About — Builders Community | Our story, beliefs, vision & leaders

Our Story

It started with a living room, a kettle, and a few honest questions.

Builders Community began with a simple observation: plenty of young professionals love Jesus, but few have a place to grow in faith that fits the rhythm of a working week.

A handful of friends in Bangkok — analysts, designers, founders, and a teacher or two — started gathering on weeknights to read Scripture, pray honestly, and ask what it actually looks like to follow Christ on a Monday morning. No stage, no pretense. Just people building one another up.

Word spread to colleagues, then across cities, then across the sea to Manila and Cebu. We noticed something the early church understood well: faith is best discipled in person, around a table, by people who keep showing up. So we kept the format small and the welcome wide — and we committed to sustaining the work ethically, so the content and gatherings could always be offered freely.

“And the things you have heard me say… entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

2 Timothy 2:2

What We Believe

A simple, shared faith in Jesus — with room for honest questions.

We are Christ-centered and warm. These are the convictions that shape how we gather, write, and disciple. They are not a wall to keep people out; they are a foundation to build a life on.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”

Ephesians 2:10

Jesus at the center

We follow Jesus Christ — crucified, risen, and present — as Lord, Savior, and the heart of everything we do.

Scripture as our guide

We hold the Bible as God's trustworthy word — read together, taken seriously, and lived out in daily life.

Grace before performance

We come as we are. Authenticity over image — God's grace meets honest people, not polished ones.

Discipleship in community

Faith grows best in person — around tables, in small groups, with people who keep showing up for one another.

Every calling is a mission field

Your work is sacred ground. Whether you build apps or businesses, your vocation is where faith goes public.

Hope for the nations

The good news is for everyone, everywhere. We disciple locally while keeping our eyes on a wider world.

Vision & Mission

Where we are going — and how we get there.

One picture of the future, and one clear job to do every day to move toward it.

Our Vision

The picture we are building toward.

A thriving, sustainable discipleship community where young professionals grow in faith and live out their calling for the long haul.

Across Thailand, the Philippines, and beyond — a generation of believers who are deeply rooted in Christ, genuinely known by others, and quietly faithful right where they work.

Our Mission

What we do every day.

To inspire, equip, and connect believers — building disciples who go on to build others.

Inspire through FLIP, sermons, and the podcast.
Equip with free and practical discipleship resources.
Connect people into small groups that meet in person.

Core Values

The seven values that shape everything we make and do.

From the words we write to the way we steward support, these convictions keep the ministry honest, warm, and built to last.

01

Faith

A living trust in Jesus that shapes how we think, work, rest, and treat people every day.

02

Authenticity

Real over polished. We make room for doubt, questions, and honest stories — never performance.

03

Discipleship

We grow people on purpose — building disciples who are equipped to build others in turn.

04

Community

Faith lived together. We belong to one another — in person, around tables, across cities.

05

Mission

Every workplace is a mission field. We carry the good news into ordinary, everyday vocations.

06

Excellence

We do thoughtful, careful work — because the people we serve and the God we love are worth it.

07

Sustainability

We steward people, time, and support ethically — so the ministry can keep giving freely for years.

Leadership Team

The people building disciples who build others.

A small, regional team of pastors, writers, and tentmakers serving across Thailand and the Philippines. Names and details below are placeholders for the ministry's leaders.

David Tan

Founder & Lead Pastor

Started the first living-room gathering and still teaches most Sundays. A former tentmaker who believes faith belongs at the office desk.

Bangkok, Thailand

Ploy Suwan

FLIP Editor & Content Lead

Shapes the voice of FLIP and mentors new contributors. Writes on prayer, rest, and bringing faith into a fast-moving career.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Jasmine Dela Cruz

Philippines Community Director

Leads house groups across Manila and Cebu and coordinates city gatherings. A café-owning tentmaker at heart.

Cebu, Philippines

Mark Reyes

Podcast & Media Producer

Produces The Builders Podcast and the Sunday sermon library. Cares about honest conversations more than hot takes.

Manila, Philippines

Aom Thanwa

Discipleship & Small Groups

Trains small-group leaders and builds the discipleship resources. Believes the best ministry happens around a kitchen table.

Bangkok, Thailand

Grace Mendoza

Partnerships & Stewardship

Stewards partners and sponsors so the content stays free. Keeps the ministry sustainable, transparent, and built to last.

Manila, Philippines

Ministry Focus

Three things we keep our hands on.

Everything we make and do flows from these three commitments — the work your prayers and partnership make possible.

Tentmaker Ministry

We champion faith that works for a living. Like Paul making tents, our people serve God through their jobs and businesses — proving that vocation and calling are not two separate things, but one whole life offered to Christ.

Building Disciples

Discipleship is our core. Through small groups, FLIP, sermons, and the podcast, we help young professionals grow in faith — and then equip them to disciple others, so the work multiplies far beyond any one of us.

Influencing Nations

We disciple locally with our eyes on a wider world. Rooted first in Thailand and the Philippines, we long to see communities of builders rise across the nations — quietly faithful believers shaping the places they live and work.

Testimony Corner

God's faithfulness, in their own words.

Real, written stories from the community — shared to encourage, not to perform. Every testimony is reviewed for care and consent before it is published.

Featured testimony

“I almost didn't go. I was new in the city, working long hours, and pretty sure church wasn't for someone like me. But this community didn't ask me to perform — they just made space. A year later I'm leading a small group of my own, and my faith finally fits the life I actually live.”

Natthida P.Finance · Bangkok, Thailand · Belonging

All stories Coming to faith Healing & hope Calling & work Answered prayer Belonging

I came in skeptical. No one tried to convince me of anything — they just kept showing up and answering my hard questions honestly. A year later, my whole posture toward faith has changed.

Kevin L.Software · Manila · Coming to faith

As a tentmaker I felt invisible — too "business" for ministry, too "ministry" for business. Here I'm finally known as both. That single shift changed how I run my whole company.

Grace M.Café owner · Cebu · Calling & work

We prayed over my dad's diagnosis for months. The road was hard, but I was never alone — the group carried us with meals, messages, and prayer. God met us in the waiting.

Anucha R.Teacher · Chiang Mai · Answered prayer

Burnout nearly took me out. Learning to keep a Sabbath rhythm — actually resting, actually trusting God with the work — gave me my faith and my health back at the same time.

Mei L.Designer · Manila · Healing & hope

I moved cities for a promotion and lost my whole community overnight. Within a month I was around a table with people who get it — and learning to bring my faith into my Monday.

Aom T.Marketing · Bangkok · Belonging

FLIP was the first thing that made faith feel possible for a busy 27-year-old. One five-minute read at a time, I went from curious to following Jesus — and then to being baptised.

Jirawat S.Engineer · Bangkok · Coming to faith

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Building disciples who build others.