The Voice In The Villages Initiative
Reaching Beyond
Christianity in Chinese Villages
The Voice In The Villages Initiative (China) is a discipleship effort to reach beyond the cities into the villages. Our missionaries are stationed in the major cities because that is where the majority of the populace resides. But we know that there are still souls living outside the cities in thousands of villages across China. We know that Christ loves them too. Thus, this is our effort to not chose “either/or” but “both/and”—to try to reach both at the same time.
The villages offer a unique challenge because many aren’t able to sustain a full-time pastor, there is a high illiteracy rate, they are hard to get to or there is a lack of training that is offered in their area. This initiative evaluates those challenges and is trying to formulate a plan to overcome them to take the love of God to the villages of China.
Our Game Plan
Phase 1 – Produce Media & Material
Write: Produce biblically sound material that we can use in the villages. We want to equip believers in the villages, not just with Bibles, but with solid Bible teaching that will help them understand the Bible they are reading and guard against false teaching that is so prevalent in China.
Translate: Collect different resources, books, sermons and articles that we can translate into Mandarin Chinese and be used as training material.
Record/Print: Produce media—the format in which we can widely distribute the content. This will include video, audio, and printed booklets or books.
Phase 2 – Build A Resource Package
Collect all of this material and created a resource package that we can take into the villages and start training existing believers that might already be there. This resource package can include what we are producing and material that is already available—thus we will need to purchase these resources.
This initial resource package can include:
- A physical Chinese Bible(s).
- A solar-powered device that has the Chinese audio Bible and preaching and teaching built into the device and with an SD card slot for further teaching and preaching via SD cards.
- Chinese tracts and John and Romans for evangelism.
- Firm Foundations (120 lessons) series (4 booklets) in Chinese.
The ongoing resource package can include:
- A monthly PDF with articles, sermons, etc in Chinese. This would be sent by email or printed and delivered. We would put the printed material into a notebook, thus created a growing resource.
- If they are illiterate, we would make an audio version of this file, reading and recording all the content.
- Books in Chinese for ongoing training.
Phase 3 – Distribution And Contacts
Preachers and Distribution: Send a preacher to these villages to reach the villages with the gospel but also to find believers, preachers or churches in those villages get them together to influence them and sign them up for our discipleship program.
These preachers won’t live in these villages, but they are getting them on part of our ongoing training program and, Lord willing, as they get trained, they will start reaching their own villages.
Satellite/Internet Radio/Website: Start sending in teaching and preaching over satellite, internet radio, and websites if the technology is available in the local areas.
Phase 4 – Ongoing Training
Once contacts have been made, there will be continual contact and ongoing training for everyone who desires it.
This Initiative’s Financial Needs
Financial needs of the initiative are:
- Hire translators to translate material into Chinese.
- Purchase books and Bibles in Chinese.
- Purchase SD cards to put the material on.
- Travel expenses of the local preacher going into the villages.
- Travel expenses of the Chinese pastors to fly in and record preaching in the recording studio
. Other Cost: Computers, quality printer and material to create the notebooks.
Promote This Initiative
Download and use the following materials to help us promote the need of reaching Chinese villages!
