In 2022, a large portion of the Mongolia Mission (MM) operating budget was dedicated to professional development and leadership in the Asian country. The renewed emphasis is a quest for this church region to develop leaders both spiritually and professionally as one of the standard requirements for advancing its mission-to-conference status.

Currently, plans are moving forward to open a theological school in Mongolia through partnerships with Seventh-day Adventist institutions overseas, local leaders said. The school would offer a bachelor’s degree program and several MM pastors could serve on the faculty. Those already employed as church leaders could also have the opportunity to obtain a bachelor’s or master’s degree in theology, in Mongolia or abroad, the leaders said.

According to MM Executive Secretary Nyamdavaa Dovchinsuren and Ministerial Secretary Nyamsuren Myagmar, the goal of Adventist leaders is to send missionaries to other cities in Mongolia and even to other countries where there are large numbers of Mongolians. .

The 1000 Missionary Movement (1000MM) in Mongolia will reopen the training program in partnership with the 1000MM in the Philippines to begin training missionaries in the local context. In addition, the Jesus Discipleship Training Program has been prepared for the training of lay leaders that will take place as part of the programs that will be offered at the theological school.

The MM professional development program is not limited to pastoral personnel, leaders emphasized. The treasury department has launched a professional development program for accounting staff through the online sharing of practical experiences of fellow accountants in other countries.

In early January 2022, Korean Union Conference Chief Accountant Kim Young Sik and his team shared their knowledge and expertise with MM accountants via Zoom. In February, Sarah Jane Arengo-Deblois, manager of auditing services for the Adventist Church in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, gave a talk titled “Working Moms: Work-Life Balance.” In March, Lily Cho, who works in the accounting department at the North Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) headquarters in Seoul, shared her experience as part of her presentation, “Time Management and Office Ethics.”

“Giving MM accountants and other clerical staff exposure to challenges commonly faced by their counterparts in other countries will broaden their outlook and improve their skills as they learn to solve the challenges,” the leaders said. regional churches. MM staff members also have the opportunity to join NSD’s Communication and Leadership Advancement Program (CLAP). In 2022, a budget has been allocated for online English proficiency courses for interested accountants. “This will allow students to potentially enroll in a Masters of Business Administration program if they meet the academic English proficiency requirements,” the leaders said.

the original version of this story was published on the Northern Asia-Pacific Division news sites.