September/October 2011 Newsletter

Hey guys,

In my last newsletter, I briefly mentioned a seminar that I planned on holding for Lao church and business leaders later in the year. I've just returned from the seminar and a subsequent trip into Laos and I'm happy to report that it was a huge success. The seminar was hosted by a good friend of mine, Pastor Chetta, (pictured with me here) and spearheaded by a missions team from the Promise Centre church in Wagga Wagga, Australia who accompanied me into Laos as well.

The seminar targeted church leaders from southern Laos. I had visited that area once before in August of last year. During that initial visit, I was able to identify a major need hindering the effectiveness of their church planting efforts in that area, namely the establishment of a regional Harvest Center. The churches in Laos have developed a great plan to reach their nation for Christ based on using micro-businesses to financially support a church planter in a new area and provide him with a practical way to engage the community. As the country of Laos is one of the poorer nations in the world and controlled by a Communist government that routinely persecutes Lao Christians, the churches there have found it difficult to organize effective leadership training and fund the establishing of micro-businesses to support their church planting efforts. Thus, the idea of establishing Harvest Centers - regional hubs of economic and leadership development that will serve as a base of operations for the region and spur the continued growth of the churches in that region. The financial profits produced by the business enterprises of the Harvest Center provide the funds for further church planting while leaders can be gathered together for training under the guise of workers needed to fulfill the various tasks associated with running the business.

Due to the climate in southern Laos, the leaders there have identified fish farming as a potentially profitable enterprise that can serve as the basis for a regional Harvest Center. So, during the morning sessions of the seminar, a member of the team experienced in aquaculture, Keith Barron, taught the Lao leaders about developing their fish farms into a profitable business while the afternoons were used to bring them to visit various agricultural projects in the area. On the second day of the seminar, we brought the attendees to a nearby fishery to observe the techniques and technology used in Thailand. The members of our team and the workers at the fishery were able to give the attendees several suggestions on how they could increase the productivity of their fish farms. In the evenings, the mission team leader, Pastor Mick Baker, taught the Lao pastors and leaders about developing simple but effective leadership structures in their churches.

After wrapping up the seminar, the team and I then traveled to southern Laos to visit the fish farm project that will be used as the basis of the regional Harvest Center. The Promise Centre church had raised a sum of money to donate for the establishment of the Harvest Center and the development of the fish farm business. The Lao brothers were deeply moved by the gift as it was an answer from God to many years of prayer for the establishment of a Harvest Center in southern Laos. The team and I were able to spend a few days with them, visiting the fish farm project and listening to their testimony of God's goodness in the face of tremendous persecution. On the last Sunday morning of the trip, we were able to worship and pray with them before returning to Thailand.

God is really beginning to move in the nations of IndoChina and I believe that we will see a tremendous harvest of souls coming into the Kingdom of God over the next few years particularly from the nation of Laos. I feel honored and humbled that God has allowed me to be a part of what He is doing in this region of the world. Through your faithful prayers and support, you have not only enabled us to accomplish this work but have joined in the work of expanding the Kingdom of God in IndoChina as well. May God richly bless you as we work together to see a harvest of souls among the peoples of IndoChina!


With much love and thanks,

Chad and Nan Cocran