We invite you to pray for Taiwan’s working class people, for just five minutes a day, for five days, for FIVE STRATEGIC AREAS. Your prayers will open doors in powerful ways, encourage believers, release strongholds and bring great glory to God.
Despite its modern, high-tech cities and a veneer of Western influence, Taiwan is a deeply traditional society. The country’s 23 million people worship a pantheon of gods, spirits and ancestors. Only five percent know Jesus and worship God.
However, the majority working class population has an even greater need for gospel witness. Taiwan’s working class are laborers, drivers, shop workers, farmers, hairdressers, and small-business owners. Less than 0.5 percent of the 16 million working class people know Christ.
God desires to see working class families and communities living in the freedom of Christ. Pray with us for spiritual breakthrough among these unreached people in Taiwan.
Day One – Working Class Families
In Taiwan’s working class families, both parents work long hours in order to make ends meet. Due to parents’ lowerlevel education, jobs with more reasonable hours are not typically available to them. These extended absences, while often unavoidable, can be difficult for children, leading to an increased risk of delinquency. Alcohol dependence is also widespread among fathers, resulting in domestic violence.
- Lord, we pray that children would come to know you as an ever-present father who watches over them and cares for them.
- Lord, we ask that Taiwan’s fathers would have the strength to turn away from alcohol. Would they come to know Christ and find strength for life’s problems in him.
- Lord, establish new traditions in Taiwan’s families that teach children to love and honor you instead of worshiping the spirits of their ancestors.
- Lord, provide opportunities for Taiwan’s working class to hear the gospel. Prompt churches to accommodate the working class through ministries at their workplaces or Bible studies late at night.
Day Two – Foreign Wives
Taiwanese women are increasingly well-educated and career-minded. They are reluctant to marry working class men who have poor social and financial prospects. As a result, working class men often marry women from Mainland China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Cultural differences can cause discord in these families and the divorce rate is high. Over 250,000 Indonesian women work as maids in Taiwan.
- Lord, open opportunities for Christians to build relationships with foreign women through helping them with language learning. Use these relationships to spark conversations about eternal things.
- Lord, we pray for Indonesian maids. Protect them, that they would not be taken advantage of, but instead be given the opportunity to make a living with dignified work and fair wages.
- Lord, we lift up the family dynamics of working class men and their foreign wives. May Taiwanese husbands serve and love their wives well.
Day Three – Ancestor Worship
Ancestor worship is an integral part of Taiwan’s culture. On the first and sixteenth days of the month, people burn incense and offer monetary sacrifices to appease the gods. The Taiwanese revere a multitude of gods, but Mazu is the main goddess for the island. Christianity is appealing to some Taiwanese people, but it’s hard for them to turn from ancestor worship and commit to Christ.
- Lord, we pray that Taiwanese people would embrace the free gift of Christ and realize that they do not need to work for their salvation.
- Lord, as Taiwanese people hear the good news of Christ, enable them to surrender their idols and turn to Jesus.
- Lord, we lift up Taiwanese Christians who struggle to follow you. Give them strength in facing temptation and help them live as lights for you.
Day Four – Education and Society
The majority of Taiwanese students go on to higher education, but because Taiwan is still very much a service economy, many college graduates end up in working class jobs. Since the expense of raising and educating children is steep, numerous couples are choosing not to have children. As for social issues, Taiwan is the first country in Asia to grant same sex marriage status (as of May 24, 2017). The church is concerned about what children are being taught and how to take a stand for biblical marriages.
- Lord, we pray for diversification of Taiwan’s economy and industry, that better jobs would be available for the working class.
- Lord, we pray for government programs that help families care for their children and elderly family members.
- Lord, raise up godly men and women in Taiwan’s government. May the country’s laws honor you.
- Lord, we pray for wisdom for churches as they address difficult social issues. Help them not conform to public opinion, but rather preach the truth in love.
Day Five – Spiritual Breakthrough
Approximately five percent of Taiwan’s population are Christians. Among the working class, only 0.5 percent profess faith in Christ. Believers are mainly concentrated in the bigger cities and tend to be highly educated, making it difficult for them to reach out to their working class neighbors. Partnerships with local churches in urban areas are crucial to seeing the church in Taiwan grow. Long-term teams are also needed in the southern parts of the country where there is much less gospel witness.
- Lord, we pray for spiritual breakthrough among the working class. May whole families and communities come to know you.
- Lord, raise up church leaders and pastors in Taiwan. Among church members, may there be good discipleship and a burden to disciple others.
- Lord, in big cities where there are large, vibrant churches, we pray for biblical teaching, effective lay training and active outreach to the working class.
- Lord, raise up local Taiwanese churches that have a burden to send missionaries to unreached areas of the country. Bless Christian workers who are already serving in these places, and use them mightily for your kingdom.
Next Steps
Is God drawing you to more focused prayer or involvement with the working class people of Taiwan?
Please consider these additional ways to nurture God’s love among these people:
Pray
Partner with what God is doing among Taiwan’s working class through prayer. Visit omf.org/thetaskunfinished for more information about prayer resources for Taiwan’s working class.
Partner
Mobilizing your community to join God’s work among Taiwan’s working class is a vital ministry. Will you encourage others to pray and serve?
Go
Do you want to get more involved? Explore opportunities in church planting, ministry to the urban poor and marginalized, youth work and more.
Check out short-term programs and opportunites for long-term involvement by browsing opportunities.omf.org
What resonates in your heart? How do you want to get involved?
