The freezing weather in Mongolia, a country known for its low temperatures during several months of the year, gave away to human warmth in a remarkable project by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. After a year of spiritual preparation and “sowing,” Mongolia Mission (MM), with the support of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) , held a huge evangelistic campaign called “Mission 16” from September 4 to 10, 2016.
Altogether, 13 churches/companies operating in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, were involved in this bold mission challenge. NSD president Jairyong Lee, NSD Adventist Mission director Kim SiYoung, and MM president Kim YoHan provided great support for the Mission 16 evangelistic meetings, inviting speakers and providing the necessary funds.
In the book The Ministry of Healing, Ellen White said, “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior 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.’” Following “Christ’s method alone,” many churches provided free medical care and other socially oriented services to the local community.
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One example of an effective approach occurred in Nisekh Church, which is located near the International Airport of Ulaanbaatar and in a well-populated neighborhood of the capital. Every day hundreds of people were treated by a physician, nurse and physical therapist, or participated in an English school or a sewing school. In order to plan these activities, the church members had done research on what kind of activities would work well for the local population. Altogether 14 people were baptized in this church.
Earlier this year, the church had had only seven members and they had been meeting in a small two-room apartment. Through God’s blessing, an average of 70 people attended the Bible studies in the church every night during Mission 16.
Pastor Nyamdavaa Dovchinsuren, MM ministerial association director, emphasized, “Since the very beginning of the Mission, soul winning has been the top priority on our agenda. With such 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.”
Every night the word of God was opened before the Mongolian people at preaching points scattered throughout the capital. The vast majority of attendees had never had any contact with the biblical message, let alone with the Adventist Church.
Auditoriums were filled with people thirsting for truth, and they impressed even the most experienced leaders and local church members as well as the main speakers who came from the NSD.* “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 Pastor Nyamdavaa.
On the Sabbath of September 10, 2016, about 900 people gathered at Labor Union Palace, a large conference hall in the center of Ulaanbaatar, for a beautiful spiritual feast, the closing activities of the week. Praises, testimonies and biblical messages touched the participants, but undoubtedly, the climax of the event occurred during the baptismal ceremony at Tuul Gol, the main river of Ulaanbaatar.
A total of 198 people were baptized sealing their decision with Christ and becoming a part of the Adventist Church family in Mongolia. According to MM records, this was the largest baptism in the history of the country in the number of candidates being baptized at once . Praise the Lord!
Retention and reclamation is also a big concern for MM leaders, especially after a 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 high as possible and also win more souls through the direct influence and work of these newly baptized members.
The idea is to keep them with the church through Bible study and missionary training, called the “Discipleship Cycle.” Regular meetings will be held in the local churches for the next few months. The study will focus on the 28 fundamental beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists and practical lessons on how to win souls. 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 may know how many are still faithfully attending the church. Each one of them will be challenged to bring a friend as a guest to the Festival of Faith next year and to start Bible studies with the person. We also intend to create a system in which the local congregation can reclaim those who may have stopped coming to church.
The Great Commission recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, “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,” was given to each of us.
Everyone in the church of Christ, pastors and lay members, has been called and empowered by God to fulfill His ultimate command, namely, to make disciples of all nations. In accordance with this biblical imperative, the Adventist Church in the 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 listening 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 confess that in the beginning I was just interested in taking advantage of the free medical care that the project offered, but eventually I 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.
Pastor Kim YoHan, MM president, also expressed his impressions and feelings about Mission 16: “Such a wonderful and beautiful scene! Outside under the sky, before many witnesses, 198 precious souls surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ through baptism in the river of Ulaanbaatar. The Holy Spirit, the grace of God and the love revealed on the cross of Jesus were the real sources of power behind the success of Mission 16. 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 Korea and the United States. I earnestly hope and pray that these 198 valuable souls can gather together again when Jesus returns and live in the heavenly kingdom forever and ever.”
Apostle Paul said in Romans, “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.” We fully believe that Jesus Christ our Lord has the power to transform and save lives through this “Good News” wherever it is preached.
The church in Mongolia is willing to do its best to cooperate with God’s plan of redemption. Please pray for the many new disciples who were baptized in our territory! May God keep their faith unshaken, using them as channels of blessings for the church and the people of our country until the Day of the Lord. Come, Lord Jesus!
By Yure Gramacho, MM Communication Director