Cambodian Church Growth
The Church in Cambodia has suffered many waves of persecution, not least under the regime of Pol Pot, during the years of the Khmer Rouge. Indeed, by 1979 only about 200 Christians remained alive in Cambodia. Then, In 1990, the church was given government permission to function openly, and at that time there were estimated to be only ten evangelical churches in Cambodia. Today there are over two thousand churches, with a total membership of approximately 200,000.
However, this massive growth rate has left the Cambodian Church lacking in both discipleship and resources, such as trained pastors, Bibles, and Christian literature. Many church workers need a paid job outside the church in order to support their families, with only about 10% of pastors working in that role full time.
There is a growing number of Bible schools, Christian radio stations and theological training programmes that are helping to equip Cambodian Christians to grow in their faith and share the good news of Jesus Christ.
- Pray for the Church in Cambodia and for those committed to seeing it grow, both in numbers and in maturity.
- Pray for the ongoing work with victims of the Khmer Rouge years of terror. That these people will find healing and hope through the Gospel.
- Pray for continued freedom for Christians in Cambodia to share their faith and to worship without fear.
- Pray for more resources, and greater access to these resources, for training and teaching the Christians in Cambodia.
Ephesians 4:11, 12: And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.
Source: Cambodian Communities out of Crisis – http://cambcomm.org.uk/church.php