<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll over Cambodia, there are many prayer groups but only in the different churches\u201d\u2014Pastor Paulerk, one of Cambodia\u2019s senior Christian leaders and a survivor of the Pol Pot regime, commenting on the country\u2019s prayer movement.<\/p>\n Cambodia, a deeply traditional Buddhist country, is infamous for the genocide of almost 2 million people during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. The capital city of Phnom Penh became a ghost town, most citizens fleeing to the provinces or the neighboring countries. Those who were not able to escape were driven to communal labor fields. <\/p>\n During those dark times, only about 200 Christians were known to have stayed in the country. People who came to the Lord kept their faith secret.\u00a0 Many received Jesus Christ as savior in the refugee camps at the border with Thailand. Underground churches of 4-5 people started to form and spread.<\/p>\n The tragic period was followed by 11 years of internal conflict among political groups, requiring a United Nations intervention in 1990 to start the country on the road to democracy. <\/p>\n At that time Christians gained the freedom to assemble. Churches were given permission to hold services. From 10 known churches, Cambodia now has over 2,000 registered churches and 300,000 Christians. There are many independent house churches meeting in remote areas.<\/p>\n Throughout these growing years, prayer has been the lifeline of the Church in Cambodia. For a country that is still healing from the wounds of wars, there are small, scattered groups forming tiny webs of prayer, interceding for the salvation of the nation.<\/p>\n In 2016, EAM held a consultation with 8 prayer networks for the 5K Movement, which is the mobilization of 5,000 churches to engage in intercession for the Indo-China region. Comprising the 5 mainly Buddhist countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Cambodia, Indo-China is the largest Buddhist bloc in Asia. West Malaysia, the 6th country, is majority Muslim.<\/p>\n The leaders of the prayer networks recognized that the Body of Christ in Cambodia need strong interconnections among the few and far-between prayer groups scattered in each province, to form one voice on behalf of their nation and the nations of Indo-China.<\/p>\n They worked out among themselves a resolve to overcome deeply-rooted cultural practices that hinder cooperation, and move forward with the vision of reaching the 250 million people of the 5 Buddhist countries in Indo-China. <\/p>\n Let us in prayer and constant remembrance strengthen the leaders of the prayer networks as they face the complex demands of bringing the tiny webs of prayer groups in Cambodia into connection with each other, to form a united body that intercedes for the nation and the whole of Indo-China.<\/p>\nConnecting Prayer Webs in Cambodia <\/strong><\/h3>\n