INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN

~  MISSION  ~

THE CHURCH IN JIANGMEN, GUANGDONG, CHINA

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Jiangmen is a relatively modern industrial city in Guangdong Province in Southeast China along the Pearl River with about 4 million people.  It takes about 4 hours by jet-foil boat to reach Jiangmen from Hong Kong, via Macau. 

Jiangmen has only four churches, Jiangmen Church with about 400 attending, Wai Hi Church with about 100 attending, Bei Jei Church with about 60 attending, and Li Yu with about 30.  There are dozens of smaller cities within a 20 mile radius of Jiangmen with roughly 60 similarly sized churches.  Most of the church buildings in this area were destroyed two times in recent history, once by Japanese bombing during World War Two and again in the 1960's during the Cultural Revolution.  A typical city is Saping, about 30 kilometers (18.75 mi.) from Jiangmen, which had 7 active churches with buildings before the Cultural Revolution (1949).  There is now only one church started in 1988 by 10 people meeting in the apartment of an old woman who was 94 years old in 1999 (still active).  In 1999 there were 300 still meeting in the apartment.  Since then, they have built a new building on  a 1000 sq. meter lot.  This is the kind of situation where I can offer encouragement, training, and support. 

Jiangmen Church is now in their new building, built largely with funds from churches in Hong Kong and friends like you and me.  I am able to participate in all church activities in this area and I thank God for the open doors.  It has been a long term process, as I first met the pastor of Jiangmen Church in 1988 when I visited the seminary he was attending. 

The percentage of  Christians in China is very small ( nationwide less than 6 %).  Surveys have shown that less than 0.5% are willing to publicly confess that they are a Christian.  A vast majority of the population do not even know the name Christ.  Indeed, most have been indoctrinated in an atheistic educational system for the last 50 years.  Yet, there still is a spiritual hunger that is often best awakened by talking about science, creation and the Creator.  Jiangmen is a technologically advanced area of China, including a major teacher training center, Wuyi University.  There are obvious benefits of sharing the gospel in a place like this where restrictions are few, and there is a constant flow of people going out to influential places throughout the country.  The Chinese are also eager to learn English, and wherever I go in China this provides a natural opening for conversation and sharing.

Working in China has obvious restrictions and hindrances, yet the Lord has opened many doors for me in the Jiangmen area.  I move carefully and legally, but with an uncompromised message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.  The Jiangmen Church is setting the example for many in this area.  Please pray for them and my continued relationship with them.