On July 7, 2018, a Miao church in Guizhou's western Hezhang County held a thanksgiving service to celebrate its 110th anniversary.
In 1888, the Miao people in Gapu, Hezhang, knew the British missionary James R. Adam who preached in Anshun City and accepted the gospel. In 1908, An Yongqing from Jiegou Yi and Miao Autonomous Township became a Christian and founded a church there.
Until 1934, Jiegou Church was in charge of the Yi nationality churches across Hezhang and some areas in Zhaotong, Yunnan Province. The churches numbered 39.
Foreign missionaries like Alfred James Broomhal from Britain and W. E. Taylor from New Zealand were pastors-in-residence of the church, who established a school, a hospital, and a post agency. The church was also named "Jiegou General Assembly".
In 1986 when the Hezhang County CCC&TSPM was set up, the church was registered and only supervised some churches in the township and another township according to the three-self principles.
Originally a Western-style building, the church that used to be built with tiles and bricks has a concrete structure now.
It has over 2000 members led by the older generation foreign pastors, a Chinese pastor and a Chinese elder.
- Translated by Karen Luo
