Chapter 2
CPMs Up Close
The Khmer of Cambodia
The setting
The 20th century has seen more than its share of
wars, dictators and genocide, but few surpass the tragic modern history of
Cambodia. Buffeted by the Vietnam conflict for more than two decades,
Cambodia emerged from that war with Maoist dictator Pol Pot driving the
country into ruin. During his five-year reign from 1975-1979, Pol Pot’s
Khmer Rouge engineered the murder, disappearance or starvation of up to
3.3 million of the country’s 8 million citizens.
This reign of terror left Cambodia’s
infrastructure in shambles, its adult male population decimated and its
youth illiterate. The subsequent rule by a Vietnam-installed government
ended the genocide, but could not undo the damage done to Cambodian
society.
The societal upheaval set the stage for the changes
which were to come. Centuries of Buddhist influence were undermined by
communist ideology. Roman Catholicism, which had gained a foothold in the
country, was targeted by the Khmer Rouge because of perceived foreign ties
to the Vatican and France. Earlier in the century, missionaries from the
Christian and Missionary Alliance and Overseas Missionary Fellowship had
introduced Protestantism into the country, but their numbers had never
exceeded 5,000. During Pol Pot’s rule, the Khmer Rouge dealt them a
severe blow, expelling missionaries and murdering many of the scattered
flock. By 1990, Cambodia’s evangelical population had dwindled to no
more than 600 believers.
What happened
According to a senior missionary who served in
Cambodia for decades with Overseas Missionary Fellowship, the turning
point for Christianity in the country began in the 1990s. By 1999, the
number of Protestant believers had risen from 600 to more than 60,000. The
largest number of these were Baptists with 10,000 members, followed by an
indigenous Campus Crusade denomination, then the Christian 
and
Missionary Alliance and various other groups.
The primary catalyst for change came in December
1989, when Southern Baptists assigned a strategy coordinator to the Khmer
people. By 1991, he had completed language study and already begun
implementing a strategy for reaching the Khmer people.
Instead of planting a church himself, as had
previously been his custom, the missionary began a mentoring relationship
with a Cambodian layman. Within a year, he had drawn six Cambodian church
planters into his mentoring circle. Over the next few months, he developed
a church-planting manual in the Khmer language and taught the Khmer church
planters doctrine, evangelism and church-planting skills using resources
such as the JESUS film, chronological Bible storying and simple
house-church development. He also instilled in them a vision and passion
for reaching their entire country with a Church Planting Movement.
In 1993, the number of Baptist churches grew from
six to 10. The following year, the number doubled to 20. In 1995, when the
number of churches reached 43, the Cambodian church leaders formed an
association of like-minded churches which they called the Khmer Baptist
Convention (subsequently changed to the Cambodian Baptist Convention). The
following year, the number of churches climbed to 78. In 1997, there were
123 Baptist churches scattered across 53 of the country’s 117 districts.
By the spring of 1999, Baptists counted more than 200 churches and 10,000
members. Few of these churches met in dedicated buildings. The vast
majority met in homes that, in the countryside, could accommodate 50 or
more individuals.
The strategy coordinator departed the assignment in
1996, leaving behind a small team of missionaries and a network of vital
church planting churches scattered across much of the country. The work
has continued to grow and strengthen.
Key factors
In his account of why this Church Planting Movement
happened, the strategy coordinator cited several key factors. “Over the
past six years,” he wrote, “there has been more mobilized prayer for
the people of Cambodia than any other time in their history.” The
missionary credits this prayer with protecting church planters and opening
the hearts of lost Khmer people to the good news of Jesus Christ.
Prayer also characterizes the lives of the new
church members, filling them with a strong sense of God’s direct
involvement in their daily affairs. Signs and wonders, such as exorcisms,
healings and other acts of spiritual warfare, continue to be commonplace
among the Cambodian believers.
Training has been a fundamental element in the
movement from its inception. The strategy coordinator established Rural
Leadership Training Programs (RLTPs) wherever possible. These centers for
church planting and theological education by extension were intensely
practical. They met in facilities near the area in which they hoped to
plant churches and relied upon logistical support from nearby churches.
Training was offered in eight two-week modules consisting of Bible
teaching, practical training in church leadership and equipping for
evangelism and church planting. The 16 weeks of training generally
stretched out over a two-year period of time, enabling the church leader
to continue both his pastoral work and secular livelihood while gaining
the much-needed training.
The strategy coordinator also insisted on modeling
and mentoring as a core value of the movement. Referencing Paul’s
instructions in 2 Timothy 2:2, the strategy coordinator developed what he
called the “222 Principle”: Never do anything alone. In this manner,
vision, skills, values and principles transferred from believer to
believer.
As the movement
unfolded, the momentum burned from 
within. Local
leaders expressed their
own vision for planting churches in every district and within each ethnic
community. As they acquired training and encouragement, the primary church
planters were the church members themselves, rather than missionaries or
professional church planters. The coordinator later observed that “churches
planted by other churches are reproducible, but those started by funded
church planters are not (with few exceptions).”
In order to ensure indigenization and limit dependence on outsiders, the
missionary placed time constraints on the formation of a new church. This
also infused the movement with the characteristic of rapid reproduction.
With the departure of the strategy coordinator in 1996, the movement
entered a new phase. The IMB missionary team that remained in the country
assisted the movement by staying in a catalytic role rather than a
prominent assertive role. A team member expressed this in his admonition
to his colleagues to “earnestly seek to become the low-profile footman,”
and “avoid the temptation of being a high-profile frontman.”
Unique factors
Though not entirely unique, it was helpful that the
Cambodian Baptist Convention quickly adopted ambitious goals for their
emerging association of churches. They challenged one another to spread
the gospel throughout the country and plant churches in every district.
This passion for evangelism and church planting affected the selection of
convention leadership. Men were sought who had led in church planting
themselves and had served as instructors of other church planters in the
Rural Leadership Training Programs.
Within the Cambodian Baptist churches a unique model
emerged, which blended New Testament substance with forms from the
communist traditions. Each new church was organized around a core of seven
lay leaders (see Acts 6:3, which describes the choosing of the seven
deacons). The term they adopted for this seven member core was not
deacons, however, but “the Central Committee.” The Central Committee
directs the various outreaches to the community, including evangelism,
literacy, worship, pastoral teaching and ministries to women, youth and
men.
As the CPM progressed, it became evident that the
Rural Leadership Training Program was essential to its growth. A
missionary later observed, “Where there are RLTPs in place, church
planting always follows.” With this in mind, the missionary invested
himself heavily in organizing and developing training materials as well as
raising support for the RLTPs from churches across Asia.
Learning points
1. Shortly after the International Mission Board
placed a strategy coordinator in Cambodia, more than 30 other mission
agencies entered the country. None of these saw the church planting
success of the IMB effort, primarily because they lacked an intentional
church-planting strategy.
2. The missionary bypassed the step of ‘passing
the torch’ to the Cambodian believers by starting the movement with the
torch firmly in their hands. He insisted that every church planted be
planted by Cambodians.
3. The “222 Principle” (2 Timothy 2:2) of
modeling and mentoring has proven to be an invaluable means of training
leaders for a Church Planting Movement.
4. The Cambodian Baptist Convention has adopted a
Church Planting Movement ethos and vision. Leaders are selected based upon
their ability to contribute to this vision.
Prayer
Needs
