Global Chinese Ministries GCM newsletter April 2009

Global Chinese Ministries Apr. 09

The Protestant Church in Fujian Province

Fujian province is one of China’s smallest provinces, with a population of 34 million. Its coastal areas are thickly populated, and many of its people are farmers or fishermen. The Fujian people speak several dialects which are very different from Mandarin. Inland, there are many mountains and less productive soil. Over the centuries many Fujianese have emigrated overseas and founded strong communities not only in Southeast Asia but also in North America and Europe. There may now be as many as 12.6 million Fujianese living abroad as “Overseas Chinese” in 160 countries, although 95% live in Southeast Asia.


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    In our February edition we shared news of the possible breakthrough in relations between the Chinese government and the unregistered house churches. On January 26, The Times of London published a major article confirming the details of these negotiations. We publish extracts:

  • Prayer Points

    1. Praise God for the rapid growth of the church in Fujian. Pray for outreach and social concern in the poorer, mountainous areas of the province inland.

    2. Pray for the evangelization of the She minority who total nearly 1 million souls and live mainly in Fujian. Most are Daoists and speak Hakka.

    3. Government figures released last August BEFORE the global recession showed 67,000 companies went out of business in the first half of 2008 affecting 20 million workers. Pray for the unemployed, especially Christian brothers and sisters.