David and Christine Manfred

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Prayer Letter/Ministry Update

Dear Friends near and far:

If there is one theme that strikes me for the Cambodian field in 2008 it is the theme of “building”. In many ways, I see Nehemiah 2:18 as a picture of what God has done on the Cambodian field in the past year.
• “…I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good…” God’s Hand was upon Nehemiah for good and in 2008, God’s Hand has been upon our missionary team to do good work in Christ’s Name.
• “…the words that the king had spoken to me…” King Artaxerxes encouraged Nehemiah to build and in 2008, our King has encouraging us to “build” in a variety of ways.
• “And they said, "Let us rise up and build”." The peoples of Jerusalem decided to work together to build and in 2008, the Cambodian field has worked together to build in a variety of ways, both spiritually and physically.
• “…So they strengthened their hands for the good work. “ Finally, the people of Jerusalem strengthened their hands for this good work and in 2008 I believe God has strengthened our hands for the good work He has for us in Cambodia.

There continue to be a number of ways in which our “building” on the Cambodian field needs to be strengthened and there are even some ways in which our “walls” need to be rebuilt. But I also praise God because 2008 was a year in which we were involved with significant “building” in a variety of areas. Some of this was actually building physical structures. More significantly, much of it was giving leadership in a variety of ministries that build believers as leaders in His Church.

Some of the new “building” ministries we have been involved with in 2008 include:

1. The Elim Center: This is a ministry headed up jointly by a C&MA missionary family and a national church couple who train church leaders in a residential program for ministry in the rural context. Since 80% of Cambodians live in rural areas, this is a strategic new initiative. The Elim Center opened their doors on September 1 with an initial group of 8 students. The two year course of study is giving practical training to help them both lead rural churches and to plant new churches. Since it was opened, students have already begun to develop relationships and bring the Gospel to four new villages that have not had any Christian presence previously. In 2009, the Elim Center hopes to add twelve new students, making a total of 20 students. We praise God because in this first year of ministry, God has provided the funding necessary to build eight student residences, four basic staff homes, a small dining/kitchen center, and classroom building. The focus is on practicality and doing things in ways that are appropriate for a rural context. What is most exciting is the “building” that is happening in the lives of the students which will reap rewards for the Kingdom for decades to come.

2. Church Planting Ministries: For several years the mission has been working closely with the Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC) to develop more intentional Church Planter training. 2008 saw great progress in this area as one of our missionaries began working with a group of experienced KEC Church planters to formalize a Church Planter’s training program and curriculum. The vision for this new ministry initiative is that experienced KEC Church Planters will intentionally disciple up to five new Church Planters who will actually plant churches. Through this ministry, the Mission and KEC have also come together to develop a joint goal and strategy to see 50 small groups started in the next two years in villages that do not yet have a Christian presence. In addition, the Mission has been actively involved in MK2021 (Mission Kampuchea 2021) which is an interdenominational evangelical effort to see a church planted in every Cambodian village by the year 2021. There are currently about 2,600 villages in Cambodia that have a church and there are more than 14,000 villages in Cambodia so this will require a strongly coordinated and intentional effort from the Cambodian Christian community to achieve this goal. Significant foundations were set in 2008 amongst the Cambodian evangelical community to help work towards this goal.

3. Building the Cambodian Mission Ministry Center: The Cambodian Mission Ministry Center was built in 2008. This consists of two purpose-built structures: a one-story Mission Office and a three-story Storage/Guest House building with missionary storage on the ground floor, a six bedroom Guest House on the second floor, and an open third floor with possibilities for future expansion. These buildings were financed through grants from our various partners and through an ADF loan which will be paid back in 10 years through the amounts that would have otherwise gone towards rents and through Cambodian field Interest income. Ground breaking took place at the end of December 2007 and both buildings were completed in December 2008. This is a building investment that will help to build into our ministries in a number of ways including: missionary training and conferences, rest for missionaries from the provinces and other guests, and having a purpose built location for storing missionary’s belonging while they are on Home Assignment.

4. Church Building in Strategic Areas: There have been a number of significant Church building projects that the Mission came alongside in 2008. This includes fund raising for the Tumnuptuk church in Phnom Penh, fund raising and land development for the New Jerusalem church in Phnom Penh, and land development in preparation for church building in Poipet. In 2009, each of these three places hope to begin construction of their church buildings. Each of these churches are in strategic locations and they will benefit from having their own, purpose-built facilities which will be a launching pad for broader ministries in the surrounding area.

In addition to these new ministry initiatives in 2008, there are a variety of other ministries that have been used by God to build His Church. How we rejoice in His promise that He has, is and will build His Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.

Thanks for your prayers. Thanks as well for your gracious gifts to the CMA’s Great Commission Fund. This is the fund that keeps us on the field and supports our ministries in Cambodia. Gifts to the Great Commission Fund can be given through your local Alliance Church or through www.cmalliance.org/give/give.jsp

Because He lives and Loves,

Dave and Chris Manfred
CMA Mission, Cambodia

Prayer Requests/Answers to Prayer

Prayer Requests:

On Feb. 11, the Khmer Evangelical Church (C&MA) will elect a new Church President for the first time in the last 15 years. Pray for God's will to be done and for God's anointing to be upon the new president.

Pray for the new initiative led by the Mission and the KEC to help existing church planters mentor new church planters to start 50 churches/small groups in villages that do not yet have a Christian
presence by 2011. More than 10 places have started in the past four months.

Chris and I are considering a couple of options about where to spend our Home Assignment year (starting in June). Pray for God's wisdom as we make the final decision on this in the next few weeks.

Cambodia

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