Children's Center
The Shalom Children’s Center exists to impact the children of all the diverse people groups of Mondulkiri and beyond with the Good News of Jesus Christ.Shalom Children’s Center is committed to sharing the Good News of the Gospel with the Cambodia’s children, discipling them, providing loving and supportive care and preparing them for a future life following Jesus Christ.
Why Children’s Ministry?
Shalom Mission Cambodia has been reaching out to those around us for many years bringing the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ to all ages. Almost one third of the population in Cambodia is under the age of 15, so we have always prioritized work among children, recognizing that children are also the door that opens the way to reaching families and whole communities for Christ.
We not only seek their eternal salvation, we also want to give them the opportunity to live a dignified life fit for God’s children.
We have experience in conducting hundreds of outreaches, setting up Kids Clubs and establishing Shalom International School in Phnom Penh, that provides affordable or free supplementary education to over 200 children a day who might otherwise receive none.
We focus not only on directly caring for the children, but also on developing children’s ministry skills in our workers. We want to encourage and teach locals how to raise their children with Christian values; that will in turn create a brighter future for their families, their communities and ultimately this burdened nation. In our many years of operation, we have trained many children’s workers who have taken the same message of hope to their home villages.
In over 20 years of serving God as church planter and children outreach, over 15,000 children have been touched by the love and compassion of God and Jesus’ message of hope.
We also help to steer older children away from exploitation, vice and destitution by encouraging parents to prioritise their children’s education – giving them a hope and a future. Our sponsorship program enables supporters to fund a child’s education. As more funds become available, more children are helped.
Much activity among the disadvantaged has centered on Phnom Penh and other cities – on slum communities and the vulnerable. The rural areas have attracted outreach by NGOs to rural areas to provide access to water, medical and family welfare services. However, other help has often led to young people having to relocate and leave their communities, sometimes never to return. So we want to prioritise these geographically less accessible, neglected areas and bring the gospel in words and action to Khmers and Tribal peoples – where they are, in their homeland. Starting with the children we want to see their families and communities benefit as Shalom’s work grows.
Children’s Ministry is Important Because
Jesus Commanded It
Children Suffer
Children are strategic for the growth of the Church
Research shows that children are by far the most Gospel-responsive group—about 80% of Christians receive Christ between the ages of 4 and 14. The 4-14 window of opportunity is far more productive than later teenage and adult years!
Children are strategic for the future of Cambodia
Children need our attention more urgently than any other group of people
Project Goals
- To build and operate a children’s center that provides excellent childcare and primary school education in a healthy and uplifting environment.
- To work with parents to encourage them to adopt promote better health practices with an emphasis on prevention through cleaner water, mosquito control, hygiene and better nutrition.
- To ensure that girls are equally valued and included in our provision.
- Provide opportunities for children to learn skills that will enable them to gain future employment, by providing basic skills training. This will be further developed in a future vocational training center.
- Protect children who are at risk of violence, exploitation or abuse, by monitoring them carefully and liaising with families and support networks.
- To train people as teachers and child care workers, who will serve at the SCC or go to do this work in other parts of the region
- To have as a foundation the sharing of the gospel which liberates children to learn and be transformed into responsible young people who make good choices and maximize their potential.
How Can You Help Us?
We already have a site for the Bible School building on land purchased for the Shalom Shalom Dream Center Project. The overall cost of the project is specified in the Budget Breakdown.
In keeping with the Shalom Dream Center aim of gaining maximum use from multi-purpose buildings the Children’s Center will share its building with the Retreat Center and Bible School.
We estimate the share of costs that should be allocated to the Bible School as follows: