Cambodia struggles to free itself from division and instability

Pastor PoSan Ung

Posted: 13 April, 2009

Mission Network NEws (press release)

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.