Bayar Garam was the first Mongolian to gain a PhD in biblical studies – with support from Langham. He now leads a project translating the Bible into Mongolian, trains pastors through Langham Preaching and publishes books with help from Langham Literature.
Mongolia, which has a population of 3,400,000, is a landlocked country between Russia and China in Central Asia. Bayar explained:
“We are a predominantly Buddhist country but we were also a communist country until 1990. When Mongolia became a communist country in 1921, for 70 years Mongolia was a totally closed country, no churches, no underground churches.
“So towards the end of the 1980s, all the changes were starting to happen in Russia. Same thing was happening in Mongolia. When the country opened up, for the first time we had a freedom of religion – that’s when all the missionaries came in. My desire was to learn English. One of my classmates told me, ‘if you go to church, you will find lots of foreigners and you can practice your English’.
Looking for purpose
“I was always looking for purpose in my life. I had these questions like: “Why am I in this world? What am I supposed to do with my life?” When I came to church I found these people who are quite different. They really welcomed me but also surprised me. So, I was a student, studying finance and banking. And at the same time, I was doing church planting along with the missionaries.”
“I would say my first and primary calling is Bible translation. Having studied and completed my PhD in biblical studies, gave me the opportunity or equipped me for the work I’m doing now in Bible translation.
“Our project, Mongolian Standard Version, has a huge potential impact for the church in Mongolia because if we are able to provide a good translation that reads well and that is understandable and that is faithful to the original languages, this will enable pastors and leaders in their preaching.”
Tsend-Ayush Lkhagvasuren, a translator and pastor, said the project is highly important for Mongolian Christianity:
“When Mongolians do the translation directly from the original language they’re bringing the Bible much closer to the heart of Mongolians. Without God’s calling and vision given to Bayar we couldn’t have started this project.”
Improving the quality of preaching in Mongolia
Bayar works with the Langham Preaching programme to train pastors in Mongolia. There are now two groups who have completed the three-year scheme, including pastors from urban and rural areas. He said the quality of preaching in Mongolian churches has increased as a result.
Khaliun Gilyasid, a lay teacher, said the Langham Preaching “method” has really helped:
“Before we were just preaching what’s in our head. We cannot do that with God’s Word. We really need to be faithful to the text and observe the text. So when the Mongolian pastors are trained by this kind of training, they can teach God’s Word faithfully and truthfully.
“There are so many cults in Mongolia, from the outside, so we need to bring up our people on the foundation of God’s Word. That’s why Langham Preaching is really helpful, training our pastors so they are rooted in God’s Word.”
Christian publishing to build strong foundations
Bayar and his wife are also involved in Christian publishing, with support from Langham Literature.
Bayar wants to publish books that are “useful for the long term, especially for this phase of the church in Mongolia.
“Good for the foundation, building a strong biblical foundation of the church”.
“Thank you so much for supporting the work of Langham and I’m grateful to be a person who has being or continues to be involved in all three aspects.
“My dream is that Mongolian church will be well suited in our context and culture so that we know how to live our Christian lives. I want to see well established churches in Mongolia and Mongolian Christians who are genuinely Christian but genuinely Mongolian.”
Bayar is one of more than 343 Majority World Langham Graduates who are now serving the Global Church.
He recently joined us for Langham Live – you can watch the recording.