Church of Christ our Peace

We started our ministry in Phnom Penh on Sunday, February 20, with a communion service that Bill led for the English-speaking congregation of the Church of Christ our Peace (CCOP).

This church originally started in 1993 with some expatriate missionaries and NGO workers in the English congregation and a handful of cyclor drivers and tradesmen in the Khmer congregation. Now, every Sunday there is a Khmer service, an English service, and an afternoon Youth service, along with Sunday School for the children attending. The church meets on the ground floor of a French colonial style building near one of the main avenues through the city. Our lodging is on the second floor. We enjoyed meeting those who attend the English service, representing over half a dozen different nationalities.

As the mother church of the Anglican Church of Cambodia (ACC), CCOP plays an important role in modeling, supporting, equipping and encouraging the growth of new churches throughout the country. We will be meeting the people involved in those ministries later in the week when they come to the capital for a monthly training session. Starting with the one congregation, the ACC has grown to 14 congregations in Khmer, English, and Chinese. The ACC received official recognition by the Cambodian Ministry of Religion in August 2009.

CCOP has various ministries to needy groups in Phnom Penh, carried out mainly by the Khmer staff. We will be sharing information and pictures as we ourselves get acquainted with these different forms of ministry and outreach.

That Sunday evening we went to a service in Mandarin Chinese, attended primarily by mainland Chinese and Malaysian expatriates. The pastor leading this ministry is a Malaysian missionary sent by the Anglican Diocese of Singapore as part of its outreach to specific people groups in the region. (In the photo: the red banner beside the cross says "to God be the glory).