The Derington Family
The Derington family together beside a lake in Chiang Mai

MEET THE DERINGTONSCHIANG MAI

Thailand is home.
Following Jesus is why.

We are Nick and Traci Derington. Along with Elam, Grey, Moriah, and Wren, we share life and ministry in northern Thailand.

Our story

01OUR STORY

DIFFERENT BEGINNINGS. A SHARED CALLING.

Our paths met before the way forward was clear.

Nick and Traci walking hand in hand down a dirt road

2008Our paths cross

We met through Adventures in Missions and the World Race. Traci had completed her eleven-month journey and joined the staff; Nick was preparing to leave on his. We began dating knowing most of that first year would be spent on different continents.

2009A life together begins

Seven months into Nick’s World Race, a week together in eSwatini became an engagement. We married less than a week after he returned, settled in Cincinnati, and began talking about serving overseas long-term.

2011Becoming parents

Elam joined our family, beginning a new chapter of parenthood alongside our hopes for a future overseas.

2013A clearer calling, but not yet

With Elam along and Grey soon to arrive, we traveled to Thailand to explore ministry opportunities. We returned convinced of a calling to Southeast Asia, but without a sending church or mission organization, we sensed that the next step was to wait.

2015A church home and a way forward

Moriah joined the family, and Grace Fellowship Church became our church home. We joined a team preparing to serve in Southeast Asia and began studying and training together for life on the field.

2017A family of six. A season of waiting.

Wren arrived, making us a family of six. When the Southeast Asia team’s plans paused indefinitely, we bought a home and entered a season of rest, growth, and deeper investment in our marriage and children while continuing to pray for direction.

2018The door begins to open

Through prayer and a series of confirmations, we sensed that the time to move forward had come. We reconnected with friends in Thailand and began pursuing a mission organization to serve with.

2019Joining Cru

We joined Cru as full-time missionaries and began building a team of ministry partners whose prayers, encouragement, and financial support would help send our family to Thailand.

2020Finally, Thailand

Grace Fellowship commissioned our family, and in September we moved to Thailand. After months of pandemic-related delays and two weeks of quarantine in Bangkok, we began settling into Chiang Mai and Nick started serving at Grace International School.

2021Putting down roots

We moved into a longer-term home, began formal Thai language study, and started building friendships with neighbors. Traci’s parents also returned to Thailand, bringing three generations of our family together in Chiang Mai.

2022Growing into community and leadership

We became part of Chaiyo Church and stepped into leadership of our Teach With Cru team. Welcoming and discipling new missionaries became part of our weekly rhythm, alongside deepening relationships in our Thai community.

2023New opportunities to invest

Nick became GIS’s Director of Communications, and Traci helped lead a parenting group for local mothers. These opportunities opened new doors for leadership, friendship, and discipleship.

2024Making room for what matters

After two years of team leadership, we handed that responsibility to others. The transition created more room for Thai language study, relationships in the local community, and intentional time discipling our children and welcoming their friends into our home.

2025A new chapter at In the Midst

We began partnering with the owners of In the Midst Garden Café, helping strengthen its operations and invest in its staff. A long-standing interest in business as mission became a practical opportunity for hospitality and everyday relationships.

2026Opening our home to the next generation

We began hosting an Anchor discipleship group for sixth-grade girls, including Moriah. With high school students leading the lessons, our part is to provide a welcoming home where younger students can build friendships and grow in their faith.
Nick, Traci, Elam, Grey, Moriah, and Wren together
We came to Thailand to serve.Somewhere along the way, Thailand became home.
Nick and Traci Derington together on a boat

Nick & Traci

Nick Derington

Nick grew up in Cincinnati after being born in Detroit and came to faith at sixteen. His professional background spans the culinary world, investment banking, and digital media. He loves digging into Scripture, getting lost in a good book, and spending time in the kitchen. Soccer is another favorite, both for the game itself and the friendships that grow around it. Whether he is exploring a biblical passage or experimenting with a recipe, he enjoys the opportunity to keep learning.

Traci Derington

Traci was born in Thailand and moved to the United States at nine. She came to faith at four and has a gift for connecting with people, whether meeting someone new or speaking to a crowd. Her background in hospitality, coffee, and sales reflects that love of people. Alongside caring for their four children, she enjoys cooking, baking, reading, and learning Thai. She loves helping others feel welcome and is much more enthusiastic about a full table than cold weather.

Together, we love exploring new places and sharing life around the table, whether with longtime friends or people we have just met.

Grey overlooking Chiang Mai

02WHY THAILAND

MORE THAN A DESTINATION

A place to listen, learn, and put down roots.

Thailand sits in the heart of Southeast Asia, with a rich cultural heritage shaped by generations of Buddhist tradition. Christians make up a small minority of the population.

In the mountainous north, Chiang Mai brings together historic neighborhoods, universities, and communities from across the region.

REACHING THE LEAST-REACHED

Why this calling matters to us.

For our family and our sending church, following Jesus includes helping make him known among people with the least access to a local Christian community. That conviction helped shape our call to Thailand and continues to guide how we listen, serve, and come alongside Thai believers.

of 110people groups in Thailand are currently classified as unreached by Joshua Project. These are estimates, not a statement about every person’s experience.

From mountains to peninsula

Thailand stretches from the forested mountains of the north through the central plain to the Malay Peninsula. Chiang Mai sits in the northern highlands, connected to communities across a varied country.

Faith and daily life

Buddhism has shaped Thailand’s history, traditions, and public life for generations. Christians are a small minority, so patient friendship, listening, and respect matter deeply in the way we live and serve.

A northern crossroads

Chiang Mai brings together historic neighborhoods, universities, churches, international families, and people from across northern Thailand—a place where everyday work and long-term relationships naturally overlap.

Alongside Thai believers

Cru Thailand serves through student-led movements, leadership development, local churches, church planting, and digital ministry—connected ministries across the country, not roles our family claims to perform alone.

Access is not equal

Joshua Project currently classifies 73 of Thailand’s 110 people groups as unreached. The estimate describes access to a local Christian community—not the worth, beliefs, or experience of any individual person.

Roots that run deep

Traci was born in Mae Hong Son. Returning to northern Thailand with Nick and their children carried a sense of homecoming. Our ministry grows through the ordinary rhythms of work, hospitality, discipleship, and friendship.

Sources for this context
Thailand geography Religion in Thailand Cru Thailand ministries Least-reached estimates

03MINISTRY

GENERATIONAL VISION

Three generations. One shared calling.

Traci’s parents first served among the Karen people in remote mountain villages in Thailand in the 1980s and early 1990s. Years later, they returned with a different organization to care for and encourage other ministry workers. Today, three generations of our family share life in Thailand, while Elam, Grey, Moriah, and Wren grow up inside a story that began long before them.

Three generations of the Derington family gathered around a table in Thailand

WHO WE SERVE WITH

Clear roles.
Shared faithfulness.

Sending ChurchGrace Fellowship Church in Northern Kentucky commissioned and sent our family in 2020. Their heart for reaching the least-reached continues to shape and sustain the work we share. Our Ministry OrganizationWe joined Cru staff in 2019 and now serve on the Teach with Cru team. It is a caring community passionate about connecting people to Jesus, and we are grateful to serve alongside them. Grace International SchoolNick serves as Director of Communications and Marketing, leading a team of Thai staff. He also coaches, teaches a high school advisory class that mentors and disciples young men, and separately serves on leadership committees that help steer the school’s direction.
In the Midst CafeTraci consults with the cafe’s owners and staff, helping build community through relationships and a welcoming place. Directly across from Grace International School, the cafe serves the local Thai community as well as students, teachers, and parents throughout the week.
Relationships and HospitalityDiscipleship, parenting connections, and friendship grow through the ordinary rhythms we share with people around us. Welcoming others into our family home gives those relationships room to deepen over time.

04GIVE

PARTNER WITH US

Be part of what God is doing in Thailand.

Your partnership helps our family keep showing up, building relationships, and serving alongside the people and ministries God has placed around us.

Support our ministry

06CONNECT

STAY IN TOUCH

Stay connected across the miles.