About the People

The Loei River Project is located in Loei Province, a sparsely populated, relatively undeveloped area in the mountainous Isan region of upper northeastern Thailand. Loei Province is home to the Loei people, descendants of the Luang Prabang Lao ethnic group. The Loei people have a strong cultural identity deeply rooted in their Lao Buddhist beliefs, yet practice a syncretistic blend of Theravada Buddhism, ancestral rituals, animistic beliefs and spirit-related festivals as part of their strong spiritual worldview. The Loei dialect is nearly identical to that of the Luang Prabang people.

With a population of 632,187 (2024) and a cooler climate, Loei Province is divided into 14 districts and has an economy built on agriculture, including bananas, macadamia nuts, coffee, passion fruit, sesame, and rubber trees.

Loei Province has a virtually non-existent Christian presence—very few Christians of any denomination—with no Adventist members, churches, groups or ministry initiatives.

About the Project

Missionary couples will learn the local dialect and lovingly model the gospel through daily life as they build long-term relationships with others in the community. A key strategy will be establishing a tutoring and English-learning center to attract youth and parents and build trust within the community. This will create natural bridges to spiritual conversations and provide opportunities for relational discipleship. Missionaries will help facilitate spiritual discovery groups and mentor new believers. With a goal of creating an organic church-planting movement that can multiply within Loei culture without continued foreign dependence, missionaries will raise up indigenous local believers who can become disciplers, evangelists and spiritual leaders. A teaching background is highly advantageous.

People-Group Facts

• Population: 632,000 people
• Language: Lao
• Religion: Buddhism