Mongolian Adventists Connect for First-Ever Online Camp Meeting

The Mongolia Mission (MM) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church recently completed its first-ever online camp meeting, which took place October 15-17, 2021. 

Usually, the MM holds its annual nationwide camp meeting during the summer (around July each year). Many of the Adventist members in Mongolia have fond memories of this annual summer camp meeting. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the camp meeting could not be organized in 2020 and 2021.

“Across the country, in-person gatherings were restricted. Since the coronavirus became a pandemic, most of the churches in Mongolia have been closed, which seems to have led to an estrangement with God,” MM media missionary Sansartsetseg Altantuul said. “During those challenging times, the faith of many of the members weakened, especially those whose foundation is weak.” According to him, the MM decided to hold its annual camp meeting online for the first time in its history for this reason.

Regional church leaders invited five Mongolian speakers from five different countries in which they have worked as a missionary or have studied; Namjildorj, from the United States; Enkhmandakh, from Russia; Batzul, from the Philippines; Tsolmonbayar, from Korea; and Bolormaa from Australia. During the program, five testimonies shared with church members sought to encourage them to rekindle their faith in God. 

Every morning and evening, participants divided into groups and gathered in a prayer room prepared through the Zoom teleconferencing platform. Also, various activities were brought to participants using Zoom, Facebook Live streaming, and Facebook group chats. Seminars centered on women, family, health, children, media, and Sabbath School ministries. Other programs, such as a talk show, a movie, kids’ time, and physical exercise, made the camp meeting enjoyable, according to participants. 

Altantuul said that all of these programs served as a time of revival for Mongolian Adventists as well as a time of excitement for new members. He added that the program itself was designed to focus on the “I Will Go” strategic plan of the Adventist Church for 2020-2025. “I am sure that during this time, many of us made a personal decision to follow Jesus and participate in the I Will Go project,” he said.

“We thank God that we were able to reach about 2,000 camp participants — a large number for the MM,” Altantuul said. “We believe social platforms are part of the technological advantages to be used in the last days to reach more [people].”

Altantuul called Adventist members around the world to keep the MM in prayer. “Let us be united in God and connected in unity with the Holy Spirit and continue our spiritual life for every kind of situation,” he said.

He encouraged church members to keep their eyes on Jesus “so that we can gather in heaven after His second coming,” Altantuul emphasized. “Can you imagine how our heavenly camp meeting will be?”

The original version of this story was posted by the Northern Asia-Pacific Division.