among unreached people In the last article, I asserted that, as we deepen our commitment to the unreached people groups in China, we must not only go, send, pray, and give; we must also plant healthy churches and develop mature disciples who can lead these churches. Only then can the gospel continue to spread in places that are inaccessible to outsiders and even to near-culture Chinese Christians.
Why Must Missionaries Plant Healthy Churches?
among unreached people Several months ago, I was enjoying a walk in the tropics of Southeast Asia. As I was walking along a path that was flooded with all kinds of plants and trees, I saw a tree drop a large, shelled pod that, when it fell to the ground, cracked like an egg. I must confess that I understand very little about plants or trees. The only way I could distinguish a mango tree from a pear tree is if there was fruit ready to be harvested from the tree. But when this tree dropped the seed pod in the shell, it cracked, and the seeds floated everywhere. Those seeds carried everything to plant another tree of the same kind. It took a large, healthy tree to reproduce other trees. It was in its DNA.
That got me thinking that’s why we call one aspect of the missionary task
“church planting.” The missionary must help develop a healthy church. It’s an intentional process. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. When God gives the growth, it will reproduce.
Most unreached people groups are unreached because they don’t have sufficient access to the gospel. When healthy churches are planted in and among unreached people groups, they begin to display the gospel. Yes, they can also read the Scriptures, but the local church is the display of the gospel and the body of Christ in the lives of the unreached.
The Unreached Animist People Groups of China
One classification of the unreached people groups in China is the animist or ethnoreligious in China. You can also call them the indigenous religious overseas chinese in australia data of China. These people are trying to answer questions about where they come from, what is wrong in the world, how to deal with fear of spirits around them, how they can be safe from evil spirits. These religious practices often define part of the people group’s culture, language, and customs in China.
The ethnoreligious or animistic peoples of China include 122 different unreached people groups. As a group this totals 11.2 million people. Among these groups are the Pingdi Yao, the Northern Dong, and Ha Li unreached people groups.
The Pingdi People The Pingdi number 1.7 million people.
They are part of the larger Yao cluster of people who are agricultural workers. They primarily live in the mountainous areas in northeastern Guangxi and southwestern Hunan provinces, where outsiders rarely venture to go. The result is that 99.9% of the Pingdi people do not know Christ.
The Northern Dong People The Northern Dong number 1.5 million people and are part of the larger Dong people. They have a separate language and culture from other Dong people. The Dong people believe in many gods and regard many created things as sacred. There are a few Dong believers in Christ alone; however most Dong have not heard the gospel of Christ.
The Ha Li People The Ha people are an unreached people
group number at around 900,000 and live therefore the p of people arises from on the island of Hainan. They are part of the larger Li people groups but have their own language. They live in fear of the evil spirits that their god, Pa-Thung, has sent out to control the villages.
Each of these people groups needs a healthy church among
them to display the gospel to them in word and in deed. Most people from any of these unreached people groups will live their entire lives without hearing the good news of Jesus Christ. This is why those who are renewing a commitment to China’s unreached people groups must not only be sharing the gospel in evangelism, but also planting healthy churches in these areas that will reach out intentionally and know how to contextualize the Word of God to each of these unique languages and cultures. Contextualization connects the unchangeable truth of the Bible to unique and God-created cultures, languages, and peoples so that all may fully understand the gospel and respond in worship of the one true God, because God is worthy of worship from all people groups!
Conclusion Next month as we remember and celebrate Christmas,
the first coming of Christ, we will dedicate telema data time to praying specifically for many unreached people groups. As we embark on this journey together, let us remember that the greatest problem facing these people groups is their lost condition. They are in desperate need of the salvation that only Jesus can provide.
Will you join us in praying for the unreached people? Together, let us commit to being part of God’s mission to make disciples of all nations and to plant healthy churches that will reproduce to surrounding villages and across generations. Join us in praying fervently for God to move in a mighty way, that his name and