ATLANTA – The space is borrowed and the registration process was just recently completed, but Chengdu Thanksgiving Christian Church is already growing.

It’s one of just three Protestant churches in Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province in China and home to approximately 6 million people. The congregation, which started in September, has grown from 30 to 50 members.

"It took the group a while to think about the name for the church," said Michelle Cayard, who along with her husband, Bill, serves as a CBF representative in China. "American holidays have become popular in China, including Thanksgiving, so this same word is the name of the church. Our Chinese Christian friends felt like it was an important concept to convey to non-believers that part of our faith is being thankful for what God provides."

The Cayards, who are from Houston, Texas, worked with local Christians to facilitate the start of the church, which reaches out to the large community of young professionals in Chengdu. The Cayards have helped church members develop a Sunday School program, something that is not common in most Chinese churches. Each Sunday, Thanksgiving Church holds worship and two small group Bible studies – one in English and one in Chinese. The majority of people who attend are under 30 years of age and include seminary students, college professors, recent college graduates and business men and women.

"It has been tremendously rewarding," said Michelle. "We know several folks that are new Christians and that have never attended church regularly before. We can see in them growth and discipleship of attending a church regularly, joining the choir and singing each Sunday and really learning what it means to be part of a body."

Thanksgiving Church is just one of the many the Cayards work with in the Sichuan province. They facilitate leadership training and partnerships between churches in both China and the United States. They also help connect Chinese churches with resources – from a piano to funds for a pastor’s salary to curriculum.

"The number one need in the Chinese Christian church today is leadership training," said Bill. "The church is growing faster than the leadership can keep up with. The Bible colleges are not graduating pastors fast enough, so training for lay leaders and ministers is a great need."

The Cayards encourage churches in the United States to partner with Chinese churches through ministry training. Training is needed in many different areas – church administration, Vacation Bible School, women’s ministry, music ministry, lay leadership and outreach.

For example, Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta is partnering with the Chengdu Thanksgiving Church. Last fall, as the new church prepared for its inaugural worship, the Atlanta congregation prayed weekly for the its beginning. This spring a group from Second Ponce will visit Chengdu to worship at the church and provide music and Sunday School training.

"One of the most important parts of our ministry is connecting congregations in the United States with churches in China," Michelle said. "This can be such a great relationship on both sides. The Chinese Christians receive tremendous encouragement from knowing that brothers and sisters from other countries care about their work and care about their ministries."

To learn about partnership opportunities with the Cayards and churches in China, contact Chris Boltin at cboltin@thefellowship.info or (800) 352-8741. To financially support the Cayards’ ministry, give to the CBF Offering for Global Missions at www.thefellowship.info/give.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.