital for the family, and with the responsibility to give direction for his care, it seems like we have been on the phone with the hospital for a solid month. It is more exhausting than I expected it to be, as those of you who have had to deal with something like this will know, but we praise the Lord that he is making some progress!

The current prayer requests for him are 1) that he would be able to come off of the ventilator (that he has been on for 1.5 months), and 2) that there would be healing for a nerve complication that is causing some paralysis throughout his body.

This is especially tough for the family, who recently lost 4 family members (including Lori’s mom) in a car wreck. Please join us in prayer for his recovery!

Thailand Locked Down as Covid Spikes

Covid is at its worst in Thailand right now, and the country is locked down harder than it ever has been. (It is surprising that this is the time when our visas finally came thru in the middle of all of this.)

The lockdown country-wide, especially in Bangkok, makes it more difficult to do ministry, and are back to online services due to gathering restrictions. But in the meantime, some of the church leaders have been able to take advantage of the time by attending some Bible classes at a school across town, and gathering in smaller groups, so we are grateful for those opportunities.

As cases mount, bodies have even been found lying in the streets, and they are setting up makeshift hospitals. And now protests have started against the government, so pray for Thailand right now, and so many who need the hope of the Gospel in the face of seemingly hopeless times for so many!

Family Life – School at Midnight Soon

The girls are registered for school in Bangkok, but they will be starting online this year. So, in a few days our 3 girls will be starting their first night shifts for K, 1st, and 4th grades, doing school online with their classmates in Bangkok. So they will be up till midnight with all of their other classmates! It kind of works out for us though, because we will be getting there a few days after school starts, and then will be stuck in quarantine for 2 weeks until we are allowed to get out and about the city. So online school is all we could do! Should be interesting!

Last month, we also had to move from the missions house that we were staying in due to another family coming in.

So, the past month++ has been a bit of a whirlwind with 1) the ICU 2) getting our final visa steps completed, 3) getting the girls enrolled in school across the world 4) moving!

But even so, between all of that we are glad to be able to make some progress toward Thailand! Thank you for praying!

Yours for the Gospel in Thailand, 

Philip and Lori Bassham 

(Claire, Grace, Emma)

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There is finally good news to share about getting back to Thailand! As you know, Thailand locked down pretty tight in the beginning of the Covid crisis, which has prevented us from being able to enter the country, even until now. But a few weeks ago, in their process of slowly opening up to different visitor types, our visa category was finally included in the type of visitors that Thailand is allowing in.

We have now started the process of getting our visa back! Though our visa category is being allowed in, our visa is expired, since we were not able to be in-country to renew it. So we are re-submitting all our paperwork, and as soon as it is processed, we will have our visas and be able to return!

Thailand ministry update

The Lord continues to bless the church and ministry! Even in the midst of Covid, ~80 people showed up to Christmas services, where they were able to do a special presentation of the Gospel to many for the first time. There have been several professions of faith recently, and we are looking forward to getting back to meet some of these new believers and serve alongside them.

Some Specific Needs…

With our return quickly approaching, there are several new expenses that have come up in addition to what we previously mentioned in our return/setup fund, both for our family and ministry, that we would ask you to pray with us about.

• When arriving in Thailand, there is government-mandated quarantine for 14 days that we must complete in an approved facility. (~$2,500).

• Enrollment fees for the kids school in Bangkok. We were able to get an 80% discount on tuition, but the one-time enrollment is still quite expensive. (~$3k per child)

• Replace 2 aging computers (10yrs old) for the church(~$700 each), plus another unexpected computer repair ($500)

• Our vehicle just had a serious breakdown, that will be $2k

Special Thanks

We want to express special gratitude to our supporters during this time for understanding our predicament and being so faithful in your support, though undoubtedly dealing with your own crises brought on by the pandemic. You have been used to enable the ministry in Thailand to continue uninterrupted, and us to continue to live and work, though separated by many miles.

We have been able to be in touch with Thailand every week, encouraging, guiding, and supporting those that the Lord is using there. We have been able to travel, preach, report to supporting churches and even raise some new support during this period of waiting, so we thank you once again!

Yours for the Gospel in Thailand,

Philip and Lori Bassham
(Claire, Grace, Emma)

Printable PDF Copy

In our last prayer letter, I asked for you to pray our attempt to try to get back into Thailand at that time. That didn’t work out. Here is what is hindering our return as of today:

1. Thailand is still closed to international visitors (see notice I included from the Thai website)
2. Our visa and work permit have since expired due to not being able to get back into Thailand to renew them. Meaning, we are no longer in any kind of privileged position (as compared to  a typical traveler without a special visa) to  get into Thailand that our visa/work permit previously afforded.
3. Our Passports are still stuck somewhere in the system. We attempted an expedited process, but it has been months now and we still haven’t received them back.

Our Duffle Bags?—still packed. Our Plane tickets?—still cancelled, but reusable, at least!

When will Thailand open?

Good question. Thailand has taken some steps to open to certain special cases of certain types of visa holders, but right now ‘volunteer’ and ‘religious’ visa holders are not permitted to enter Thailand.

In addition, last week the government added an additional exclusion clause to their website specifically for applicants in the USA seeking permission to enter Thailand due to the recent rise of COVID cases in the States.

Thailand

Not being able to return has been difficult in some ways for those back in Thailand. While they have been faithful to stand on their own, our work was not complete when we left for furlough. The church was very young and full of new Christians that were Buddhist only a few years ago. 

Leading a church is difficult anywhere, much less a young church in a 99% pagan culture. And this is only complicated when you are a young Christian yourself, and also fairly new to leadership. So, the ministry has been both messy and difficult in some ways for them — I hope you can try to empathize with their situation and pray for them in that spirit. And pray for us, as 1) we try to help from afar and 2) try to get back asap.

Furlough can actually be good for the ministry, as it gives opportunity for time of testing and proving that allows a young church to feel the weight of responsibility and rise to the challenge, but coronavirus has extended this period of testing beyond what anyone expected and has sort of fertilized the already difficult challenges they have had to face while learning to stand on their own. God continues to sustain them and the church until today, and for that we praise Him. 

There is actually many positive things I could have written about, but I wanted to share some of the challenges in this letter and ask that you pray for them especially in these days. It is difficult to be stuck here and watch them struggle there, but we trust the that the Lord has purpose in these things.

Yours for the Gospel in Thailand, 

Philip & Lori Bassham

(Claire, Grace, Emma)

Download PDF Version of this update

This morning our plane tickets were cancelled by the airline. 

That is one of the moving pieces in the attempt to get back to Thailand ASAP, so I will just try to delineate some of them here and ask you to pray with us so that we could return as soon as possible!

Predicaments: 

1. Thailand opened to international travel for people with work permits (us), but just before ours was set to expire, allowing us very little time to allow us to get back in time to renew––which means we must get back quickly and everything must go smoothly with our paperwork!
   
2. We had tickets (till this morning) for July 30th––but they were just cancelled by the airline.
   
3. We must get back in time to follow the government mandated 14-day quarantine before we can renew our paperwork that expires on Aug 18th (Visas and work permit).––meaning we must find a way to leave within 2 weeks from today
   
4. Our kids are enrolled in school, in Bangkok, that starts August 5.––they will be late.
   
5. Grace (our middle daughter) must renew her passport before she can travel––but passport offices are closed nationwide, and they say mailing it in would take 6-8 months due to Covid.
   
6. We have packed up our house, gotten rid of our transportation, and are in a sort of homeless limbo as we thought we were leaving in a few days.

Plans:

1. I am working to get an appointment with the Passport office via humanitarian means by taking medical supplies (masks, etc.) with us to Thailand, but still have not heard back from them for the appointment.
   
2. We may have to go alone (without our daughter) to renew our passports, and then come back to the States until offices open and she can get one.––Pray this will not be necessary!

Please Pray with us: 

1. We would be able to get to Thailand in the next few days!
2. We can reschedule to a flight that wont be cancelled.
3. We can renew our paperwork!
4. We wont have to make an extra costly trip around the world!
5. We can can get an appointment with the Passport agency quickly.
6. The remaining money would come in for our re-entry fund

Praise and Thanks

• Praise the Lord for many of you that have sent in to help with our transition back to Thailand! We are almost there!
• Our kids were accepted into a Christian school in Bangkok with a huge tuition discount that will allow us to afford it! That is a big deal to us parents, when the alternative is a Buddhist infused education
• Ministry in Thailand has been able to start live services back
• They also are able to take some Bible classes even while I am away

  Yours for the Gospel in Thailand, 

  Philip & Lori Bassham 

  (Claire, Grace, and Emma)

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RETURN TO THAILAND!
Covid-19 Complicating our Return to Thailand

Just like almost everyone else in the world, the Coronavirus is affecting us in several ways. 

The most important one is that it is hindering our return to Thailand. Currently, Thailand has shut its borders to all foreigners entering the country, so that puts our return a little in limbo until it opens back up.

Internally, Thailand is pretty locked down right now, as well, so even if the borders were not closed, the logistics of an international move would be difficult with all that we will have to do that first month!

Pray everything will open back up soon so that we will be able to get back to the field!

When things started getting locked down, we were in a missions conference in Illinois, and in the middle of the conference the events were cancelled, and they moved to online-only services while there. It was definitely the most unique conference we have been in! The next week we were scheduled to be in Ohio, but that was also cancelled. Most every meeting we had scheduled before going back has cancelled, in fact.

Bangkok During Covid-19

The church in Bangkok is doing well, though having to do online-only services for now, like many others around the world. 

Bangkok as a whole is very locked down, and the church is in the most densely part of the city where there are 22,000 people per square kilometer — so the breakout risk is similar to that of New York City and they are taking precautions accordingly, including nightly curfews.

Re-Entry Expense Needs

I know many have financial difficulties during this time, but want to share with you our current needs for our transition back to Thailand, and ask that you continue to pray with us about our re-entry expenses.

This situation will not last forever. I anticipate our return only being delayed by a month or so, so the need for funds to be able to return to ministry in Thailand is still urgent. 

If you would like to help with these needs, you can give online at projectthailand.net/give or, by mail at PO Box 442 Alpharetta, GA 30009.

We are grateful for your support and special prayer that these needs will be supplied!

View Downloadable PDF

  Yours for the Gospel in Thailand, 
  Philip & Lori Bassham 
  (Claire, Grace, and Emma)

Our first full-year furlough is coming to an end! There is a LOT of work and many expenses that are coming up in the next few weeks as we get ready to transition back to Thailand that we would like to share with you and ask you to pray about. 

When we left for furlough we were not able to keep our house in Thailand, so the next few months will be very similar to our initial move and all of the setup expenses involved in that. On both sides of the world, there are a thousand things to do as we move out of our stateside home and arrive in Bangkok—without a home to move into.

Many our supporters have encouraged us to share when we have a need, and this is one of those times. Would you pray about helping us? Here is just a sample of some of these costs coming up:

• Plane Tickets for a family of 5
• Temporary housing on arrival
• Rental deposits on a new place (usually 3-4 months worth in Thailand)
• Storage and Movers costs
• Extra Baggage fees 
• Paperwork expenses
• Renovations, utility deposits, house set up,
• Stateside tying up of loose ends (Cancelling utilities, phones, car rental, etc.)

We estimate the total cost to be ~$20,000.

Any amount given would be a great blessing and personal help to our family as we head back for our 2nd term of ministry in Thailand! Please pray for us during this time, and if you would like to donate, you can do so online at projectthailand.net/give or, by mail at Vision Baptist Missions PO Box 442 Alpharetta GA, 30009.

Praises from Christmas in Thailand 

Thank you for praying for Christmas activities in Thailand this year.  They had the largest attendance we have ever had—118! I praise the Lord for how he has used them this year. They are completely on their own now, and not only continue, but have grown in our absence! They have really stepped up and shouldered the responsibility this year, and I am thankful to be able to work with them.

A week ago, I got a message that said, “Pastor, Hurry back! There are a bunch of new believers here to disciple!” I praise the Lord for the foundation that has been laid, and look forward to what the Lord will do in our 2nd term! Pray for us as we transition back. God has been working while we have been on furlough, and I look forward to the next steps the Lord has for us in the ministry there as we seek to lead it to grow in health and strength when we return.

Yours for the Gospel in Thailand,
Philip & Lori Bassham
(Claire, Grace, and Emma)

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I want to ask you to be praying for Christmas activities in Thailand. Christmas time seems to be the time when Thais are most curious about church to learn about this Christian holiday, so we have more visitors on Christmas than any other day. 

Again this year, they are working very hard to invite the community and have a very special service. With our church being in such a public place, we do reverse caroling by just singing right in front of the Chruch as literally thousands pass by each day. They are also planning skits and songs and lots of other activities for the day. I love seeing their enthusiasm for working together to see people reached around them!

New Teammates on Deputation

We are excited that another teammate has just started deputation to raise support to join us in Thailand, Adam and Angel Ragsdale. They join Ben and Caroline Thomas who are also currently on deputation. You can find out more about the Ragsdales at reachingthailand.net.

Christmas in America

We are glad to be able to see family this year for Christmas. This only happens periodically, so we plan to enjoy our time with family to the fullest. 

It will also be the first Christmas without Lori’s mother after the accident, so that will be especially tough this year for everyone, so pray for her especially this year.

Our Generation Conference

Right after the Holidays we will be in our Mission Board’s annual conference, the Our Generation Conference Jan 2-4. This is kind of a high-octane missions camp for churches, and hundreds from churches from all around will be there. 

I, along with many other missionaries, will be preaching and teaching different missions related sessions and we pray it will help us all be equipped to do more for church planting and world evangelism in our lifetime. Go to https://visionmissions.org/ogc2020/ to learn more and register.

       Yours for the Gospel in Thailand, 

         Philip & Lori Bassham 

         (Claire, Grace, and Emma)

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The road to faith for a Thai usually involves a long road of re-education (discipleship and teaching) about how they understand religion and the Gospel. The typical Thai is extremely superstitious and has been told that “all religions are the same—they teach you to be a good person.” Additionally, their starting framework that they filter what they are hearing through is Karma—that they need to ‘do good in order to get good.’ 

So, usually, with this mindset, a Thai may be very willing to try some Christian things and see what happens, but is still very far from repentance and faith.

Too often, this follows the path of the seed on rocky ground. Initial enthusiasm, but at the first sign of trouble, they get discouraged and fall away. A typical cycle for this may be 2-4 weeks. Most often we have seen that this initial enthusiasm to learn about Jesus is being added onto what they already believe. They have prayed to many idols and spirits throughout their life, and this Jesus is another to try out.

But recently we have seen a few that have been coming for years finally express repentance and faith.

Three Recent Salvations

‘Man’ came to our very first outreach before the first service of the church, and has come to maybe 75% of everything since. But it was only a few months ago that he trusted Jesus.

‘Rook’, similarly, has come since the very beginning, and just a few weeks ago finally said he is ready to believe.

‘Emi’ is a young girl that has also been coming for years, but it wasn’t until camp that she decided to finally express that she wanted to become a Christian.

There are many many others that are currently coming, and have been for some time, but not yet made a clear expression of true repentance and faith. Please continue to pray for them as the Gospel breaks up this fallow ground of hearts in which God is working.

Yours for the Gospel in Thailand,

Philip & Lori Bassham

(Claire, Grace, and Emma)

(Download PDF version)

         (Claire, Grace, and Emma)