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

Currently, plans are moving forward to open a theological school in Mongolia through partnerships with Seventh-day Adventist institutions abroad, local leaders said. The school would offer a bachelors’ degree program, and several MM pastors could become part of the faculty. Those who are already employed as church leaders might also get an opportunity to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree in theology, either in Mongolia or abroad, leaders said.

According to MM executive secretary Nyamdavaa Dovchinsuren and ministerial secretary Nyamsuren Myagmar, the Adventist leaders’ goal is to send missionaries to other cities across 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. Also, the Jesus Discipleship Training curriculum has been prepared for lay leader training that will take place as part of the programs to be offered at the theological school.

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

In early January 2022, the Korean Union Conference’s chief accountant Kim Young Sik and his team shared their knowledge and expertise with the MM accountants via Zoom. In February, Sarah Jane Arengo-Deblois, Adventist Church auditing services manager in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, gave a lecture titled, “Working Moms: Work-Life Balance.” In March, Lily Cho, who serves in the accounting department of the Northern 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 office staff exposure to the challenges commonly met by their counterparts in other countries will broaden their perspectives and improve their skills as they learn how to resolve challenges,” regional church leaders said. MM staff members are also given the chance to join the NSD’s Communication and Leadership Advancement Program (CLAP). In 2022, a budget has been allotted for the English proficiency online classes of interested accountants. “It will allow for the students’ possible registration to a master’s degree program in business administration should they pass the academic English skills requirements,” leaders said.

The original version of this story was posted on the Northern Asia-Pacific Division news site.