Equipping Mongolian churches to disciple the Nation.                 

 Ps. Badmaa, executive director, Genesis AOM

Mongolia situated between Russia and China is in the heart of eastern Asia. Its history has been turbulently linked with China since ancient times. During the rule of the warlike emperors Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, the Empire stretched from Eastern Europe in the west to Korea in the east. Strength and a warrior spirit made the Mongols feared and famous. Shamanism and worship of the heavens, mountains and ancestors has been practiced in Mongolia throughout the centuries.

Kublai Khan requested religious teachers from Europe and Tibet to teach Mongolians the Christian and Buddhist faiths. The Mongols were greatly feared in Europe, and there was a considerable delay before any Christian missionaries were sent. In the meantime, Tibetan teachers had responded, and the Buddhist religion was integrated into traditional shamanistic superstition.

The rise of communism in 1921 squelched much of the growth of Christianity, and all foreign missionaries were kicked out. Not until the past 20 years, however, have Mongolians Christians known that real strength comes from Christ, that they can be prayer warriors and that as believers, they are more than conquerors.  When Mongolia dismantled communism in 1991 there were only five known Christians in the country. Since then the number of believers has increased dramatically.  Christians in Mongolia are considered a growing minority group. Accounts of the exact number of Christians vary as no nationwide statistics have even been released. As of 2005, the United States Department of State reports that approximately 24,000 Christians live in Mongolia's capital, Ulan Bator, which is around 3 percent of the entire registered population of the city.

While we celebrate this tremendous growth of the churches, social problems such as unemployment, poverty, prostitution, alcoholism and domestic violence is more evident in proportion to the number of people being saved.  For example, according to national statistics, the national divorce rate has increased nine-fold since 1991. In addition, the number of single mother families has doubled and the crime rate has also doubled. It has been only recently that Christian leaders in Mongolia have come to realize the importance of the church of Mongolia engaging in community transformation ministries.

Due to a lack of biblical understanding and practical skills, Mongolian churches have previously been restricted in their capacity to serve and transform their communities effectively. For this reason, it was of the utmost strategic importance for Genesis to develop a new program for leadership training that has introduce sound, relevant  teachings  on transformational missions to the local Christian community.

In 2012 - 2013 Genesis trained 187 pastors and lay leaders from 76 churches in nine provinces with the goal of increasing the influence of the churches and Christians in today’s society and local communities.

The goals of this training are:

                 To have a sound Biblical knowledge about the transformational mandate of the Gospel  and a correct understanding of work and professional calling.

                 To ascertain the ways in which the church can be a part of the solution to the community’s social problems by identifying their callings, gifts, resources and opportunities.

                 To understand the advantages of networking among churches, and the NGO’s. 

          After the Training God gave me two visions.  I went to meet the local governor and said that I would like to work on cleaning up the pollution in the town. He was very glad and supportive of my suggestions. Also during the training I saw that our town needed a family counseling center and now I am praying for and preparing to start one with other Christians.”

        

Tsogoo is an associate professor of physics at Khovd University and an elder in the Generous Love church in Khovd province in Far West Mongolia. Though our training he felt he was given a great opportunity.  The teaching has expanded his understanding of the Gospel  and given him the mandate to equip the other  believers to be carry the Gospel to the four corners of Mongolia. The Training has helped him to see the great potential and power that he has as an educator in the field of education to impact the change the lives of the younger generation.

Genesis-AOM ministry offers practical leadership training to young Mongolian pastors involved in the rapid growth of the church.  Since 1995, over 1600 pastors, church leaders and elders from more than 280 congregations nationwide have undertaken this three-level church leadership program.  As a result of this training, with financial support and mentorship from Genesis-AOM, our graduates have planted over 20 churches in Mongolia and Buryatia, Russia since 2005. He is truly amazing!

I am forwarding an invitation to you for this great opportunity to invest into the development of the Mongolian churches and leaders to fulfill their callings to transform the nation for the Christ. Please contact a nearest AO office to learn how to partner with Genesis in this endeavor to disciple the nation of Mongolia.