Children are the future of our world, and we at New Life Fellowship (NLF) hope to give the children of Cambodia the best possible future that we can by teaching them about the great love that Jesus has for them. Click below to learn more about our children's ministries.
Children at Risk (C@R) is a ministry that reaches out to impoverished children and families throughout Cambodia. Many children in rural areas are living in inadequate conditions and often have only one parent or are orphaned. These families live day to day, not knowing where their income will come from for food the next day. Our goal at C@R is to bring these children hope and a bright future.
Working closely with pastors in surrounding provinces, we choose a child who is most in need to take part in our sponsorship program. This program is three years long and is geared to assist in educating the child and to empower the family towards self-sufficiency. Many of these at-risk children do not attend school because they must work in the rice fields with their families to make money. This causes the child to grow up uneducated and thus continuing the cycle of poverty. During the first year of our program, C@R provides school supplies for the child to go to school, as well as food materials for the family. This allows the family to afford to send the child to school. In the second year, we provide vocational training to equip the family to start their own business. We teach them how to work with their resources and how to manage money. In the final year of the program, we provide money for the now-empowered family to launch their business. We believe that after these three years, the family will be self-sufficient. Each child is visited by our volunteers at least once a week where they share the message of Jesus Christ.
We are in need of sponsors. By sponsoring a child, you are giving them a chance to change their future. $30/month will help provide this change. As a sponsor, you will receive:
Child's profile and photograph
Quarterly newsletter from C@R
Updates about your sponsored child
Ability to correspond with or visit your sponsored child
Before being sponsored by C@R, Kimsreng and his family were barely surviving without a steady income. Their living conditions were poor, with their house leaking when it rained. Thanks to someone sponsoring Kimsreng, C@R has been able to provide
food and a house that does not leak. They have also started a
successful loom business weaving Cambodian silk. Best of all,
Kimsreng's entire family is now following Jesus. His mother says that since they became Christians, all of their family members have been healed of sicknesses and that God has provided for every need.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." - James 1:27
Children’s church is headed up by Vimean, our Children’s worker who passionately and patiently continues to train up more workers for this ever expanding ministry.
Children’s Church:
Each Sunday in two sessions over 200 children aged 6-10 years worship on the NLF roof in Children’s Church. More than 50 leaders work to create an atmosphere for the children to meet God in worship. We teach the children the Word of God through songs, games, crafts, creative dramas, Bible stories, memory verses, and puppet shows. Children then have the opportunity to build relationships and fellowship by forming into small groups of 10-12 where they pray and learn together.
This is a very high energy time where the children remain engaged and are learning to love the Word of the Lord. Many children come to Children’s Church faithfully; they remember the stories and often will be found singing the songs outside of church. They are growing spiritually; they are learning to pray and even give offerings. We are very pleased to see several of our older students stepping into positions of leadership and helping to facilitate Children’s Church.
Pre-Teen Class:
On Sunday morning up to 50 9-12 year old students meet on the former Joy Club roof to worship and learn in their own space. This class focuses on discipleship, leadership, and helping the students deal with the issues they are beginning to encounter like drug use, peer pressure, gambling and violence.
Pre-School:
This ministry was born out of a need to give toddlers an opportunity to begin their learning about the Lord in a safe and age-appropriate environment. Our Khmer nursery volunteers are dedicated to teaching these children about their Father’s love for them through relational play, Bible stories and songs.
English Speaking Children’s Church:
Many expat families have chosen to make NLF their spiritual home while in Cambodia and several of our Khmer children speak English. In order to give these children a safe place to learn and grow we have developed a children’s church program for the English speaking children of our church. On Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings up to 10 children gather in the resource room to learn about God through Bible stories, crafts, and memory verses
New Life Fellowship International Christian School:
Since 2006, New Life Fellowship has provided for the educational needs of its congregation, along with the educational needs of other low-income families in Phnom Penh, with the New Life Fellowship International Christian School. The school, which aspires to educate children from preschool age through high school, takes most of its students from the NLF congregation, with about 80% of the total student body coming from low-income families or orphanages. The school opened with classrooms for kindergarten through third grade, but has since expanded to include fourth through eighth grade. There are plans for a high school, and hopes for a bible college further in the future. We at New Life Fellowship are passionate about educating the children who will one day lead the Kingdom of Cambodia.
NLF School aspires to prepare students for life by embracing the following principles:
A Love to Learn: By providing the children with enthusiastic teachers who use creative teaching methods, we help children love to learn now and for the rest of their lives.
The Ability to Make a Positive Impact on Society: We believe that God has created each person with the potential to make a positive impact on society. By providing a foundation of faith, an atmosphere of affirmation and encouragement, and excellence in education that seeks to apply knowledge to everyday life, students from New Life Fellowship International Christian School have the potential to make a positive impact in Cambodian society – touching the areas of religion, education, government, entertainment, business and social relationships.
Foundations for Faith: We believe that the God of the Universe has created mankind for a purpose. That purpose begins with a personal relationship with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ and an understanding of God’s ways which are revealed in the Bible. The goal of the teaching staff is for every student to have a vibrant relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and to be able to understand and apply the Word of God to everyday life. A primary focus of the NLF School is building good character, Christian virtues, and a feeling of kindness to others in order to build a strong and moral society.
Excellence in Education: We want the students at NLF School to understand the world around them and be able to enter that world as leaders in education, business, entertainment, religion, government and social affairs. We seek to provide an excellent learning experience in the Cambodian and English languages that focuses on history, geography, math, reading, writing, the arts, science, health and social studies.
Partnering with Parents to Educate Their Children: We believe that it is the responsibility of each parent to educate their children, in particular with regards to righteous morals and character. Therefore we are also involved in educating parents as to how to be better caregivers and leaders in their families.
The priority of the NLF School is to provide an education with an emphasis on Christian principles and Biblical teachings in addition to the state curriculum.
The targeted student body includes the following three groups:
Children of the members of New Life Fellowship of Churches in Phnom Penh and the surrounding area
Children of Cambodian members of other Christian churches in Phnom Penh and the surrounding area
Cambodian unbelievers who subscribe to our philosophy of ministry.
Our vision is that the majority of the students be from Christian families so that they have a curriculum to simultaneously further their education and continue growing in their walk with God.
Four out of five students are from low-income families, or are orphans. Since our school is a private institution, students are responsible for a portion of their tuition, while the remainder of their education cost is dependent on support contributions from the local and international community
NLF School aims to grant all of its students the best education possible. In order to give the students the greatest opportunity possible to succeed, and in light of the fact that most parents of the students cannot afford full tuition, we seek sponsors for the school and the students.
New Life School is a non-profit organization offering affordable quality education to all students. We ask that each sponsor commit to a one, two, or three year period of $30 a month or $360 a year to subsidize the cost of running the school.
Child scholarship establishes a relationship between a sponsor and a child in a way that gives a face to the challenges of poverty and education. The supporter makes a direct contribution to the school's goal of improving life for the child.
These contributions help deliver educational improvements and support vital development in the school the child attends. Scholarship providers receive regular progress updates, including:
Photos and letters from your supported child
Updates twice a year on your child's academic progress (February and July)
If you are interested in providing a scholarship to a child, contact the NLF office at info@nlfcambodia.org.
Joy Club Slum Ministries is headed up by Vimean, our children’s worker, who works tirelessly to reach the lost and bring some Joy to the children who live and work in the slums and dumps of Phnom Penh.
The children that we minister to in the slums and dump are being changed drastically. Many of them come from violent homes where gambling and drug use is common place. The children themselves have often been involved in gangs, theft, and glue sniffing. These children are learning to care for one another and live a life of honor. In any given Joy Club you will notice children sharing food, soap, and smiles.
One of the most exciting things about this ministry is not just that the children are being saved and changed, but they are taking the Word home and teaching their families who are also being saved! More than 10 of our parents regularly attend services at NLF. They are learning to be parents who care for their children in the way our Lord cares for us. We work hard to build strong relationships with both the children and parents at the slum and the dump so that we can minister to them more effectively.
Joy Club Slum:
Thursday afternoon 15 volunteers pack up and head to the nearby slum. While they are there they minister to 200 children. The children have the opportunity to bathe for what may be the first time since the previous week. Any wounds or injuries are treated by trained volunteers. We teach the children health and hygiene and give each child a small meal to eat. We give other gifts to the children, including clothes, shoes and hygiene items when visiting teams donate these things. After all these needs are met, the Bible teaching starts. We have a creative program including songs, dramas and games that teaches the children about the Word of God.
Joy Club Dump:
After church on Sunday afternoon 5-7 volunteers drive over to the city dump. As soon as they arrive they are swarmed by the nearly 150 children excited to begin playing and learning. The children are taught about God’s love for them through games and Bible stories. These children are especially receptive to the Word of the Lord and are even able to tell you the stories they heard in previous weeks. At the end of our time together we give each child a small meal to take home with them. We are looking to expand this ministry area to serve up to 250 children very soon.
Joy Class:
The children in the slums and dump have very limited opportunity for education. Joy Class is a small group offered to the children of the slums. Operating in up to 4 slums a week, around 20 kids attend for an hour and a half every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. This time is especially focused on discipling, empowering and teaching the children to help lead Joy Club and improving their English skills.
Want to keep the Joy going?
Pray for our children and families to be saved and changed by the Word of God and love of the Father
Pray for anointing, strength, wisdom, and creativity for our staff and volunteer.
This ministry focuses on the body and spirit of the children in the providences of Cambodia. They aim to reach all the children and tell them about Christ Jesus. In doing this, it is the key to changing this nation. The goal is to prepare them for a better opportunity than their parents might have had. Three centers are chosen in strategic locations. Each center is comprised of 20 local churches. The children are taught about Jesus and the Bible and then taught how to evangelize to their friends and families. Also three or four times per year New Life Fellowship teams up with a provincial church and puts on a crusade to generate more interest, awareness and excitement for Jesus.
If you would like to help this ministry, they need funding for food for the children, transportation out to the provindences, supplies and the equipment for the crusades. Please pray for the kids here in Cambodia, they are the future of tomorrow.
