Meet our Congregation!
As in any
international setting, the people are constantly on the move
in Bangkok. People from all walks of life and all religions
are provided sanctuary in Thailand as all forms of religion
are practiced and tolerated. Even though about 94 percent of
the people living in Thailand are Buddhists, the remaining 6
percent is made up of Hindu,Christian, Moslem, and a myriad of
other beliefs and faiths.
Our Congregation:
Indeed, the congregation of CCC is as diverse as the people of Thailand. The church has ministered to people from as many as twenty different countries at any one time. The church has been blessed to include people from all continents: India, Australia, North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Evangelical, Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Jewish, new Christians, mature Christians and those just seeking a better way, have all passed through the doors of CCC. Native English speakers as well as those who speak English as a second language, worship the same God together, hand-in-hand, voice-on-voice, each week.
The church has also been blessed with a strong missionary contingent. Several missionary families from organizations such as OMF (formerly known as Overseas Missionary Fellowship), Christian Outreach, World Concern and World Vision call CCC their church "home". CCC has become a place where these missionary families can "R&R", recharge and refocus on their own relationship with God. In short, the missionaries often need to have their own spiritual needs met and CCC is able to provide that function. They, in turn, add immeasurably to the richness of the congregation.
Most of the attendees of CCC are expatriates and their families who have been brought here by multi-national companies for short and long term assignments. Engineers, accountants, financial personnel, skilled office workers, training personnel, and their families all compose the congregation of CCC. During the school year, the congregation "swells" to roughly 120 to as many as 150 people attending each week. Approximately 30% of the congregation are young people under the age of 18. When school is in recess during the summer months, the attendance averages about 25 to 30 during that 10 week summer break, so the tone and content of the services can be variable.
The congregation of the Chaengwattana Community Church meets every week in the middle of one of the largest single concentrations of foreigners in Bangkok. The area includes condominiums, single family homes, apartments, as well as the International School Bangkok. Because of the large influence the school has on the surrounding community and the high percentage of young people attending CCC, the church has recently hired a Young Life worker to be a full time staff member to minister to the junior and senior high schoolers of ISB and their "contacts" with other schools in the area. There are currently just under 2000 students enrolled at ISB. It is fully expected that if we can bring God to the students, God will become known to their parents, teachers and administrators. From there we can reach out to the greater community.
Learn about the HISTORY of Chaengwattana Community Church
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rev. 22 July '99