Cambodia is another country in the 10/40 window (a geographic region which contains some of the most unreached nations of the world) where Taking New Ground operates. The official religion in Cambodia is Theravada Buddhism. It is practiced by over 85% of the population. 72% of the people groups in this nation are considered “unreached”. Evangelical Christianity represents a mere 1.77% of the population.
This country has a dark and somewhat unclear history. Shortly after the Vietnam War and the power vacuum that followed, the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot carried out the Cambodian genocide. Two million people, nearly a quarter of the population at the time, were killed between 1975 to 1979. That dark period of history left many without hope, but today, hope is the common word believers in this country often use to describe their new found faith in Christ. It is among the killing fields of the Cambodian genocide that church planters now sow hope for this once troubled nation.
Overcoming Two Barriers to Church Planting
What are two of the greatest hindrances to multiplying churches?
1) Faith: Often, church leaders only move forward with a willingness to attempt what they think they can do on their own. The main thing we do in Catalyst Community 1 is “activate faith”. We focus leaders on the truth Paul writes about in Ephesians 3:20, it is God’s power at work in us that can accomplish abundantly more than we could ask or even imagine! Once they embrace this truth and move forward in faith they begin to see God work in amazing ways!
2) Leaders: The second major hindrance to planting new churches is not having enough leaders. Jesus apprenticed leaders and called us to do the same. It’s really part of making disciples. So in Catalyst Community 1, in addition to activating faith, we teach basic skills on how to identify and develop leaders through the apprenticeship model.
Collaborating Across South Asia
Everything we do is focused on multiplication. At the macro level we work around the world to multiply leaders, groups, churches, and networks. But, we also work at the micro level, to multiply ourselves and our team. To that end we brought our team from the Philippines with us to Cambodia. We have been apprenticing them for years and they are currently reproducing Catalyst Community #1 throughout the Philippines.
Max, Rolly and Ruel helped us lead the Catalyst Community in Cambodia, and in the process helped us to build strong connections between different South Asian countries. Our Cambodian partners connected well with our Philippine team, and I have no doubt these new relationships will help build greater regional strength in South Asia. our partners in Cambodia are an amazingly sophisticated group. God is truly working in and among them as they execute their strategy to plant churches and develop networks in every province in their nation.
Return on Investment: An Important Measure
In my former life I calculated the return on investment for various capital projects and potential acquisition targets. The return these projects would deliver dictated where we invested our capital as a company. I look at opportunities for ministry impact in a similar way. We all have numerous investment opportunities, but scarce resources, so we need to look to the returns. As you decide where to invest your resources, please consider us:
New Churches: 278% Growth – In 2018 our new churches tally was 441, so far this year it is at 1,224, and the year is not finished. As we move into new countries and our existing networks mature, we are almost tripling the number of new churches started every year now!
Participating Countries: 275% Growth – In 2018 we were working with 16 countries. This year we are working at various stages of development in 44 different countries! We have movements or networks established 17 of those countries, we are planting churches in 24 of those countries, and we are in the early phases of the Catalyst System in another 20 countries!
We need your investment! The return is proven and eternal. Join us!
