More than 300 people gathered late last month in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to celebrate the first anniversary of the first United Methodist congregation.
The celebration was held in a brightly decorated “ger” – a tent-like, traditional Mongolian dwelling – set up as a sanctuary on the grounds of the United Methodist Center.
Many children took part in the celebrations with praising from children and youth through songs and prayers.
“It was such a happy occasion,” said the Rev. Jong Song Kim, a staff member of the Evangelization and Church Growth Program Area of the mission board in a report released by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) of The United Methodist Church.
“The energy was amazing. I wish we could have brought it back to share with congregations in the United States. The children were very engaged in the sermon, ‘You are the Salt of the Earth,’ by the Rev. Dr. ST Kimbrough. The preacher asked them Bible questions and they enthusiastically responded through translators,” he added.
Kim noted that more would have attended but the gates of the mission center had to be closed because there was no more space.
“We couldn’t accommodate any more people,” he said.
A year ago there were five adults and 25 children present at the first United Methodist service of worship.
United Methodist mission work in Mongolia began in 2001 through a youth mission choral and the following year a missionary, Helen Sheperd, arrived to start a hospice in the extremely poor area of Ulaanbaatar.
The congregation was formed last year upon the arrival of a second missionary, the Rev. Millie Kim.
The United Methodist Mission also added a palliative health care program, food programs, and multiple outreach programs for children and youth. The mission also includes Bible study, worship, and evangelism.
The Korean United Methodist Mongolia Mission Support Group and the North Georgia Annual Conference have provided most of the funding for the work in Mongolia. Several Korean American groups have made mission trips to Mongolia in recent months. Plans are underway for full-time physicians for a clinic that will be housed in the United Methodist Center.
The Korean American United Methodists contributed $100,000 for the Ulaanbaatar mission center in 2003 and an additional $80,000 the next year. The Korean Community Church of Leonia, N.J., has committed $130,000 to the center, and the Detroit Korean United Methodist Church is committed to supporting the doctor for the mission center clinic.
The building, which is about a half-acre of grounds, now contains a sanctuary, classrooms, and offices.
Mongolia is a nation of 2.4 million people. About 22,000 are Christian, a number that has doubled in the last five years. Mongolia has vigorously endorsed a democratic form of government since the fall of communism a decade ago. Since then Buddhism has again flourished and is the traditional and still dominant religion.
Jennifer Riley
Christian Today Correspondent