While much is written about the explosive growth of the church among the Han (dominant ethnic group in China), less is written about the spread of Christianity among the minority peoples. The article translated below is about a county in Yunnan Province that is praying and raising money to build a church.
The meeting point in Baohua village, Honghe County in Yunnan is the first meeting point of Honghe County; yet they still do not have a church building.
In the early 1980s there were only a dozen or so minority peoples who were believers. This year there are more than 260. Because of the needs brought about by this growth, the local authorities have decided to build a church. The congregation will be made up entirely of Hani and Yi minority people.
In the absence of a church building, the believers have gathered at the homes of brothers and sisters. After the restoration of religious services in 1980, the number of believers eventually grew to more than 500. However, due to language barriers between the minority people and the Han, lack of pastoral training, and a weak foundation, by 2000, many believers had left or fallen away.
At present there are more than 260 believers among the Hani and Yi people in the county; however they are dispersed because they have no fixed place for worship. They have a strong desire to see the gospel spread throughout their county so that even more people will be blessed. They have been praying for 4 years that God will pour out his grace on Honghe County and bring revival. They want to build a church in Baohua Village.
In 2012, the congregation registered with the local authorities, and purchased 500 square meters of land. Because the village is in a remote area with poor transportation access, the brothers and sisters are asking for prayer for the congregation and for the building of their church.
Original article and image: (Gospel Times). Translated and posted with permission.
Learn more about the Hani and Yi Ethnic groups from Joshua Project.
Image credit: local Hani people, by Richo in Oz, via Flickr
