“What would you think if someone in your village became a Christian?” Emmanuel Lefebvre asked his Cham acquaintance.

“We would not have a problem because of religious freedom,” the man replied. But such sentiments are not always the case. When one Cham became a Christian through the outreach of an evangelical missionary, he was severely persecuted by his family and village. They threw rocks at him and tried to force him to marry a Muslim girl.

The problem is typical. When a Cham becomes a Christian, he must leave his village and attend a Khmer church. Because of this, he is seen as a traitor against his family, culture, and religion.

Our goal is not to create a gathering of perceived traitors and rebels who are ostracized by their families. We feel strongly that the Cham converts should be the very best missionaries to their own people, not rejected as traitors. This principle is at the heart of AFM’s strategy to reach the unreached. That’s why we take time studying the language, culture, and religion. We want to invest in building relationships and trust. We want to build our approach in a culturally sensitive way and affirm Cham traditions that are in harmony with the Bible. We want to build an indigenous church-planting movement in traditional Cham style.

Thank you to all of you who have tucked the Cham people into a corner of your hearts. Thank you for your prayers and support. Together, we can bring the wonderful news of Jesus’ love to the Cham people!

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