OMF’s vision is “to see indigenous biblical church movements in each people group of East Asia, evangelizing their own people and reaching out in mission to other peoples.” An OMF worker in Mongolia is seeing the beginnings of such a movement. In the Spring of 2005, he led a team of Mongolian seminary students to the far western regions of the country with the purpose of discipling believers and spreading the Gospel to those who haven’t heard. Below is a report of the amazing things God is doing among the nomadic herders of Western Mongolia.

Ganbaatar listened intently to the visitors’ words. Moments before, he had prayed to receive Christ. Now, two Mongolian seminary students were explaining the futility – and evil - of his profession as a fortune teller. After pondering their words, Ganbaatar joyfully thrust his superstitious talisman into the stove fire. He was a new man in Christ.

Ganbaatar had previously related his beliefs in the mountainous rocks as being “divine.” Baka, one of the seminary students, began to ask questions about these beliefs. “If you move the rocks, are they still a god?,” “If you throw the rocks, do they hurt?” Ganbaatar soon saw the hollowness of his beliefs. He no longer wanted to worship the rocks; he would worship the Creator of the rocks.

Down in the Valley
The students found Ganbaatar while hiking through an icy cold Mongolian valley. The previous year, a team led by an OMF worker had led a group of nomadic herders to Christ. This time, the team wanted to follow up on these new. After asking around, they discovered the herders were 9 miles up the valley, much of which was a ravine covered by a frozen river.

The seminary students asked their leader if they could hire a jeep to cover the ground more quickly. It was doubtful that they could even find a jeep, but even so, the leader took the opportunity to explain 2 Timothy 2:2: “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.”

He explained to the group that their ministry should be done in such a way that others could repeat it. Local believers in Western Mongolia were unlikely to be able to hire a jeep. Besides, they were used to traveling long distances either by walking or riding horses. The students needed to contextualize and set an example for future effective ministry in this region.

And so they set out, walking across the long valley. Some of the miles were pure ice. One of the team members fell, but wasn’t hurt. According to the OMF member leading the team, the long journey turned out to be a joyous time: “Much of the way, we walked arm in arm. Amidst the rocky mountains – home to wolves and snow leopards – we sang praises to God, learned more about backgrounds and even had a little fun.”

The team eventually found the Christian herders, who eagerly welcomed them. They then began teaching the herders the Bible, baptized three of them and led Ganbataar to the Lord. It was a good day - “What warm fellowship we had eating hot goat soup, along with fresh goat curds. To make the day better, a goat was born. We returned that evening rejoicing in what the Lord was doing,” wrote the OMF worker.

Emerging Church
The goal of the OMF team in Mongolia is to raise up a nomadic church centered around the Bible, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This recent trip helped further those efforts. Along the way, the group baptized seven women and four men, survived two flat tires and successfully forded a melting river.

The budding church in the county center, comprised mostly of nomads and farmers, has now baptized 38 people. A recent Sunday service was attended by 32 adults and 113 teenagers and children. The group is led by a Mongolian herder named “Gold Man.”
A year ago, OMF workers led Gold Man to Christ. While reading the Bible for the first time, he began to weep. He said he knew he had found the truth. Gold Man now carries his now well-worn Bible wherever he goes, reading the Scriptures and praying as he watches his livestock graze on the mountainous steppes of Mongolia.

Such transformations are evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work among this remote and largely unreached people. As the OMF worker noted, “What pleasantly surprised me is that believers are indeed meeting on Sunday. In this remote county, the first church – possibly in history – is emerging.”