Transforming Cambodia Mail: P.O. Box 2581, Phnom Penh 3, Cambodia Phone: 855-23-224121 e-mail: steve.antioch@gmail.com Website: www.asiaforjesus.org A National Vision 2013 marks Steve s 20th year in Cambodia and the completion of 15 years of Words of Life Ministries which has birthed so many other ministries in Cambodia. From the very beginning, Steve had a passion for the national redemption of the nation of Cambodia, not simply starting a single church or seeking to impact a few people s lives. Over the last ten years one region has received special attention: This is Banteay Meanchey province and Poipet city. The reason we have started extensive work in Poipet in the last few years specifically is because of a clear vision from God. In that vision, he showed me (Steve) that Poipet is a GATEWAY to Cambodia. In the natural, it is the busiest border crossing in Cambodia and it will be a gateway in the spiritual. As Poipet is transformed, Cambodia will be transformed. the Holy Spirit specifically showed me two things. The work is not for any one person or group, but for the united Kingdom of God where only God can receive glory. And personally, God would teach me about the Kingdom of God and how to influence the culture of the nation of Cambodia. God has shown us, though many Christian leaders, the seven mountains of culture and working among those seven spheres of influence to effect change in the culture. Though we have a strong focus on pastoral leadership training and church planting we have numerous other ministries which are affecting change in other mountains of influence especially, education, the family and government though our ministries impact aspects of all seven cultural mountains. My family lives as a Cambodian family and we are committed to this country for our whole lives. That being so, empowering and equipping of national church leaders is central in everything we do. We desire to be kingdom people and train and equip leaders and plant churches which are nondenominational and are autonomous so that they can freely respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Seven Mountains of Culture 1
Antioch Institute: Training Pastors Nationwide Antioch Institute has been modeled on a decentralized leadership training approach. The Apostle Paul was a successful church developer and leader and was able to do so because he invested his life in the lives of others and then stood beside them as partners in ministry. Paul said, And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2) It has been our experience that in order to be effective, especially in a country like Cambodia, that what is required is to make sure local believers are discipled, leaders trained, and have the capability to act on their vision for ministry. Church leaders need to know how to pastor, how to evangelize, and have access to leadership and theological training. The 222 Principle really demonstrates that one key to Paul's success was the mass training and discipleship of others. The whole church must be involved in the ministry (mission of God) so that we can see all the areas of Cambodia come to Christ! Pastoral Training Centers For the last five years we have maintained nearly 200 training centers exclusively for church leaders all across Cambodia. The training centers are all run by graduates of Antioch Institute and meet monthly for training with senior leaders. These training centers meet in local churches at regular times each week. The Antioch Institute leader s goal is to empower local leaders to equip their own leaders and other leaders in the region. 2
Cambodia 2013 Statistics of Training: Number of Antioch Institute Training Centers: Number of Trainers: Number of Students (in training centers): Number of New Believers: Number of New Churches (house churches): 195 locations 245 trainers 4,079 students 5,782 people 284 new churches Total Pastoral Training Results from 2009-2013: Approximately 200 active training centers every year Average of 3,867 students per year in training 21,035 people converted from Buddhism to Christianity 1,248 new congregations started National Church Planting Training Program Over the last four years Antioch Institute made had a strategy to train leaders in every province (24 provinces) and an additional 6 major population areas. We completed doing church planting training course called Pioneer Evangelism which involves: Biblical Models of the Church Finding a Man of Peace for Evangelism (Luke 10 and Matthew 10) Basic Discipleship In every province groups as large as 300 pastors came together from multiple denominations and traditions to be trained and encouraged in church planting. Motto for Antioch Institute is: Every Church Can Be A Bible School This motto keeps the teacher s focused on discipling their people and mobilizing the believers for ministry. National Core Leaders Poline has worked w i t h A n t i o c h Institute for 15 years and is a core leaders responsible for training. Poline has 3 c h i l d r e n a n d currently studying a doctorate degree in counseling. Karony and Steve h a v e w o r k e d together in church planting since 1996. Karony is a core leader in Antioch Institute. Karony has 3 girls and is currently studying a doctorate in counseling. B o p e a h a s w o r k e d w i t h Antioch Institute for 15 years and is a core leader responsible for Bible translation. Bopea has 2 children and is currently studying a doctorate in education. Poline Karony Bopea 3
Imparting Smiles Imparting Smiles Association is not a typical project-based NGO, we are an association which has active participation from the local community, families of children, government, private sector companies and the international community. Together we are working toward a unified goal: a bright future. The approach is focused on long-term and permanent solutions as well as sustainability with ownership and administration by Cambodians themselves. For every child we assist we make a 12-15 year commitment to educate and empower that child. Across Cambodia impoverished children are preyed upon by human traffickers, drug dealers, and companies which seek to exploit them for labor. We believe that economic empowerment as well as education will, in the long-term, alleviate the vulnerabilities to these threats. In the short term, thousands of children need security and empowerment. The Imparting Smiles Children's Centers provide the short term security as well as long term solutions. Poipet Children s Center: 65 Children Kracheh Children s Center: 72 Children 4 University Dorm: 7 Students Deputy PM Keo Kim Yan, dedicated the Poipet Center
Long Term Solutions: Imparting Smiles! Children have very few opportunities for education and improvement from their impoverished lives. More than 80% of Cambodians live on less than $2 per day. The average educational level of Cambodia is 3rd grade. At Imparting Smiles more than 140 children come from many different backgrounds. Some are orphans, some abandoned, others simply have parents but no access to any education, some have parents who are incarcerated, some are victims of sex crimes, some parents are fighting a battle with HIV/AIDS. Imparting Smiles not only provides food and shelter, but quality education, skills and a loving secure environment. The objective is to provide education and opportunities which empower their lives for the future. Three Focuses of Child Development: Order of Sahametrei (Cambodian Knighthood) WISDOM/ EDUCATION Children must be educated to at least high school graduates and even university level. They will receive extra training in both regular education and vocational skills training as well. A Biblical worldview is core to education. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Children must be taught values and develop character such as obedience to elders, politeness, hard work, honesty and many other positive character traits. Their lives should reflect the Fruit of the Spirit. EXCELLENCE IN SKILLS Children must be taught a wide variety of marketable skills such as English, computers, mechanics, business, entrepreneurship and other areas so that they may be successful later in life. In everything, excellence. 5
Poipet Women s Center The Poipet Women s Center (officially the Imparting Smiles Hope Center) is dedicated to the empowerment of women. With a rampant abortion problem in Cambodia (as many as 3,000 abortions per month), this center is promoting the sanctity of life! Poipet already has more than a dozen clinics which provide abortions and most women (Christian or otherwise) commonly have multiple abortions. The center will be operational by early 2014. The center will provide the following services: Free pregnancy tests and counseling Counseling and assistance for abused women Counseling and assistance for trafficked women Pre-natal health checkups Dental care for women and children Eye care for women and children Regular Bible studies focused on key issues of women Village outreach for counseling Parenting classes Rather than just being a center which only focuses on one issue, the sanctity of life, we desire that this center would be a place of empowerment of women. Run and operated by women the center will be concerned with every aspect of a woman s life, including physical, emotion and especially spiritual. Women will also be trained here in ministering to others in the villages with a network of support built in the region, but also will utilize the leadership training network of Antioch Institute so that women s empowerment can have nation-wide reach. Thrift store for poor women Development of women's literature resources Women s Bible studies and even church planting initiatives will be launched from this center as well. Opening in early 2014 6 Hope Center for the Sanctity of Life, Saving Babies and Empowering Women
University Dorms After raising children at the Imparting Smiles children s home for more than ten years we are beginning to have our first children graduate from high school. As of 2013, we have 7 students now entered into University. All of them received scholarships from the government, combined with our assistance to attend university. In the next five years we will have an additional 40 students graduating from High School, hence the need to build a dormitory. Thanks to funding from Chris and Susan Maclellan and families at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, Texas we have been able to purchase land and construct two dorm buildings, one for men and another for women. Each home can comfortably house 8-10 students. in April 2014. The dorms are set to open Farming for Sustainability and Jobs Each month, our 140 children and staff eat 2.5 metric tons of rice. That is 5,500 pounds of rice per month. In Cambodia traditionally they eat rice three meals a day. Each year, we require 66,000 pounds of rice. Currently, we have approximately 50 acres of rice paddy land which we grow much of our rice. In Poipet itself, we are growing multiple vegetable crops for the purpose of supplementing the children s food and sales. We currently operate two farms which we plan to turn into complete agricultural training centers. 7
Antioch International School Under the communist Khmer Rouge every school, university and library in the country was destroyed. One whole generation grew up without access to proper education. Currently, as the government slowly rebuilds an educational system, the average national educational level is only 3rd grade showing that education is still severely lacking. Comparatively, western nations have populations which 95-100% typically achieve a high school diploma. In order to bring transformation to the nation of Cambodia, general education is a priority to raise up a new generation. Antioch International School was birthed out of the desire to bring a Biblical worldview into the educational system. In 2012 our first Antioch International School was launched in Phnom Penh which a desire to replicate the model across Cambodia with dozens of smaller schools being started. Currently, the school in Phnom Penh is self-sufficient and has more than 300 students. We are developing the teachers and curriculum to instill a Biblical worldview to the students. In 2013 we learned about the Dew Learning curriculum from Dr. Niel Nielson and in August 2013 launched our first class using the Dew Learning curriculum. The children of our core leaders are the first students using the curriculum which we will expand to all of our Antioch International Schools very shortly. 8 The challenge for us is a lack of English, but though good phonetics teaching the students are able begin reading quickly.
Bibles and Publishing The ministry s publishing arm is called Words of Life, and is the largest Christian publisher in Cambodia. We published our first book in 1997 and today have over 300 titles available. We also have done thousands of hours of radio and video teaching as well. A typical print runs are from 3,000-5,000 copies. Words of Life uses the only Christian owned print facility in the country and the only facility which has the capability to print Bibles in the country. Due to the lack of education in Cambodia the demand for printed literature is weak, yet the demand continues to grow year by year. Just last year a 24 page tract which we produce was distributed to nearly one million children across the country. Khmer language literature is essential to the development and education of not only the church, but the entire country. Words of Life Ministries has led the way in publishing literature with a Biblical worldview in order to have a long-lasting affect on the culture. A decade ago, we also launched a new translation of the Bible into Khmer, called the Khmer Christian Bible. The New Testament was published two years ago and already has become one of the most popular Bibles in Cambodia with broad circulation and usage. It was translated with an Essentially Literal translation methodology and has widely been accepted for his accuracy. First Print Run of the New Testament 9
Our Ministries Founded 1997 Publishes Christian books and discipleship materials. Since 1997 has published more than 300 different titles. Founded 1999 Trains Christian leaders and facilities starting churches. Has trained more than 10,000 leaders in every province of Cambodia. Founded 2003 Raises and educates 140 orphaned, abandoned and at-risk children in two children s homes: in Kracheh and Poipet. Founded 2012 Christian based private school started in Phnom Penh. Currently has around 400 students. Founded 2007 Trains Christian leaders and facilities starting churches in Mindanao, Philippines among 25 tribes in rural areas. Founded 2013 A crisis pregnancy center and women s empowerment center in Poipet. Published 2012 Ten year project translating the New Testament from Greek. (Old Testament in progress.) Thank you for your Support and Prayers for the Ministry to make Christ known in Cambodia. Mail: P.O. Box 2581, Phnom Penh 3, Cambodia Phone: 855-23-224121 e-mail: steve.antioch@gmail.com 10 Website and Blog: www.asiaforjesus.org