The Thailand Covenant Church

The Thailand Covenant Church (TCC) is an affiliation of local worship centers and village fellowships located in and near Udon Thani, Roi Et, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai. For organization and representation purposes it is divided into ten areas (or khehts): Areas 1-6 (Udon Thani), Area 7 (Roi Et), Areas 8-9 (Bangkok), and Area 10 (Chiang Mai). There are currently more than 3250 members in over 350 churches. There are no church buildings -- services are held in homes or other locations; a church is defined as any village or other location where believers gather to worship together.

The TCC as an organization was formed quite recently (1993), succeeding the Center for Church Planting and Church Growth (CCPCG) which began work in 1977 in Udon Thani. A guiding principle of the work from the very beginning derives from John 1:14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us ..." (KJV). Every effort has been made to proclaim the Gospel in ways with forms that make sense to the Thai people -- the Word has to dwell in Thailand as a Thai, not in the guise of a foreign religion. The worship practices and ceremonies of the TCC reflect this contextualization: some traditional practices have been retained; some have been retained but with a new emphasis ("same form, different meaning"); and some, which could not be separated from their non-Christian connotations, have been discarded. Extensive teaching materials and service guides have been developed and printed to explain the meanings of all the practices and to assist service leaders. Some examples of this effort are shown below:

Music - Over the years a large collection of songs has been written (and continue to be written,) putting words of worship and teaching to the musical forms of the local people (e.g. Issaan in the Northeast and Northern Thai in the Chiang Mai area.) Traditional local instruments are used throughout, and training materials in the use of these instruments has been written.

Communion - The staple of the Issaan diet is sticky rice (khaow neeo), so baked loaves of this are used in place of bread. And a local plant (krajiap) yields a red juice which is used instead of wine or grape juice.

Weddings - The basic form of a traditional Issaan wedding is used, with the words and symbolic meanings changed to bring it into a Christian context. The floral centerpiece with a particular significance for each of the flowers is still used, although some items like alcohol and a boiled egg (often used to tell the future) have been eliminated. A large part of the service is chanted, but the chant consists of Bible passages and other proverbs and a request for God's blessing, rather than an invocation to the various spirits. A string-tying ceremony (see below) and a meal usually conclude the service.

String-tying (phook khaen) - This common Thai (and especially Issaan) ceremony has been adapted for use in the church. It consists of tying a cotton string around the wrist of another person. It has been shorn of its original spirit-worship meanings, and is used to symbolize the tying together of brothers and sisters in Christ as well as to "tie" a spoken blessing to the recipient. This ceremony is used at weddings, welcoming services for guests, farewell services, housewarmings, and on many other occasions. As many visitors have commented afterwards, it can be a very moving experience.

Click here for Distinctives of the Thailand Covenant Church, the officially adopted basic principles of the TCC. Or, for the Thai version, เอกลักษณ์พิเศษของ คณะคริสตจักรพระคุณของพระเจ้าแห่งประเทศไทย click here.