Eight Adventist churches leveled; Sabbath worship still on
Despite some congregations losing their churches in a May 12 earthquake, some Seventh-day Adventists in China are still planning to meet for worship this Sabbath, church leaders said.
Adventist leaders are also calling for prayer after the 7.9 earthquake in Central China killed thousands, destroyed buildings and left many people buried.
Several Adventist Church members have died and several are buried, said David Ng, a ministries director for the church’s Chinese Union Mission.
“Please continue to pray for those families who have suffered and those who are helping,” Ng said in a May 15 e-mail.
Chinese officials reportedly said the 7.9-magnitude earthquake has so far killed nearly 35,000 and left 26,000 buried. An additional 14,000 are still missing.
Ng said eight Adventist churches were destroyed.
The Adventist church in the city of Chengdu has gathered limited funds to purchase food, water and other necessities to distribute, Ng said.
Roads are blocked to Hungpai in the region of Shifang, leaving colleagues and volunteers to search for church members in area with few signs of life, he said.
Chinese officials say 80 percent of the buildings have collapsed in Beichuan county in Sichuan province, home to 7,210 Adventists. The church’s Chinese Union Mission has arranged for fellow workers to visit church members in the disaster area.
The church’s Chinese Union Mission is accepting donations, which can be marked “Helping Churches in Disaster.”
More than 365,000 Adventist worship in 1,000 churches across the country.