THAILAND
ECF began its work in Thailand in 1959 with a small church in Bangkok. In the following year, a four-story building was constructed to house the church and the Bethel Bible Institute. The school then moved to Maesai, a northern city of Thailand near the Burma border. In 2001, a new campus was built to accommodate the growing student population. The Institute remains to be the central place of training for Christian workers.

The Bethel Bible Institute's main purpose is to educate and train students to become ministers of the Gospel. The students attend the school for four years, free of charge, including room and board. Upon completion of the four years, the students do one year of practical training on the field, a requirement for graduation.

There are two departments in the Institute: the Chinese and Thai Departments. The students in the Chinese Department come from different Asian countries and villages. After receiving their diplomas, many of the students go back to their homeland and continue their work there.

The Thai Department has been steadily growing with more locally born young people responding to God's calling into full-time ministry. After their studies, many go into village evangelism, especially reaching the people of the mountain villages of Thailand.