Church Visits Miao Students in Jiangxi

On August 6, the staff of Ji'an Gospel Church visited the Miao people living nearby and supported Miao students with funds.

A pastor of the church tells CCD that this ministry has been around for about 15 years. At least every semester, the church co-workers visit them and give donations from the church to the children in need, which helps them complete their studies.

It is said that Ji'an is a multi-ethnic city where Han people account for the majority of the total population. Official statistics in 2010 shows that it has 2078 Miao people, ranking as the second largest group of ethnic minorities in the city. A church is the best building in the village of Miao.

The history of Gospel Church can be traced back to the 1880s when a British missionary sent by China Inland Mission (CIM) preached the Gospel.

As the mission ministry developed, the missionary bought a land and constructed three chapels in different in size with an annex. It was named Gospel Church. Preaching the good news, the church also ran a girls' school and a primary school. 

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, it opened a home for refugees to serve society. In December 1958, the branches of China Inland Mission, Anglican Church, Church of the Nazarene and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ji'an were merged into Ji'an Church that gathered in a church of the Anglican Church. 

Gathering was prohibited during the Cultural Revolution and the church reopened in 1980. Five years later, it moved to a new church and resumed its former name, Gospel Church, as a memory of the evangelism mission in the area. 

It went through relocation and reconstruction owing to the urban renewal. Completed in 2007, the new church covers 500 m² and can hold over 1000 people with a construction area of 1902 m².