The numbers may not seem large, but church growth in Mongolia is on the rise. Church membership is currently 67 in a country where 2.6 million people live.  Eight years ago, there were no Seventh-day Adventists.

For more than 70 years, the country was ruled by communism with religious practices forbidden and Christianity proscribed. Soon after the fall of the Soviet Union, laws were relaxed and the first missionaries ventured into Mongolia in the early 1990s. Brad Jolly, an Adventist from the United States, went to Mongolia in 1992 under the sponsorship of Adventist Frontier Missions, an organization that sponsors missionaries to the more remote areas of the world. The first baptism took place one year later.

Although there is only one organized church and five other congregations established in Mongolia, there is an ongoing effort to share the Gospel among the citizens.

Carlos G. Martin, ministerial director for the Northern Asia-Pacific Division regional territory of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, visited Mongolia in December 1999 to offer training on evangelism and church growth. He discussed opportunities for public evangelism, location and timing with church members. They chose to focus on the long winter months when Mongolians do not travel and Darkhan, the country’s second largest city with a population of 80,000. In response to plans, according to Martin, Bold Batshuk, 25, and his wife moved to Darkhan to offer studies of the Bible and conduct worship services. Six months later, they were joined by two volunteers.

By the time Martin returned to present the Christian Gospel in public meetings, there were 13 people asking to be baptized. “At the time of my arrival in Darkhan, I found about 15 non-baptized people praying over piles of invitations that they were about to distribute,” said Martin.

The meetings were held in the Darkhan Cultural Center, initially built for meetings of the Communist Party. There were 600 people who came to hear about God. The response was gratifying to the missionaries and presenters. Martin said, “In addition to the evening meetings, we had three hours of classes every morning and unlimited time for questions and answers by night. My sleeping time was reduced to two to four hours a night, but he Lord gave me strength and health.” By the end of the series of meetings, 47 Mongols were baptized, professing the Christian faith.

Martin reported that there are plans to take the Gospel to other sites. “Pray for the five series of meetings that Pastor Batsuhk is committed to offer during 2001 in different towns and cities of Mongolia and for the new congregations there.”