By Neill Dunbar, Mission Partner in Cambodia 

Neill and Rebekah serve the Anglican Church in Phnom Penh, Cam­bodia. They are excited to see what God has in store for this beau­ti­ful country as they serve and dis­ciple members of the devel­op­ing church. Their chil­dren are Jonathan, Aaron and Emily.    Cam­bodia stands as a nation with a rich yet painful history, now exper­i­en­cing a new chapter of spir­itual growth. For those of us serving as Mission Part­ners, this journey is a del­ic­ate balance between trust­ing in God’s sov­er­eign work and embra­cing our respons­ib­il­ity as His rep­res­ent­at­ives.   As the Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Cor­inthi­ans 3:6–7, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is any­thing, but only God who gives the growth.” This truth anchors us. It is solely God who grows His Kingdom, yet He gra­ciously calls us to be His “masks,” as Martin Luther put it—visible rep­res­ent­at­ives working in line with His will, reflect­ing His char­ac­ter, and giving Him glory through His Son.   The Spir­itual Land­scape of Cam­bodia   At the start of 2023, Cam­bod­ian Chris­ti­ans cel­eb­rated 100 Years of Chris­tian­ity, a land­mark event atten­ded by the then Prime Min­is­ter Hun Sen. He acknow­ledged, “This gath­er­ing is a demon­stra­tion of the pro­gress of Chris­tian­ity in Cam­bodia under the shade of peace.” Just a few years earlier, Frank­lin Graham—son of the renowned evan­gel­ist Billy Graham—held a two-night out­reach event in Phnom Penh, drawing more than 23,000 attendees and wit­ness­ing 1,700 people respond to the Gospel message.    Reflect­ing on these moments, it is unima­gin­able to me where this country has come from. 

Forty years ago, following the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979, fewer than 200 Christians remained in Cambodia. Evangelism was forbidden, and believers often faced intense persecution in a society dominated by Buddhism. However, with the return of foreign aid workers and missionaries, the church here has gradually grown. 

While believ­ers remain careful not to upset gov­ern­mental author­it­ies, there is a new­found sense of wider tolerance—and even public acknow­ledge­ment! The recent annual Water Fest­ival even fea­tured a float bearing a cross, a sight that would have been unthink­able not long ago.    Despite this pro­gress, the road ahead remains chal­len­ging. The ‘Prosper­ity Gospel’ has taken root, offer­ing false hope to those des­per­ate to escape poverty. Family expect­a­tions also weigh heavily, as many parents push their chil­dren toward luc­rat­ive careers rather than time-con­sum­ing church involve­ment. Addi­tion­ally, cul­tural pres­sure to par­ti­cip­ate in Buddhist rituals adds another layer of com­plex­ity for new believ­ers.   Our Respons­ib­il­ity Versus God’s Sov­er­eignty   In light of these chal­lenges, we often reflect on our role versus God’s. What is our respons­ib­il­ity in this mission, and what belongs solely to Him?   When we reflect on that verse in 1 Cor­inthi­ans 3, our part is clear: to love God and serve Him faith­fully in whatever cir­cum­stances He places us—whether with our chil­dren, col­leagues, or the Khmer com­munity. There’s always more to do, always another need to meet, which can feel over­whelm­ing at times. Yet, prayer keeps us centred, helping us rely on God’s plans rather than on our own strength.   Meeting with others—hearing their stories, joys, and struggles—also grounds us. It reminds us that while we plant seeds and water them, it is ulti­mately God who causes the growth. Sitting down and hearing stories from others  shows what God has already been doing without us.  As the Cor­inthi­ans passage says, “…neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is any­thing, but only God who gives the growth.”  Seeing God’s Faith­ful­ness in Cam­bodia   One clear example of God’s work is Hope School, which began 20 years ago with just a few fam­il­ies. Today, it serves nearly 300 stu­dents, many of whom would be unable to remain in Cam­bodia without the quality edu­ca­tion the school provides. This has enabled mission fam­il­ies to con­tinue their work without com­prom­ising their children’s school­ing.  

Another source of encouragement is the Phnom Penh Bible School. The students there inspire us with their eagerness to return to their home provinces and share the Gospel. Surprisingly (or maybe not!), most of them dislike city life and feel a strong calling to serve in their rural communities, where the needs are often greater. 

Our faith is also bolstered by stories of resi­li­ence, many of which contain suf­fer­ing beyond what we could often imagine. A friend recently shared how he sur­vived the Khmer Rouge regime as a child labourer. He men­tioned once that he can’t drink coffee. Naively think­ing it was a taste pref­er­ence, I asked him why not, and he said it was because he was forced to eat only leaves at the labour camp, and his internal organs had been damaged. Out of 200 workers, only he and one other boy made it out alive. Despite this unima­gin­able suf­fer­ing, his passion for the Gospel remains unshaken—a power­ful reminder of God’s sus­tain­ing grace.   The Chal­lenges and Joys of Serving in Cam­bodia    While phys­ical hardships—such as extreme heat, power cuts, and limited resources—are real, the rela­tional struggles weigh heav­iest on us. Over the years, we’ve faced the heart­break of seeing close friends leave, some­times unex­pec­tedly. We’ve wit­nessed rela­tion­ships break down, causing neg­at­ive ripple effects through­out the com­munity here.   There’s also the ongoing chal­lenge of knowing how best to love and support those in need. Fin­an­cial aid isn’t always the answer, and we con­stantly wrestle with how to offer genuine help that empowers.   Yet, there is much that brings us joy. Most import­antly, a strong circle of trusted friends. We do not feel isol­ated and feel at peace with where God has placed us and what He has called us to do. Although I will say I do crave a really good NZ pie at times!    Prayer Points for Cam­bodia   As we con­tinue this journey, we ask for your prayers:  

• For more Khmer workers to rise up and join the harvest. Many feel the pull of higher-paying jobs, making full-time min­istry a dif­fi­cult choice.  

• For grat­it­ude as we praise God for the increased freedom Chris­ti­ans have to share their faith, and the gov­ern­ment’s more favour­able stance.  

• For wisdom as we nav­ig­ate how to serve and support the people here in a way that honours God and truly bene­fits those around us.  

 Ulti­mately, we trust in God’s work, even when we cannot see the full picture. As Jesus said in John 5:17, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” It is our priv­ilege to serve as His hands and feet, point­ing others to the One who alone gives the growth.   This article was taken from our 2025 Annual Report titled “God’s Unstop­pable Kingdom”. You can read it here.