Mongolia is a large, sparsely-populated, landlocked country, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south.
It is a windswept land. Windstorms blow soil off the land and make agriculture nearly impossible. In the winter, powerful gusts of bai mao feng – literally ‘white hairy wind’ – can blind drivers and knock their cars off roads. In the 1920s, the wind blew the clothes off famous explorer Roy Chapman Adams.
The majority of its 3.3 million population are professedly Buddhist, writes Mark Foster, many of them still influenced by the Brahmanism and folk religion which remains the religion of about 30% of the population. About 25% profess no religion. It is estimated that 99% of Mongolians are unreached with the gospel. Evangelical Christians total only 0.9%. The challenge of reaching Mongolia with the gospel is further complicated by the fact that over 30% of the population are nomadic or semi-nomadic, moving continually through the vast grasslands of the country.
Since 2016, the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) and Trans World Radio (TWR) have been in a partnership, supporting and sponsoring several gospel radio programmes, and also a project to distribute over 2,000 media players/radios and pre-programmed SD cards all over Central Asia.
Recently both organisations discovered a common interest in bringing the gospel to the people of Mongolia. Limited internet coverage and unreliable mobile phone communication led to the decision by TWR to broadcast by FM and SW, in order to most effectively reach both urban and rural populations. When ‘listening in’ to live broadcasts is not possible, the supply of pre-programmed SD cards with gospel material ensures that access to the Good News is possible even for those living a nomadic lifestyle.
Encouraging reports have been received from listeners of all kinds and it is evident that the Holy Spirit is touching lives through this project. One SGA-sponsored programme in particular, Do You Know, designed to introduce Jesus to people who do not know Him, has touched the hearts of unbelievers. One listener wrote: ‘While listening to the episodes of the programme Do You Know?, I was thinking about … the meaning of life. I am not a Christian, but the programme gave me a motivation and inspiration to think about [this] deeply and seriously… Thank you for airing your radio programme.’
Another listener heard the programme while stuck in a traffic jam. She had not heard Christian teaching since her childhood days when she had attended church. The programme touched her heart and she called to express her appreciation.
