MISSIONARY PROFILE
Jeff
Gross
Missionary Update 09/01/2017
Dear Churches and Friends, Paul says in Corinthians that “there are many adversaries”. That is certainly the case here in Thailand. Spiritual oppression is very strong here and has been for hundreds of years. As a result, there is strong resilience against the word of God; however, there are open doors as well. And God’s word is always stronger than the opposition. Consequently, we were very pleased when we received our new leather-bound Bibles. It was neat to see the smiles on the young men’s faces when they each received a nice gold-trimmed leather Bible. One of the young men recently saved, ToToe, asked to be baptized. This is encouraging because he asked to do this on his own. In Thailand, it is easy to influence someone to pray the sinner’s prayer or to get baptized… So, one needs to be very careful that the influence comes from the Lord and not from the missionary. After his request to be baptized, we did a study on baptism with the group. That way all had a better understanding of baptism. Christians here have very little teaching on even the most basic doctrines of the Bible. Consequently, I try to teach each doctrine carefully. Thanks for your prayers and support. May this be fruit to your account. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation of Mario, NaTee & Pai Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Romans 6:4 – “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
Missionary Update 08/04/2017
Dear Churches and Friends, College Ministry – One of the young men that recently got saved, ToToe, has asked to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. I’m very encouraged because he asked to do this on his own. I pray that it will encourage the other young man recently saved to get baptized as well. Before we baptize him, we plan to do a study on baptism, so all understand what it means. We have also had several other students come to church with us. For some of these students it is their first time to go to church. Church is very foreign to many people here in Thailand. Students will ask permission from parents before going. Students will also ask parents for permission to become a Christian. It is very important for a son or daughter not to bring shame to their family. Consequently, there is a certain amount of fear and uncertainty around the church. Praise the Lord; we have a special opportunity to introduce these Thais to our Lord Jesus Christ and to the church. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation of Pluem & Pai Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Jeremiah 9:24 – “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
Missionary Update 07/14/2017
Dear Churches and Friends, May June 2017 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”John 6:63 The King James Thai Bible we currently use is only available in hard cover. We have permission to use the digital file to reprint the Thai version with a leather binding. This will be the first production of the Thai King James version with a leather binding. We are excited about this project. The new Bibles will mostly be given to students and those more serious in their studies. Continued Our college ministry is slowly growing. We started with 2 students going to church. We then had a student get saved, Daet, who has been coming to church with us. Now, we just had a new student accept Christ as his saviour. His name is ToToe. Two other young men, Tuey and Forhd, both have come to church with us as well. However, these two students are not yet Christians. Please pray for this college ministry and for the salvation and growth of these young men; Sanya, Chayr, Daet, ToToe, Tuey, To, and Forhd. Thank you for your prayers and support. College Students Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer Salvation of Mario & Pai Learning Language & Culture Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved Churches in Thailand Psalm 42:1-2 – “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God” Seeds to Take Root in Hearts
Missionary Update 05/05/2017
Dear Churches and Friends, March April 2017 Cornerstone Baptist Church held a special invitation day. We printed invitation cards, and the church distributed them to friends and family members who do not normally attend services. We also invited old members who stopped attending for different reasons. Invitations work well in Thailand and add a personal touch that Thais appreciate. Several new visitors attended, plus some lost family members. The message was centered on how Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the third day. Following the service, we catered a lunch for everyone, and a good time of fellowship was had by all. Continued One of the young men I have been working with at the college led another student to the Lord. This was his first convert. My friend said that they talked about the bible for several hours, well into the night. This other student asked many questions and then accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. My friend's name is Sanya and the convert’s name is Daet. Daet has also come to church with us several times now. Sanya was thankful that we had had many Bible studies together. The studies helped him to answer the questions. We were both encouraged; but most important, it is a great victory for our Lord. Thank you for your prayers and support. Sanya and Daet Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer • Salvation of Mario, Pai • Learning Language & Culture • Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved • Churches in Thailand • Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Colossians 1:14-15 - In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”
Missionary Update 01/02/2017
Dear Churches and Friends, As always, thank you for your prayers. I am in the middle of doing visa work. Visa work is an ongoing process and is a time of stress and of holding one’s breath. Thailand requires visas to be renewed each year and recently added an additional step. So far all is going well. We have to do a lot of paperwork, but overall Thailand is easier than some other countries. The king of Thailand recently died. He began his reign in 1946 and was the world’s longest reigning monarch. He was highly respected because he spent a lot of his time helping the poor people of Thailand. He started many projects aimed at helping Thailand’s poor farmers. “And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.” We have an ongoing tract ministry here in Thailand, and recently finished a new batch of tracts. We printed 10,000 tracts and have sent several thousand to others churches as well. There is another missionary that does an excellent job bringing in Thai Bibles. So, we are blessed to have a good supply of God’s word to give out. Sowing God’s word is very important to us; therefore we try to give God’s word to as many people as possible. It is my prayer that this will be fruit to your account. Thanks again for your prayers. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer • Salvation of Mike, Mario, Pai • Learning Language & Culture • Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved • Churches in Thailand • Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Psalms 149:5-6 – “Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand.”
Missionary Update 10/31/2016
Dear Churches and Friends, Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock…to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Praise the Lord for the local church. The importance of the church can’t be overstated. It is the pillar and ground of the truth. Sila Baptist Church in LamPhun continues to go forward. Next month will be the one year anniversary of the church. We are currently doing a series of lessons from the Old Testament. Here in Thailand many Christians don’t carry a Bible with them, and if they do a lot of times it is a New Testament only. Consequently, I enjoy teaching from the Old Testament and encouraging Thai’s to read the entire Bible. “Every word of God is pure” and “is profitable for doctrine”. To help build relationships and meet new people, we recently did a one day English seminar. We continue to pray for and follow up on those who came. In addition, I had a good opportunity to teach the Bible at a local university Christian group. The Lord opened this door through two young men that have been coming to church with me. Both attend the university. Thanks for your sacrifice, prayers, and support. May the thanksgivings of many rebound to the glory of God. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer • Salvation of Mike, Yok & Aoy • Learning Language & Culture • Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved • Churches in Thailand • Seeds to Take Root in Hearts 1 Tim 3:15 – “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
Missionary Update 08/30/2016
Dear Churches and Friends, “Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still.” E.M.Bounds It is amazing that God invites us to pray and even says to “come boldy unto the throne of grace”. This past month we did a series on prayer in the Lamphun Church. It was a great reminder of the importance of prayer and how powerful prayer is. Some principles of prayer were taught. One obvious point given is that we simply must pray. The Bible says “ye have not, because ye ask not”. In addition, we must be holy. If we want a holy God to hear and answer our prayers, we need to be clean. It sure challenged me on my prayer life, and I pray the church was challenged as well. The Holy Spirit continues to shape and mold us into the image of Christ through prayer, His word, and the church. We also made a trip to the boys’ home. I invited a Thai pastor to come with me to the home, and we did two days of Bible studies. There was a good attentive spirit. It seemed like the young men were encouraged. Thank you for all your prayers. I appreciate your prayers for this ministry in Thailand. Without God in the work it will not amount to anything. We want God’s hand in everything we do. Teaching Sunday School Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer • Salvation of Mike, Yok & Aoy • Learning Language & Culture • Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved • Churches in Thailand • Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Phil 4:6-7 – “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Missionary Update 07/01/2016
Dear Churches and Friends, “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.” LamPhun Baptist Church is doing very well. We are just past 6 months since starting. We have a regular group attending, and have had a number of visitors. Some saved and many unsaved. We continue to build relationships with those that have come. We have a few that come to church from time to time, but have not accepted Christ yet. Our prayer is that we will not only see them get saved but continue to grow in the local church. We also had our first communion service. For some it was their first communion. Continued So, we spent some time explaining the ordinance of communion. It was a good time of inner reflection. There was an excellent spirit and we seemed to grow closer as a church family. We praise the Lord for the church and for receptive hearts. In addition, I have recently done some volunteer English teaching at a local university. This has led to one young man coming to church with me when he can. He is already a Christian; however, his family is not. As always, I appreciate your prayers and sacrifice for this ministry. May God bless your labors. Together for His service Jeff Gross Prayer • Salvation of Mike, Yok & Aoy • Learning Language & Culture • Hong’s Father & Family to Get Saved • Churches in Thailand • Seeds to Take Root in Hearts Ps 138:2 – “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”