Barnabas Mam was a spy. From a devout Buddhist family,he had been trained by a monk to be a 'master of ceremonies'. However, Mam was greatly influenced by communism while in his teens, believing that Buddhism didn't address social justice, and communism could make life better for his people. He led large student demonstrations against the government, and his current assignment was to infiltrate a Christian crusade meeting, where it was assumed the speaker was a CIA operative, to find out how many Cambodians he had enlisted.
The upshot of this meeting was that Mam became a born-again believer. He faced persecution immediately - from the Buddhist monk, and from his communist peers. Four years later, Mam found himself in a refugee camp on the border of Thailand, when Pol Pot's regime fell.
During that time, Mam wrote a new hymn every day, wrote it down, and taught it to his fellow prisoners. He wrote over 300 choruses while imprisoned. Not only that, but he helped plant 15 churches in the camp, resulting in 39 daughter churches in Cambodia.
He had the privilege of leading one of his interrogators to the Lord.
Twenty years on, Mam occupies a variety of prominent posts, having worked with many international ministries. Among his many roles are those of National Director of Ambassadors For Christ International Cambodia, Chairman of the Bible Society of Cambodia, and senior pastor of Living Hope in Christ Church.
So how did Haggai Ministries feature in Mam's life?
"I was a born leader, I have not found a better place in Cambodia, or in other parts of the world, to obtain additional tools with which to lead. From my training received at Haggai Institute, I learned three things:- leadership skills, the fire of God rekindled, and the desire to give back to the Lord as He has given grace to me.
Mam now helps young musicians share their music and earn a living, by producing Christian songs on CD. All his own songs written during his days in the camp are produced on one CD. He is ministering in prisons, with hundreds of decisions for Christ, and offering discipleship training.
Haggai Institute believes that those best placed to change the world for Christ are the men and women who already occupy leadership positions in their nations, companies and communities and has trained over 63,000 people around the world in advanced leadership skills and evangelism to make them even more effective for the Kingdom. It's mission is to equip
and inspire key leaders to blaze a trail for world evangelism and teach others to do the same.
Mam's story has been edited from the original, which appeared in Haggai Institute's magazine.
