Cambodia (MNN) — In North
America, it is estimated that there is one trained and competent Christian
leader for every 1,300 people. In Asia, that ratio is 1:600,000. Because the pastors are the frontline advance
of the Gospel, they need to be well grounded.
Asian Access (A2) Country Resource
Person PoSan Ung has a heart for Cambodia where "the church in Cambodia
is a very young church, I would say, still in nascent stage."
That presents its own
conflict. Add to that official
opposition. "There's a law out there that is against public evangelism.
Then, for you to organize a public event, you need to apply for permission from
the government, and that's tricky."
Cambodia is still struggling to
heal from a bloody past. Mistrust has
proven divisive, but through the training programs, unity has been growing
stronger, and the foundation is being laid for kingdom building.
Having
lived through the Cambodian Holocaust and grown up as a Cambodian refugee,
Pastor Ung is uniquely in touch with the Cambodian experience and has forged
ministry from it.
The leadership training program
he and national director Pastor Meng Aun Hour launched creates a strategic
network that encourages both awareness and the efforts among Cambodian churches.
Today, the training has been
called a "diaspora ministry" back to Cambodia where Posan and others are
teaching, supervising, and developing curricula to aid in the training of
Cambodian pastors in Cambodia.
According to A2, the key to the
effectiveness of their program is the careful selection of twelve emerging
leaders on an annual basis. These leaders are then invited to be a part of a
class that meets four times a year, for a week at a time, over a two-year period.
When the twelve meet together,
they are working through an established curriculum that accelerates their
growth as spiritual leaders, as well as organizational leaders.
The pastors are beginning to work
together and share their resources.
"They're able to visit each others' church and go on mission trips
within Cambodia itself to the countryside together and train the church leaders
in the provincial area. Within the capital, there is a fellowship of
pastors."
If you'd like to support the
ministry or would like more details, click here.
