MISSIONARY PROFILE
Jeff
Gross
Missionary Update 09/04/2018
Dear Churches and Friends, Bible Baptist Church is going well. This last month we had several new visitors. Most were invited by our college students. We also had two young men get saved; both are students at the university. Their names are Non and Note. Both had come to Bible studies and to church for over a month before getting saved. Life is not easy for Thais after salvation. Our group is nearly all first-generation Christians and face not just spiritual opposition, but emotional oppression. Emotional oppression comes from family and society. One example: a new Christian is made to feel like he betrayed his family and Thai tradition by becoming a Christian. In addition, we just finished a three-part tract series. The three tracts are an explanation of God, sin and salvation. The culture here is a mixture of Buddhist and animism. Their view of words like “God” “sin” “heaven” “hell” and “eternal life” are different than what the Bible teaches. Many Thai’s think Christianity is a western foreign religion. Consequently, it takes time for some barriers to come down before a Thai will understand what salvation is. Therefore, our prayer is that these tracts will give a clear meaning to each term using verses from the Bible. Thank you for your prayers. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation of Pete, Pai, Mean, Suk Salvation of Daet’s Mom, Myk, Tuey Learning Language &Culture Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts 1 Peter 1:18-19 – “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”
Missionary Update 08/13/2018
Dear Churches and Friends, Bible Baptist Church is going well. This last month we had several new visitors. Most were invited by our college students. We also had two young men get saved; both are students at the university. Their names are Non and Note. Both had come to Bible studies and to church for over a month. In addition, many seeds have been planted in the hearts of others as well. We have been truly blessed and have seen several people get saved these last few months. It is a blessing to see the Holy Spirit work through His words. These new converts continue to come to church and Bible study. However, life is not easy for them after salvation. They are all first-generation Christians and face not just spiritual opposition, but emotional oppression. Emotional oppression comes from family and society. One example: a new Christian is made to feel like he betrayed his family and Thai tradition by becoming a Christian. The young man Non, called to tell his dad and mom that he had accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour, and his parents said they didn’t want to talk to him anymore. Most of this comes from fear and confusion. It takes time and prayer for hearts to understand and come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Together for His service Jeff Gross 1 Corinthians 16:9 – “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” Prayer Salvation: Tuey Pete Mean Su & Pai Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Additional Salvation Prayer List: Mik, Ni, Jenny
Missionary Update 07/02/2018
Dear Churches and Friends, We had two salvations last month at Bible Baptist Church. Both are students at the local university. A young woman named Fang and a young man named A Liang. Both had been witnessed to, given tracts, come to church several times, and come to our Bible study group. Both also took over two months for their salvation. We praise the Lord for these two salvations. I’m thankful our group has a good testimony. They prayed regularly for them and gave a good presentation of the gospel both in word and deed. It is great to see the word of God working in hearts both of the lost and saved. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” A brief testimony of the word of God: A young man, Daet, was saved about a year ago. At that time, he was living with his girlfriend, had long hair and liked to go out drinking. Since his salvation and baptism, he has moved out on his own, cut his hair and has stopped drinking. He has also started playing the violin in church. In addition, we finished formatting and printing a tract written by Adoniram Judson about the eternal God (Jesus Christ). We also printed the book of Luke. We will hand Luke out with the tract. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation of Pete, Pai, Mean, Suk Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”
Missionary Update 06/04/2018
Dear Churches and Friends, Our Friday night Bible study is going well. We are currently studying the book of Genesis. Our goal is to study through Chapter 12 and build a foundation in God’s word. One man, Sura, from a local tribal group will come and study with us on Friday’s and take the lesson back and teach his people (a tribe called Lahu). He can speak and read Thai but some of his tribe cannot. Therefore, it is a great opportunity for him and us. We also had a young Thai man get saved at a Friday night study. He, (His name A Liang), is a student from the local university. He came to church a couple times with us and showed an interest in the Bible. We then invited him to a Bible study, and he accepted Christ as his Saviour. We praise the Lord that He can use our group to reach others with the gospel. Last month we formatted and printed a tract that Adoniram Judson had written. The tract gave an explanation of the eternal God. It was his first tract written to the Burmese. In addition, we just printed the book of Luke. It is similar in format to a John and Romans. In the front we added an explanation of the Bible and the book of Luke. The bible can be overwhelming to a Thai that is not a Christian. We, therefore, will give them a tract and the book of Luke. This will give them an introduction to Jesus and God’s word before giving them the whole Bible. Thanks for your prayers and support. May God Bless. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation: Tuey Pete Mean Su & Pai Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Genesis 15:18 – “In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates”
Missionary Update 04/02/2018
Dear Churches and Friends, This last month we had two young men come forward and ask to be baptized. These two young men; Deat & Faurd, have both been Christians for about one year now. They both are also first-generation Christians. It is rather easy in Thailand to get someone to pray or to be baptized. The decision is not from the Holy Spirit but comes from the persuasion of man. So, I try to teach them to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading when they make a decision for the Lord. I teach them from the Bible what baptism is and how important it is, but tell them to decide on their own when they are ready. They were baptized a couple weeks apart and each asked on their own accord. It is encouraging to see Thai young men making decisions for the Lord Jesus Christ. Deat and Faurd each gave a good testimony. We are currently working on a track from Adoniram Judson. After working in Burma and learning the language and culture he wrote a track about the eternal God. Adoniram believed the track would help the Burmese to better understand the God of the Bible. Thailand which is right next to Burma has similar beliefs. The track he wrote is also very applicable to Thais. We will use this track along with the Chick tracts that we already have in the Thai language. Thanks for prayers and support. Lord Bless. Additional Salvation Prayer List: Note, Ttaum & Nome Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation: Tuey Pete Mean Su & Pai Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts 1 Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit.”
Missionary Update 02/05/2018
Dear Churches and Friends, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” I’ve had several men ask if they can come and study the Bible regularly. The best time for them turned out to be Friday night. So, we started meeting on Fridays for Bible study. In addition, I have invited the college students to come as well. Our study has turned into a regular meeting. We have been meeting now for a couple of months. We have also had several non-Christians come to the study as well. I have started a new project, which entails translating seventeen short lessons. The seventeen study lessons are designed to give the child of God basic Bible doctrine. The studies range from salvation to the second coming of Christ. The main goal, of course; is to build a good foundation in God’s word (something that is greatly lacking here in Thailand). Eventually, these lessons will be used in church by mature Christians training new converts. They will also be used in the local villages. Thanks for your prayers and support. May the Lord Bless. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation: Tuey Pete Mean Su & Pai Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Additional Salvation Prayer List: Note, Ttaum & Pok John 21:25 – “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written, Amen.”
Missionary Update 01/02/2018
Dear Churches and Friends, The general thought here is that Jesus was a good teacher that started a religion. And all religions are good, because they teach people to do well. So, when they hear the truth of the word of God, they are a bit bewildered. In December we celebrate the birth of Christ and look forward to the return of Christ. Although we look forward to the return Christ many here don’t know about His first coming. Needless to say, December is a good month to teach about the birth of Jesus Christ and why He came to earth. So, we use this month as an opportunity to tell the gospel in places we normally wouldn’t have that option. Bible Baptist church put together a Christmas play designed to explain the true meaning of Christmas. We were allowed in four schools this year and one children’s home, ranging from 40 to 170 students. Praise the Lord for opportunities like this to present the gospel to so many students at one time. Most have very little idea of what we celebrate at Christmas. We also had a men’s outing this month. I was able to take 6 young men to a nearby mountain for a one night stay. We had a good time of prayer and fellowship. One of the young men (Tuey) is not a Christian. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation of Pete, Pai, Mean, Suk Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts
Missionary Update 12/01/2017
Dear Churches and Friends, Bible Baptist Church in Chiang Mai is now 6 months old. The church is doing well. We had several visitors come this month. All lost, and each has come back for another visit as well. The general thought here is that Jesus was a good teacher that started a religion. And all religions are good, because they teach people to do well. So, when they hear the truth of the word of God, they are a bit bewildered. Many believe Christianity is a religion for westerners only. We know that the power of God is in the gospel of Christ. Therefore, our goal is to plant the seeds of the gospel and let the Holy Spirit work in their hearts. Praise the Lord for the opportunity to preach and teach the truth of the gospel. The university Christian group held a day camp for the students. Throughout the day there were scheduled Bible studies, games and meals. It was a good day of fellowship for the students. They invited me to do a lesson, and I taught on leadership characteristics of the Apostle Paul. We also had a men’s outing this month. I was able to take 6 young men to a nearby mountain for a one-night stay. We had a good time of prayer and fellowship. One of the young men (Tuey) is not a Christian. Thank you for your sacrifice in this ministry. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation: Tuey Pete Mean Su & Pai Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts 2 Samuel 10:12 – “Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.”
Missionary Update 11/13/2017
Dear Churches and Friends, We were able to help start a church in the city of LamPhun, about an hour south of Chiang Mai. We helped Cornerstone Baptist Church for two years. However, our group from the university area is growing, and we are unable to continue to travel to LamPhun. The Lord has blessed our group and Cornerstone Baptist church in LamPhun is growing. Therefore, we have decided to attend Bible Baptist Church in Chiang Mai instead. This Bible believing church is a church plant that has also just started. Our attendance has been a great blessing to the church. I have been preaching the Sunday morning message and ask for your prayers that my language skills improve. On recent semester break from college, three of our recent converts were able to travel home. This was their first trip home since becoming Christians. All three experienced grief. All are first generation Christians in their homes. This becomes very difficult times for families. Family members are often fearful and confused at what it is to be a Christian. The opposition that comes from families is hard on a new Christian. It then becomes difficult for a new Christian to stay in church and grow spiritually. Pray that these three young men, ToToe, Daet, and Bluem don’t become too discouraged, but grow stronger in the Lord. Thanks for your prayers and support. They are greatly appreciated. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation of Pete, Pai, Mean, Suk Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Song of Solomon8:6-7 “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.”