Christianity in Post-Communist Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: An exploratory study of Christianity and Christian mission work
Abstract
Researching Christianity, Christian missions, and the general state of religion in
Mongolia was certainly a joy, although not always simple. The research itself consisted
of several stages, or sections: becoming somewhat familiar with the subject, gathering
pertinent information and making appropriate plans for information gathering while in
Mongolia prior to departure, attempting to collect data while 'in the field,' and
researching books and journals upon return while attempting to 'make sense' of what was
observed, noticed, conversed upon, and recorded. Indeed, not every step along the way
was ideal and having it to do over again would certainly result in some wiser decisions;
however, the study has provided further insight into the state of Christianity in Mongolia,
which has experienced profound changes in the last ten years.
The research project itself arose out of an opportunity to go to Mongolia as part of
a Christian mission project through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. My curiosity was
spurred on by personal questions about the impact of short- and long-term missions,
particularly Christian missions which often arise out of highly Westernized countries.
There were certainly positive aspects to having the chance to participate in a short-term
missions project while attempting to learn more about it. The chance to be working with
fellow missionaries who have participated in short-term missions for many years, and to
meet other missionaries who have had long-term experiences in Mongolia and other
countries was certainly valuable. Before the endeavor commenced, I found out that I
would be with 17 other Americans (one family of four with two parents, a fourteen-year-old girl and a twelve-year-old boy; an older staff worker; six students from Grove City,
Pennsylvania; and five students from Pella, Iowa). There would be two main tasks for
this group: to teach English to Mongolian students at three different colleges in
Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, and to encourage/make contacts for a relatively
new Christian student fellowship which had been started by Korean missionaries only
one and a half years ago. The overall goal of the project, being the pilot experience for
this particular project, was to establish bases for the establishment of Christian
fellowships at schools other than Ulaanbaatar College, which was the only place in which
the Christian student fellowship then existed. The implementation of this plan would
consist of teaching students English in other schools and making connections with them
both during and outside of class. These connections would then be transferred to the
Christian students at Ulaanbaatar College. Within this framework, I received permission
from the missions project director to conduct informal interviews with other missionaries
and Mongolians, provided the questions were preceded by asking for permission, were
kind, and were not invasive. The project director felt that contact with other missionaries
was imminent. I decided, then, that, armed with the preliminary literature investigation, I
would have a two-fold approach to the research: first, through involvement with the
short-term missions team itself, I would be able to use a type of participant observation in
a sort of case study of a short-term missions project in order to better understand the
methods of the Christian missions movement; second, the use of informal interviews with
Mongolians and Christian missionaries would allow me to ascertain the past and present
of Christian involvement. Using both these approaches would allow me to better
understand the self-explained purposes of seasoned missionaries, grasp the perspectives
of Mongolians on Christianity and on Christian missionaries, as well as to experience
first-hand the short-term missionary experience.
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