Barnabas Mam, one of only two hundred Christians to survive Pol Pot’s reign of terror in Cambodia, escaped the country with his wife and three daughters in 1985 as the Vietnamese occupation created new dangers. After many difficulties, they ended up in a refugee camp just across the Cambodian border in Thailand.
As a teacher and worship leader, Barnabas and a few other Christians began to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the 150,000 inhabitants of their refugee camp. Barnabas, his family, and all the believers learned about the values of God’s kingdom in a foreign setting.
“The economy of the kingdom is upside down from any other value system in the world. The weak, the poor, the foolish: these are the most prized possessions in the kingdom. If I wanted to be like Jesus, I would have to go low, not high.”
Fifteen churches were established over the eight years Barnabas lived in the Thai refugee camp. Fifty-three leaders emerged from the Cambodian believers with a passion to spread the Gospel and seek God’s kingdom. Seven goals were set for each church: meaningful fellowship, intimate worship, powerful prayer, cheerful giving, hearty participation, joyful service, and effective evangelism.
During October of 1991 in Paris, France, the UN was given authority to enforce a cease-fire in Cambodia. In March of 1993, Barnabas and his family were permitted to return home. Since then over four hundred churches have been planted by the Christians from the Thai refugee camp. From struggle came growth. From ashes came beauty. From a tiny seed came fruit.
“He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.’ He told them still another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.’” Matthew 13:31-33
Quote from Church Behind the Wire by Barnabas Mam with Kitti Murray, ©2012, Moody Publishers, p. 267