China (MNN) ― China's quake death toll is at 2000 and rising. Six days ago, a series of strong quakes crushed an impoverished region in Western China where WorldServe Ministries works.
WorldServe's Chief Operations Officer Daniel LaBry details the impact on their ministry in the area. "We have about 20 house churches that were completely destroyed. We have about 250 Christian families that have been involved in those churches that were all personally affected, as well."
The ministry has been distributing Bibles and supporting church planting efforts. They have relationships in place on the ground in the closest major city to the Qinghai earthquake, which is being used as a staging ground for the country's relief efforts to the quake area.
Based on the success of their Sichuan earthquake response and ministry efforts in 2008, church leaders are encouraged that a similar response will help them establish trusted relationships and gain access to the hard-to-reach people group in this sensitive area.
They mobilized a team immediately. LaBry says it's more about resourcing the existing local church and helping them organize distribution. Quake survivors are battling winter elements without shelter. Most who have lost their homes also lost all their belongings.
Church leaders have expressed their needs. "They need shoes, warm clothes, blankets, tents, medicine, food," says LaBry, adding, "The shelters are another big thing."
Many of the house churches in the area suffered some kind of damage and were unable to do much. That's where experience from the Sichuan quake came in to support and strengthen the local church in the area. "There are believers that have come in from some of the surrounding provinces and those that were in the Sichuan area that were able to get into the Qinghai province."
WorldServe's Chinese church partners mobilized 1,500 "volunteers" trained in sharing the Gospel and church planting to respond to the Sichuan Earthquake in May 2008. Over 200 of those church planters remain in the region today continuing to build on the relationships they built while serving the earthquake victims--relationships that progressed into sharing the Gospel and establishing churches.
It means WorldServe will remain long after the major aid groups leave the region. "They're there still able to minister to the people, not only meeting their physical needs and helping them to rebuild, but to be able to share the love of Christ, be the hands and feet of Christ," says LaBry.
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