John and Martha Butt
Payap University
Chiang Mai, Thailand 50000
Email: John Butt
Email: Martha Butt

John and Martha Butt retired from mission service in December 2007.

The Rev. John and Martha Butt have been reappointed as mission specialists serving with the Church of Christ in Thailand and will continue to live and work in Chiang Mai, the country's second largest city. Martha writes, "We have seen tremendous changes take place in Thailand over the past 37 years and expect to witness even greater changes during the coming years. We feel fortunate that we are able to participate with the Thai church in its struggle to respond positively and constructively to the many challenges now facing the Thai people."

Tracing its history back to the arrival of the first Protestant missionaries in 1828, the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) became autonomous in 1934, uniting congregations created by Presbyterian, Baptist, and Disciples of Christ missionaries. Today, co-workers in mission from these and other denominations work under CCT leadership. Membership in the church is more than 40,000 in a country that is 95 percent Buddhist.

Letters from
John and Martha Butt

• February 2007
• July 2006
• January 2006
• November 2004
• November 2003
• October 2002
• April 2001
• July 2000
• December 1998

John coordinates special projects aimed at fostering religious dialogue and understanding between the Buddhist and Christian communities of Thailand. He continues to teach courses in theology and comparative religion at McGilvary Faculty of Theology at Payap University and works with the First District of the church.

Martha returns to her assignment as vice president for international affairs at Payap University where she is responsible for international programs and concerns. Martha works with non-Thai personnel and potential volunteers, supervises international exchange and study abroad programs, assists in grant procurement, and develops relationships with universities in other countries.

John has spent many years in Asia beginning in 1963 when he served three years as an overseas fraternal worker in Thailand. Since 1984 John has served as advisor to the executive committee of the First District of the CCT and was responsible for ecumenical relations, leadership development, and education. He was on the faculty at Payap University and served as pastoral advisor to several rural congregations in the Chiang Mai area.

Prior to this appointment, Martha served as a resource development consultant assisting Southeast Asian nonprofit organizations with management and fund-raising issues. She also developed and directed the School for International Training's College Semester Abroad program for Thailand, located at Payap University, and the Elder Hostel program. Before moving to Thailand, Martha administered the grant program of the philanthropic Northwest Area Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota.

John earned his BA from Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee, and two master degrees from Harvard Divinity School. He completed course work for the doctor of theology in comparative history of religion at Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Martha received her BA from Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, and an MA in counseling psychology from St. Thomas University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

John and Martha met in Thailand and were married there in 1965. They are the parents of adult children, Chanya and Paul.

Birthdays:
John - February 14
Martha - August 15