There are many reasons why it will be difficult to reach Cambodia for Christ. Buddhism entered Cambodia in the fifth century and today it is between 85-95 percent Buddhist. About three-fourths of Cambodia is rural, which means that it will be very difficult for the gospel to spread quickly without being detected by those who feel threatened by missionary efforts. Buddhism is the official state religion of Cambodia, and it is a deeply held part of the identity not only of the Khmer majority, but also most of the tribal people groups.

There is a team of missionaries in Cambodia who are trying to change this humanly impossible situation. Knowing that God alone can do the impossible, they want to see a holistic, reproducing church planting movement. This can potentially bring not only spiritual change, but also social and physical change for the better. The goal is to get the local church to do community development to address poverty and human trafficking. They are working with two local Cambodian believers who need to build trusting relationships in this pioneering work.

Now that covid restrictions are relaxed, they can visit local people and start to assess how they can help with holistic needs. For example, how do they help the local economy so people are not tempted to sell their daughters into the sex trade?

Sources

• A missionary prayer letter
• Movetocambodia.com
• Statista.com. Urbanization in Cambodia

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