The peculiar freezing weather in Mongolia, a country known for its low temperatures during several months of the year, gave way to human warmth in a remarkable project held by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in this region of the planet. After a whole year of spiritual preparation and “sowing”, Mongolia Mission (MM), along with the support of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD)[i], held between September 4-10, 2016 a huge evangelistic campaign, entitled Mission 16. Altogether, 13 churches/companies operating in Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, got involved in this bold missionary challenge. The total amount of people who got baptized on the same day reached the historical milestone of 198 new disciples!
Following “Christ’s Method Alone”[ii] many churches have provided free medical care to the local community and other socially-oriented activities. One example of this effective approach occurred in Nisekh Church, a Global Mission Project, located near the International Airport of Ulaanbaatar, which is in a well-populated neighborhood of the capital and offers great opportunities due to rapid expansion of the real estate market in this area. Every day hundreds of people were treated by a physician, nurse and physical therapist, in addition to participate in English classes and Sewing Course also offered to meet a demand presented by the local population through a previous survey conducted by the church members. Altogether 14 people were baptized in this church, which earlier this year had only 7 members and congregated in a small 2-room apartment (house Church). On average 70 people attended the Bible Studies every night during the evangelism in Nisekh.
For Pr. Nyamdavaa, MM Ministerial and Evangelist, “since the very first beginning of MM, soul winning has been the top priority of our agenda. With such a comprehensive evangelistic impact, no doubt Mission 16 was the most significant project we’ve ever had in Mongolia in just over 25 years of Adventist presence in the country”, he emphasized. Every night the Word of God was opened before the Mongolian families at the preaching points scattered throughout the capital. The vast majority of attendees had never had any contact even with the biblical message, let alone with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Auditoriums filled with people thirsting for truth impressed even the most experienced leaders and local members as well as the main speakers who came from NSD[iii]. “When we really trust in God and move forward together by faith, God operates great miracles in us and through us. That is the lesson we have learned from Mission 16”, summarized Pr. Nyamdavaa.
On Saturday morning (September 10th) about 900 people gathered in the Labor Union Palace, a large Conference Hall in the center of Ulaanbaatar, for the closing activities of the week with a beautiful spiritual feast. Praise, testimonies and biblical messages touched the participants throughout the program. But undoubtedly the climax of the event occurred during the baptismal ceremony at Tuul Gol, the main river of Ulaanbaatar. In the end, a total of 198 people got baptized sealing his decision with Christ, thus being incorporated into Adventist Church’s family in Mongolia. According to the records of MM, this is the largest baptism in the history of the country in number of candidates being baptized at once[iv]. Praise the Lord!
Retention and Reclamation is also a big concern for MM leaders, especially after an expressive and fruitful evangelistic campaign such as Mission 16. That’s why we have planned a systematic follow-up project in order to keep our retention rate as higher as possible and also win more souls through direct influence and work of these newly baptized members. The main idea is keep up their biblical instruction and missionary training using the so called “Discipleship Cycle”, a regular meeting training in the local churches during the next 3 months, which basically consists in a curriculum with the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventists and practical lessons how to become soul winners for Jesus. The idea is to wrap up this cycle by conducting a Festival of Faith on March 2017, a special meeting for the newly baptized members in Mongolia. With this initiative we want to know how many still remain faithfully attending the church. Each one of them will be challenged to bring one friend as a guest to the Festival of Faith next year and after that start out a Bible Study with this person. We also intend to create a system in which the local congregation can reclaim those who may have stopped coming to the church.
The Great Commission recorded in the Gospel of Matthew[v] was given to each of us. Everyone in the church of Christ, whether pastors or lay members have been called and empowered by God to fulfill His ultimate command, namely, make disciples of all nations. In accordance with this biblical imperative, the Adventist Church in NSD territory has tirelessly prayed and worked to spread the everlasting gospel message “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1: 8) .
It has been inspiring listened to powerful life-changing testimonies from many people who participated in the Mission 16 evangelistic meetings. “Today is the most joyful day of my entire life”, said sister Enkhtsetseg, who was visibly touched right after her baptism. “I confessed that in the begging I was just interested to take advantage of the free medical care that the project has offered, but eventually I have found much more than that. Through the Word of God and the welcoming of the church I’ve found love, hope and peace. I’ve found another family, the family of God. Now, what I want most is to share the gospel with my friends and relatives so that Jesus will come back soon”, she testified with tears in her eyes.
Pr. Kim YoHan, MM President also expressed his impressions and feelings about Mission 16: “Such a wonderful and beautiful scene! Outdoor under the sky, 198 precious souls have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ through baptism in the translucent river of Ulaanbaatar before many witnesses. The Holy Spirit, the grace of God and the love revealed on the cross of Jesus were the real source of power that led Mission 16 to be well succeeded. I would like to glorify and praise the name of the Lord with all my heart. I also can’t fail to appreciate the efforts of all the local pastors, leaders and church members in Mongolia as well as to thank the speakers and volunteer teams who came from NSD, ECKC, WCKC, MEKC and America. I earnestly hope and pray that those 198 valuable souls can gather together again when Jesus returns and live in the heavenly kingdom forever and ever,” said him.
We fully believe that Jesus Christ our Lord has the power to transform and save lives through the “Good News”[vi] wherever it is preached. The church in Mongolia is willing to do its best to cooperate with God’s redemption plan, no matter what. Please pray for the hundreds of newly disciples who got baptized in our territory! May God keep their faith unshaken, using them as a channel of blessings for the church and the people of our country until the Day of the Lord. Come, Lord Jesus!
[i] Special thanks to Dr. Jairyong Lee (NSD President), Pr. Kim Si Young (NSD Adventist Mission Director) and Pr. Kim Yo Han (Mongolia Mission President) who has fully supported Mission 16 evangelistic meetings, inviting the speakers and providing the needed funds to accomplish the project.
[ii] WHITE, Ellen G. The Ministry of Healing, p. 193. “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me’.”
[iii] Kim Si Young – Main coordinator; 1. Nalaikh church – Joanne Kim; 2. Han-Uul church – Han Suk Hee; 3. UB central church – Ron Clouzet; 4. Amgalan church – Yutaka Inada; 5. Tsaiz church – Dr.Jairyong lee; 6. Bayan-Khair church – Joo Min Ho; 7. Tolgoit church – Richard Sabuin; 8. Nisekh church – Kwon Johng Haeng; 9. Yaarmag church – Jeon Kyoung Chun; 10. Amazing Grace church – P. Joo; 11. Maranatha – Kim Sukgon; 12. Immanuel – Kim Dong
[iv] UB-14, Mission to the Cities evangelistic meetings which was held in Ulaanbaatar and Erdenet, on September 4-13, 2014, resulted in 139 baptisms.
[v] Mt 28:19, 20 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (New King James Version)
[vi] Rm 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (New International Version)
By Yure Gramacho, MM Communication Director