What is the Khmer Church?

Hello, friends!

Children's ministry in the province

While we were in Cambodia, we got to visit 4 different churches, each with their own personalities. We went to a house church with about 15-20 people meeting in a house where some students live. The crowd was mostly high school and college age, the worship was a mix of contemporary Khmer and English worship, and the energy was high. We also visited a very “western church” that had about 200 people, mood lighting, powerpoint, and met in a large building. We went to a local church that met in a building instead of a house and was more family oriented than the house church, although not as contemporary as the western church. We also got to visit a church in the province, which was 20 older folk meeting in a thatch hut behind a house, singing Khmer hymns while a cow grazed outside.

One of the questions that I had when we first arrived was, “What does it look like for the Khmer church to be the Khmer church?” With so much western influence form missionaries and such, it makes sense that the Khmer Christians would adopt what they had been taught. The question I had was whether or not that was ok. Didn’t the Khmer church need to find its own voice? Didn’t it need to contextualize to fit the culture?

A local family church after service

Our ride to church in the province

After experiencing these different church settings, my conclusion is this; it doesn’t matter so long as the Gospel is being preached. Just like in the US, every church has its pros and cons. The house church had energy and passion that can only come from youth. The western church had a production value that I could see being appealing to non-Christians. The local church had an emphasis on the community and families that showed a value for changing the world. The church in the province had a certain beauty in its simplicity, like getting back to the roots of the early church.

Either way, it was such a pleasure to worship with the Khmer people. I had the honor of giving a testimony during the service at the church in the province. One of the lines I used that God put on my heart was this: even though we like thousands of miles away, we worship the same God, and that makes us brothers and sisters.”

Have an excellent day!

~Adam

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