Gospel Barriers

If you were to randomly fill a basketball arena with 10,000 Hakka Chinese from Taiwan, only about 20 would claim to follow Christ. This is a great picture of just how unreached the Hakkas of Taiwan really are, but the biggest question remains “Why?” In a country which has broad religious freedom, huge access to Christian resources and materials, and over 800 foreign missionaries serving within its borders, why are the Hakkas so horribly unreached?

Some would point to the idea that the Hakka Chinese are neglected … and their point is well taken. After all, of those 800 foreign missionaries in Taiwan, only about 30-40 are currently ministering among this unreached people. But there’s something else. Part of the reason so few workers come flocking to serve among the Hakkas is that they’ve long heard of the Hakka reputation for “hardness.” And who gets all giddy about working among a stubborn, hard to reach people?

So what’s the problem? Why are the Hakkas so resistant to the gospel?

The Hakkas look at life through Chinese eyes. And as a people group that has fought for centuries to protect and preserve its Han Chinese identity (see Hakka Roots), the Hakkas hold on tighter than most other Chinese peoples to their traditional ways of viewing the world. It’s these worldviews that have become walls that separate the Hakka Chinese from understanding and accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We want to invite you to join with us in looking at the different barriers that currently hinder the Hakkas from coming to Jesus. (Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Ancestor Worship, and Filial Piety) These very religions, philosophies, and values that serve to knit the hearts of the Hakka people so closely together also serve to keep them chained as captives in the kingdom of darkness.