The Birth of a Movement in Southeast Asia

After serving in the Vietnam War, Jay Bell returned to the States where he fell in love with Jesus. He became the university pastor at the Charis church in Long Beach, California, and in 1980, he and his wife, Jan, went on a month-long vision trip to Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines. On that trip, God gave Jay a vision for planting churches in Asia. 

Just four years later (1984), Jay’s church led the charge as the Charis Alliance officially stepped foot in Asia. They partnered with Encompass to send Cecil and Debbie O’Dell to Japan while simultaneously sending Clay and Kim Hulett to the Philippines. The Huletts soon met Rey Paz, who became the Alliance’s first Filipino convert as well as its first pastor. (Today, Rey still serves as a church planter and a member of the Charis Alliance Council.) The Filipinos were responsive to the gospel, and their ability to speak English helped our movement quickly gain traction there. 

While God was growing our movement in the Philippines, He was also preparing us to further expand in SE Asia. Jay Bell had met Vek Huong Taing, a Cambodian who had survived Cambodia’s mass genocide from the late 1970’s. The two quickly started making plans to go to Cambodia. Jay formed a team and went there in the early 1990’s. This was Huong’s first time being back after 13 years. That trip is also where God introduced us to Chhay, another survivor who would become one of our key ministry partners in Cambodia.

The Growth of the Movement in Southeast Asia 

Jay eventually became Encompass’s Asia Director, and in 2000, Encompass deployed a church-planting team to Cambodia thanks to our partnership with Vek Huong Taing. In 2005, Wayne Hannah replaced Jay as Encompass’s Asia Director, and by 2010, we purchased the Grace Center building in Cambodia. Ever since then, the Grace Center has been providing Cambodian college students with affordable housing while giving them discipleship. Chhay has been instrumental in transforming lives through the Grace Center for 15 years now. Today, Cambodia has two local-led Charis Alliance churches as well as two church plants. 

In 2011, Encompass entered Vietnam under the leadership of Wayne Hannah. At the time, 15 out of every 16 missionaries going to Vietnam went to the south—so we went north. Matt and Mikayla* were the first ones we sent. Mindy* came shortly after, who was the daughter of the second missionary couple we had sent to the Philippines. Mindy and her husband Gene* served in Vietnam from 2010–2024. 

In the Philippines, a key ministry partner in recent years has been Crispin, who God has used to plant three churches—and now he’s moving to a lesser-reached province to plant a new church there. Thanks to amazing men like him, the Charis Alliance has grown to six churches in the Philippines as well as two church plants. The movement is healthy, and the Filipino churches have even united to form their own mission-sending agency.

We also sent Christian and Bonnie Bueggert to Thailand, with four more couples after them. Collectively, these workers pursued a variety of strategies, including campus ministry, a church plant, and business as missions. Matt and Mikayla started a coffee shop ministry which has since spread to Vietnam. Their coffee shop now employs individuals with special needs, training them to better integrate into society.

A Call to Prayer and Support

We praise God for all the ways He’s used our movement to transform lives in Southeast Asia, but there’s still much work to be done. Vietnam is currently only 2.16% evangelical, and Cambodia is only 1.5% evangelical. Thailand is home to the least-reached Isaan province, where poverty runs so rampant that parents sell their boys and girls into prostitution to earn a living.

• As our ministry partners throughout Southeast Asia report widespread financial difficulty, pray for God to bless His church there in such a way that they can reflect His generosity to their unbelieving neighbors.
• Pray for God to continue using His people in the Philippines to expand His church there.
• Ask God to continue transforming the lives of students in Cambodia through the Grace Center. 
• Pray for God to guide Encompass as we consider expanding into a new Southeast Asian country.
• Pray for Vietnam as we still have workers there.

Please consider helping us take the gospel to this region by contributing to our Love Southeast Asia project.

*Names changed for security