Boklua Terrace
Photo Credit: Hanumann
Creative Commons

The E5 Project: Meeting Felt Needs

Empowering the local leadership to be a blessing to their own community is the very first component of the E5 project. The first “E” stands for – Engage community for evangelism. Our work in the Boklua district of the Nan province in Northern Thailand has seen tremendous success as the local leadership under pastor Nott.

In order for local leadership to be successful in meeting felts needs, they first have to know the difference between a felt need and a real need.

Felts needs are those immediate needs that just need to be met so the real needs can be meet. For example, if someone has a toothache, the felt need to be met is to stop the pain. However, the real need is to pull the bad tooth. Going even deeper real need is learning proper oral hygiene.

Jesus gave us a perfect example how meeting felt needs in Matthew 9:35-38.
1. These people have real needs: they are harassed and helpless.
2. Those needs touch the heart of Jesus – He feels compassion for them.
3. The reason those needs exist is because they are without a shepherd – this is the real need.

Pastor Nott in Boklua, in the province of Nan in northern Thailand has done this. Not only has he been successful in starting a good sustainable small business that meets the needs of his family, he has reached out to the local leaders of the villages of Boklua and helped them learn how to launch and grow a small business. That has given him the much needed face to preach the gospel where people want to listen to a man who serves a God who truly transforms lives. Meeting felt needs has empowered him to meet the real need of bringing them to the Great Shepherd.

~ Tony Foster