Bayankhongor, Mongolia – The sound of worship songs and prayers can now be heard in this province center, a region that was not previously reached by the Seventh-day Adventist church due to the remote location and a lack of interest in starting a church. But it is our duty as a church to extend God’s message of grace to these unreached areas. I am optimistic that if we move with prayer and faith, God will surely provide the people and the means for His work. Pastor Vadim Butov, living in Australia since 2011, has visited Mongolia four times with a vision to plant a church in Bayankhongor. He has fundraised for a year’s worth stipend to send a young couple to this unreached province. He recruited eight church members from Russia to join in the preparation work of visitation and giving out pamphlets. He also contacted one woman from Germany to conduct health talks and a woman from Australia to perform musically during the two-week evangelistic effort. Mongolia Mission sent nine people from various churches across the country to support the meetings. We would like to thank all those individuals for their help and support.
According to local reports, there have been concerted efforts by other local Christian organizations to conduct evangelistic activities in the past, but not a two-week evangelistic program in Bayankhongor. Our initiative was a longer and more arduous effort aimed at reaching out to people in the area who had never heard the gospel before.
We are excited about what God is doing in Bayankhongor. This is a strategic area that has been overlooked for many years, and we believe that the time has come for the gospel to be preached here. The evangelism activities included visitation, handing out literature, health talks, children’s programs, singing ministry and systematic evangelistic presentations yielding significant results. More than 450 people came on opening night and after the two weeks many people in the area responded positively to the gospel, while 21 precious souls gave their lives to Christ and were baptized.
We are grateful for the partnerships with our brothers and sisters from Russia, Australia and Germany. They have provided us with the resources and training we needed to effectively reach out to the people. We are confident that the new church will make an impact on the lives of the people in Bayankhongor and will provide a sense of hope and community to the people. It will be a place to come together, worship, and learn more about the gospel. The church is also planning to provide practical support to the community through initiatives such as family and children’s programs.
The success of the evangelism and church planting activities in Bayankhongor is a testament to the power of partnership and collaboration. By working together, local churches and partnering organizations have been able to effectively reach out to the people of Bayankhongor and share the love of Christ with them.