How Scripture engagement workshops in Southeast Asia are healing families
“I grew up in fear of my father,” reflects Thant.* “Now I am over 40, but I have never heard ‘I love you’ from my father and I have never felt love for him.
“I wanted to be a good father to my children, but did not know how to do it.”
Thant’s story is far from unique. Like many other participants in the Strengthening Christian Families workshop, he arrived bearing scars that stretch back generations.
Years of conflict, displacement and uncertainty have left deep wounds across the Kinsha* region in Southeast Asia. Families have been separated, communities uprooted, and many parents have never known the stability needed to raise their children with confidence.
God's design for family life
Through the Strengthening Christian Families workshop, Thant encountered practical guidance for parenting, and the love of his heavenly Father. As he learned about God’s design for family life, he discovered how to show that love to his own children.
Today, he shares, “I really thank you for helping me learn how to be a good parent in this workshop.”
The Strengthening Christian Families program includes 18 interactive, Scripture-based lessons. These help participants explore parenting, communication, trust, emotions, discipline, boundaries and service.
"I really thank you for helping me learn how to be a good parent in this workshop."
As participants encounter biblical wisdom, homes are changing. Parents are learning to lead with love instead of fear, and children are discovering their God-given worth. Families are finding new ways to forgive and communicate.
Aung,* another father attending the program, explains: “From now on, I have decided to change my life with God, show love to my children and support them both physically and spiritually.”
A family in the Kinsha region takes a break together. The white paste on the mother’s and baby’s faces is commonly used for beauty and sun protection. Photo: Marc Ewell, Wycliffe Global Alliance
Growing impact
In 2025 alone, more than 30 workshops were held across churches, schools, refugee camps, orphanages, rehabilitation centers and community groups throughout the Kinsha region. These reached more than 1,400 parents, teachers and children.
Yet the impact is spreading far beyond Kinsha. Already, Strengthening Christian Families training has been requested in 66 countries worldwide!
Bible translation is about more than placing translated Scriptures into people’s hands—it’s about helping people experience God’s truth in ways that transform their everyday lives. As families are strengthened by God’s Word, hope takes root, even in some of the world’s most difficult places.
*pseudonyms
Story by Jessica Debanné Thiessen
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