home church history

By O’B O’Brien (1990) Edited by Brian M. Maher (2002) 

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 Part 1: 

Players and Places on the Cambodian Border

Political/Military Organizations 

ANS - Nationalist Army for Sihanouk, these are the resistance forces loyal to Prince Norodom Sihanouk 

CGDK - Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, is the loose coalition of the three resistance factions (ANS, DK, and KPNLF) fighting against the-Vietnamese supported regime in Phnom Penh.

DK -Democratic Kampuchea also known as the Khmer Rouge. 

KPNLF - Khmer People's National Liberation Front, this is the resistance force backed by the United States among other nations associated with Son Sann.

KR - Khmer Rouge also known as Democratic Kampuchea, this is the resistance group made up of the remnants of the Khmer Rouge regime that was in power in Cambodia from 1975 unti1late 1978.

PRK - People's Republic of Kampuchea was the regime in control in Phnom Penh. Also know as the "Hun Sen Government" or the "Heng Samrin Government" after the names of two of the government’s leaders. This government is backed by Vietnam.

Some Organizations Working on the Border

CAMA Services - The Christian and Missionary Alliance Services providing medical services at the Site 8 refugee camp

CCCC - Cambodian Campus Crusade for Christ serving in Church ministries in Site 2 and Site B.

COR - Christian Outreach providing medical and engineering services at Kheo I Dang camp along with medical services at the Site 2 refugee camp.

UNBRO - United Nations Border Relief Operation, the UN agency coordinating services to Khmer Displaced Persons at O’Trao, Site 8, Site 2, Site 6, Site K, and Site E refugee camps. 

UNHCR- United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the international organization administrating services to Khmer displaced persons at Khao I Dang,

YWAM-Youth With A Mission providing agricultural and educational services at Khao I Dang along with medical services at Site 2.

Refugee Camps along the Thai-Cambodian Border 

Khao I Dang - situated more then twenty kilometers away from the Thai-Cambodian border, Khao I Dang has a population of slightly more than 14,665 people.

O’Trao - Situated near the border of Sisaket Province in Thailand and Preah Vihear in Cambodia with a population of approximately 15,480 people. The administration of the O’Trao camp is allied with the KR.' '"

Site B - L ocated on the border of Surin province in Thailand and Siem Reap in Cambodia with a population of approximately 56,800. The administration of Site 6 is al1ied with the ANS, The camp is also known as Green Hill. (5 churches – 1 Seventh Day Adventist, CCC, Church of Christ). 

Site E - also known as Sok Sann, A refugee camp situated near the province of Trad in Thailand and Pursat province in Cambodia with a population of approximately 10,000 people. The administration of the camp is allied with the KPNLF.

Site K - Situated on the border of the Trod province in Thailand and Pursat province in Cambodia with 0 population of approximately 8,000 people. The administration of Site K is allied with the ‘KR.’ (1 believer known to live there).

Site 2 – The largest camp, and second largest Cambodian city in the world is situated on the border between Prachinburi and Oudar Meanchey with a population of approximately 169,000 people. The administration of the camp is allied to the KPNLF. Site 2 it self is divided into separate camps including O'Bok, Rithysen, Ampil, Sanro, Dong Ruk, Nong Chan camps, etc. (10 Churches). 

Site 8 - Situated along the border of Prachinburi and Battambang, also known in Khmer as Phum Tmey, with a population of approxlmate1y 39,000 people. The administration of the camp is affiliated with the Khmer Rouge (1 house church). 

Anlong Veng - An Long Veng was made up of several smaller camps with a joint population of approximately 25,000 people. Anlong Veng was under the control of the infamous one legged butcher, Ta Mok who has been in Prison in Phnom Penh since 1999. 

Chakri - This was not so much a refugee camp as a ‘khum’ (hamlet) of scattered settlements 
in Central Battambang Province hugging the Thai border. With a population of at least
10,000 people, it is made up in part by the former residents of the military camp known as "Khao Din" or "Site 8 North".

Chu Kaki - A meeting point for the Red Cross to receive war wounded in Odar Meanchey. The area around Chu Kaki has thousan ds of residents, many of whom formerly lived in the camp known as ‘An Kbal Leov.’ 

0 Plerng Chheh - Known to the Thai as Sop Tlee, this area may also be regarded as a ‘khum’ of scattered settlements in southern Battambang Province hugging the Thai border. 

Phum Doeng - Known to the Thai as Nong Prue, this khum ( "hamlet") of scattered settlements is in northern Battambang Province due west of "Poi pet Chas". It has a population of at least 1 0,000 people made up in part by the former residents of the KR military camp known as "Camp 85" or "Site 8 West.

Tatum - A camp of a least 20,000 people situated in Stem Reap Province approximately two hours walk from Site B. It is the home for thousands of ANS combatant personnel and their families.

  Part 2: 

The Church in the Refugee Camps

The situation for churches in the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border in 1990 was as follows: 

Khao I Dang - The Khao I Dang church went through an extremely painful split at the end of 1990. The situation is still not clear. Before the split the church numbered between 70 and 80 adults on a Sunday morning. There were smaller cell groups or house groups known to the Khao I Dang believers or "little churches" through out the camp that met for fellowship once or twice during the week. There was also a youth group at Khao I Dang. The KID church has been instrumental in the translation of Christian literature and the distribution of Christian literature to other places on the border and in Cambodia. The church had a building, a library and a Sunday school building. It was an unaffiliated, independent church. At KID there was also a Seventh Day Adventist Church and a Catholic church. 

Site B - had one church affiliated with Campus Crusade for Christ which at the time had 70 -80 adu1ts on a Sunday morning. Campus Crusade had an aggressive program of training the Christians to share their faith in Site B. They had made use of expatriates and Thai nationals coming in part from the Khmer speaking areas of Thailand. 

Also in Site B there was a church affiliated with the Church of Christ. It had numbered between 50 and 60 adults on a Sunday morning. The Nazarene Mission, at that time, in Thailand says there was a man at Site B who led a Nazarene there as well. This man says he was able to col1ect 500 names which he designates as the members of his church. I had been unable to find a Nazarene Christian group meeting, There was, however, a Seventh Day Adventist church and a Roman Catholic Church. 

Site 2 - was not one single camp but is made up of several different camps each with it’s own administration. The camps were connected to one another and travel from one camp to the other is easy. Site 2 has certainly the largest and most complex situation of churches among the camps on Thai-Cambodian border. The situation is still in a state of change. As of 1990, there were nine churches and/or "worship centers at Site 2. (A worship center is the Campus Crusade's terminology for a group of believers that meets regularly.)

Six churches in Site 2 are affiliated with CCCC. A man gifted Cambodian Pastor named Pastor Mam Barnabas filled the position as the leader of the CCCC ministries in Site 2. The CCCC churches of Site 2 are 1isted as follows:

Nong Chan Camp – 1 church 
Ampil Camp – 1 church 
Sanro Camp – 1 church 
Dong Ruk Camp – 1 church
Rithysen Camp – 2 churches 

The three unaffiliated churches of Site 2 are as fo11ows:

Calvary Church - numbering from thirty to forty adults in the Sunday services. Phat Chea pastors the church. 

Dong Ruk # 1 Church - numbering forty adults in the Sunday services. Suas Sina pastors the church.

Dong Ruk #2 Church - Was numbering twenty-five adults in the Sunday services. Nuon Sokhom pastured the church. Three individuals played an over-shepherd role to these unaffl1iated churches. They rotated their teaching and preaching gifts on a weekly basis to these churches and made themselves available for advice and support. They were Beng Nguon (Timothy), and Chumnann. 



There are also a number of Seventh Day Adventist and Roman Catholic churches at Site 2.

Site 8- Had one unaffl1iated house church. This is the only Christian church that has ever existed under a KR administration. There wa s no church bui1ding, the believers gathered in the home of the church leader, Om My ("Auntie My"). The church gathering usually numbered between 20 and 25 adults with at least as many children (it would not be unusual to see chickens and ducks at the service also). The church services were conducted in a relatively unstructured format that begin with an hour or so of singing, followed by prayer and a teaching. The church also had a daily noon Bible study. The actual number of Christians in Site 8 was not well known because of the voiced and unvoiced discouragement to identify oneself as a Christian placed upon the people by the camp administration. 

Observations, Assessments, and Recommendations

The people of the evangelical churches in the border camps demonstrated a warm relationship and a strong commitment to Christ in their day to day lives. With all of the border churches there is an evange1istlc emphasis. Khmer Christians very clearly understood Christ’s imperative to share the truth of the gospel with those who have not had a chance to make an informed decision about Christ.

The churches themselves did not have regular contact with churches of other encampments, with churches in Cambodia, or with other churches in Thailand. They were not able to join together for meetings. There was relatively little input from the rest of the Christian world. This fact, often taken for granted, propelled the border church to a bittersweet combination of self-sufficiency and narcissism.

The church and the people had a well-defined, cognitive understanding of sin. They also take a particular interest in the stories of creation (basically because Theravada Buddhism does not have a well defined tradition for creation). This is, not surprisingly, similar to Cambodian Christianity in Cambodia and in the diaspora.

The church did suffer under leadership struggles and personality conflicts. This was not different from other places of Cambodian Christianity and indeed not entirely different from other indigenous Southeast Asian churches. It may well be that this is a stage that the Khmer church must pass through as it strives for maturity in Christ.

None of the churches on the border were able to support their own pastor from indigenous offerings. Most of the church leaders had little or no formal theological education. 

The crying need of the church on the Thai-Cambodian border was for discipleship, both for the church leaders and for the lay believers. Life style issues (purity, financial integrity, etc.) often remained a problem in some believers' lives, even in the lives of the leaders of the churches. Occasionally there were some doctrinal issues that may have caused a period of friction, but there were generally not any large scale doctrinal problems within the evangelical Cambodian churches on the bonder,

It is therefore recommended that organizations wanting to minister among the border Khmer develop ministries to disciple and train the leaders of the Khmer churches. Leaders of the Khmer church need to be discipled as do the believers entrusted to their spiritual care. Discipled church leaders should then be further equipped to shepherd and disciple the people in their care. One recommended program would be T.E.E. where several semesters of work have already been translated into the Cambodian language. 

Any new organizations wanting to participate in ministry on the border needs to dove tail its efforts with the efforts of those already ministering on the border 

Any organization working among the Khmer or deploying personnel of any nationality (including ethnic Khmer) must work supporting the already established lines of indigenous leadership. The pertinent issues of indigenous leadership development and non-paternalism must be constantly re-affirmed and implemented. Financial inputs into the lives of lay believers and church leaders must be prayerfully considered lest "Rice Christianity” be developed instead of indigenous self-support. 

The strategic importance of the churches in the refugee camps has been long and grossly underestimated- the overwhelming majority of the people in the refugee camps will not be resettled to third countries but will be repatriated to Cambodia. The believers and the leaders of these churches will be of critical importance to the growth of Christianity in Cambodia for the future. 

When repatriated, mature Khmer Christians discip1ed on the border will become an integral part of evangelism and church planting in Cambodia. Unlike expatriate missiona ries, they will not need to learn the language and culture of Cambodia . Unlike the ethnic Khmer of the diaspora, they will be the indigenous church. Investment made to the spiritual growth of their lives on the border today will produce kingdom workers that, with God's help, will become an effective, culturally sensitive force for the dissemination of the truth of Jesus Christ in Cambodia.

May God grant His love, justice, peace, and sa1votion to be extended to all the Khmer. Amen. 
Rev. O’B OBrien, 1990. 

  Part 3: 

Looking Back

By Brian Maher 
(Missionary in Cambodia since 1994 with previous trips to Cambodia in 1990 and 1992)

By mid 1990, in the city of Phnom Penh there were about 9 house churches functioning and other scattered believers in the country-side. This early church inside Cambodia struggled with much of the same problems that the church on the border struggled with; lack of leaders with theological education, financial integrity, lack of Bible reference material, power struggles, and personality conflicts. The church on the inside had but a few foreigners from 1980 to 1990 to disciple, model and encourage believers during that time. Staff from World Vision like Sally Reimer, Maurice and Sue Bauhahn and a few others from different Christian NGOs cautiously smuggled Bibles to believers, witnessed to those they worked with and encouraged believers in the National church. The church on the border, in many places, had expatriate Christians in various Christian NGOs and organizations who evangelized and discipled Cambodians in the camps. Jim Schmick, who was with CAMA services at the time, had great impact on a number of Cambodian refugees who are now mature Christians in positions of leadership in Cambodia. This is only one story of the positive influence and contribution of Christian organizations and agencies working on the border like CAMA, YWAM, Campus Crusade, Southern Baptists, World Vision, etc. Rev. O’B’s prediction that those Christians in the camps in 1990 would not be repatriated to a third country but be sent back into Cambodia and become a major boost for the numerical growth of the church and its spiritual depth was accurate and insightful. In 1992-93, in time for the UNTAC sponsored National Election, the flood gates opened and the refugees poured back in and with them, solid leaders like Mam Barnabas, Uon Seila, Brom Sambo, Ou Chai Lee, Ey Vonn, Ke Tha , Runnath Nara, Meas Thavey, Min Sor, and Ray Sano, just to name a scant few. Such leadership, on the most part had good English skills, a broader understanding of what was going on in the world and a bit more theological training than the leadership in the country. Inside Cambodia were the surviving first generation Cambodian Christians who were no less valuable to the church and who had experience and training from the early seventies through C&MA, OMF and World Vision. Church Leadership such as Sar Pau lerk, Bin David, Yorng Soth, Mrs. Molly Yos, Mrs. Im Sithan, Seing Ang, Ru Sarai, Pastor Um Vonn, and Muth Bunthy. Other Christian leaders in country included Uong Rein, Im Chhrorn, and Mrs. Moung Mouern. 

With the fall of the Soviet Union, Cambodia opened up to a limited western presence in 1989, and in 1990 missionaries such as the Westergrens with CAMA service, Alice Compain with OMF , Bruce Carlton with Cooperative Services International, and World Relief led the way, came to settle in and join other expatriate Christians who had previously been restricted to Relief and Community Development work. Missionaries trickled in from 1991 to 1998. After the ‘coup de tat’ of July 5th & 6th, the flood gates opened and every brand of missionary from A to Z, as well as cults like the Jehovah Witness and the Mormons began pouring into Cambodia. Some missionaries began building their own empires, setting a bad example for the National church by their unwillingness to work in unity. This is presently a problem plaguing Cambodia. 

The early 1990’s also saw the return of Cambodian Christians who had been expatriated to a third country in the early 80’s. Those return ing Cambodian Expatriate missionaries, many with degrees in Biblical studies, who came to take up residence were the Rev. Kong Phan Chhon, Rev. Lee Sithan, Pastor Rhada Manickum, and Mr. Ung Sophal. The mid and late 90’s saw a further influx of expatriate Cambodian missionaries such as Boneurry Kes, Seouth, Ly Darath, Chann Chileo, and a host of others. 

Now gifted Cambodians sent to study the Bible overseas in the late 90’s are returning such as Dara Cheat and Saing Chhin Ho. The Phnom Penh Bible School, established by Rev. Sithan Lee in 1991 has been turning out graduates since 1995. Although there are tensions between Christians from camps, believers who went through the Pol Pot years, expatriate Cambodian missionaries, foreign missionaries, those who have recently been sent abroad to study and those studying the Bible here, the church is growing and trying to work together. Philip Yancey relates the story of the composer Igor Stravinsky who once wrote a new piece that contained a difficult violin piece. After several weeks of practice a frustrated student came back to Stravinsky saying, the piece was too difficult and impossible for him to play it. Stravinsky told the student: “I understand that. What I am after is someone trying to play it.” And that is what God expects, no matter what existing dynamics or self erected barriers, parts of the body should try to work together and that is happening to some degree. 

Brian Maher, October 8, 2002 

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