One Less Idol Shelf

Billions of East Asians don’t know Jesus. And millions have little to no access to the gospel, a Christian church or even a single believer. The Task Unfinished initiative aims to change this. Partnering with The Task Unfinished helps more workers like Brian Janssen, an OMF missionary in Taiwan, reach East Asia’s people with the hope of Christ. Read Brian’s story below to see how God used him and other workers to bring the light of the gospel to a Taiwanese family.
By Brian Janssen
From our roof at night, you can see the glow of red lights around our neighborhood. Most homes here have three floors—and in most homes, the third floor is for the family’s idols.
These red lights shine on each family’s idol shelf.  It is an eerie feeling to see the lights illuminating the shelves scattered throughout the community.
Though the city of Qiaotou is friendly and welcoming, it’s spiritually dark. Yet, in the darkness we see God at work.
I had the opportunity to lead a Bible study with a young Christian couple and their parents who have lived their whole lives with a very traditional Taiwanese religious worldview. During that same time, another couple who had built a relationship with this family shared the gospel with them. The family soon began their journey of faith towards the God of the Bible.
Soon after they came to Christ, these new believers made the decision to remove the idols from their home. About 20 people from a local church came to their house to support them in this important moment. We sang songs and prayed together while the pastor shared a devotional. Then some of us went to the third floor and dismantled their idol shelf and removed their idols. Others went to different parts of their home and prayed.
It is extremely difficult for Taiwanese people to remove the idols from their home. Taiwanese folk religions, Daoism and Buddhism are deeply entrenched in Taiwanese family and culture. Although Taiwan is open to Christianity on a governmental level, socially Christianity is seen as a “Western religion.” Acceptance of Jesus as the only Way and God as the one true God is very difficult on an individual and family level due to adverse family and social repercussions. I know this to be true, but on the evening that the idols were removed, we did not see sadness or fear. We saw joy. I believe that God had already removed their desire for their idols from their hearts. The national next step was removing the idols from the house.
This husband and wife were baptized on Easter—and what a privilege to witness the joyous celebration and be part of their journey to God.
Please pray for our community—that the many who are worshiping idols will come to know the one true God.
Do you long to see God worshiped in more communities in East Asia? Consider ways you can join in The Task Unfinished. Visit omf.org/us–precise/go for overseas opportunities. Or, explore thetaskunfinished.org/us to see the variety of ways you can get involved in reaching East Asia with the hope of Christ.