Source: SEND International, August 15, 2017
Thousands of Chinese youth [gathered last month] as the Chinese church works steadily toward an ambitious goal: to send 20,000 missionaries by the year 2030.
J.E., SEND’s regional director in Asia, serves as one of the consultants from various organizations who are coming alongside mission-minded Chinese believers.
“It has been amazing to watch the mainland Chinese church develop this growing heart and passion to reach out,” he said. “It’s very much an indigenous movement, but when we are asked we can share insights from our own history and experiences.”
“They’re drawn to the Middle East, to Muslim countries, even to the unreached within China’s borders,” J.E. explained. “China is home to more than 400 unreached people groups—second only to India.”
The goal of 20,000 wasn’t arbitrarily chosen. Chinese leaders estimate that about 20,000 missionaries have served in China in the past 200 years, and they want to repay this “gospel debt.”
Previous Chinese-led missions movements have started out with great enthusiasm, but various factors, including lack of support from churches back home, led to missionaries often returning after just a few years. The Mission China 2030 movement aims to change that.
» See also a story about Russian missionaries venturing into some of the least-reached parts of Mongolia (Christian Broadcasting Network).