Challenges for Prayer

1 Macau has the dubious distinction of being the first Christian territory in Asia to become non-Christian

2 Macau was the starting point of Protestant missions to China

3 Macau was named 'City of the Name of God' by the Portuguese, though it was a Chinese god that gave it its present name. It has truly become the 'City of Sin'

4 Evangelical Christians doubled in number between 1990 and 2000.

5 There are a number of missionaries from Hong Kong and other lands, most being involved in evangelism, church planting, drug rehabilitation and Bible teaching

6 The less-reached:

a) Many mainlanders work in Macau – some legally, many illegally

b) Those involved in the entertainment industry

c) The 12,000 Chinese refugees from Myanmar

d) The Macanese are mostly nominally Catholic

7 Supportive ministries

Geography

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Area 17 sq.km. A tiny peninsula and two islands 64 km west of Hong Kong on the coast of Guangdong Province of China.

Population (2000) 445,427 +1.96%AGR

Capital Macau 432,000.

Peoples

Chinese 96%; Macanese (Eurasian) 2.7%; Other 1.3%.

Literacy 90%. Official languages Cantonese, Portuguese.

Economy

One of the richest cities in the world in the 16^th and 17^th Centuries.

Politics

Rented by the Portuguese in 1577.

Religion

Under the agreement between the colonial administration and China, there is full freedom of religion.

Churches in China, Macau

Missionaries from China, Macau

55 – all in Macau.

Missionaries to China, Macau

154 in 22 agencies from 13 countries

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Internet Links