Upward evangelism
Editor’s note: SEND’s Communications department gets to see the big picture of how our organization engages the unreached all around the world. From this bird’s eye view, we can appreciate SEND’s willingness — even eagerness — to seize the opportunities God puts in our path, even if they aren’t part of our original plan. That’s how we got involved with refugee ministry in Macedonia. It’s how we started harvesting seaweed in Japan. And it plays a crucial role in these stories from Taiwan, shared by Asia Regional Director Jon Eckstein.
There are well over 100,000 Vietnamese in Taiwan. They’re mostly factory workers and often marginalized. Here in Taiwan we are both completely free and encouraged to engage them with the gospel.
SEND started ministering to the Vietnamese in Taiwan around 2010. Today, thousands of Vietnamese have heard the gospel and more than 100 have come to faith in the past three years alone. We’ve seen one church take root, plus several Bible studies and cell groups are reaching these migrant workers. Just this past Sunday, we saw three Vietnamese friends obey Christ through baptism! The call has gone back to Vietnam for pastors to come lead these new believers.
It’s been such an unexpected thing, and I’ll share two quick stories with you that illustrate that:
From jail to Jesus
A Taiwanese detention facility where people stay during the deportation process called our co-worker Rita and said, “We have this Vietnamese lady. She’s pregnant and has already escaped before. We can’t really keep a pregnant lady in the jail here. Could you take her for two weeks?”
Rita did, and that began a special relationship not only with this women but also with the detention facility personnel. Now, if the police or the immigration officials have any issues with Vietnamese migrants, they call us and ask if we can help out. This has opened many doors for us. What’s more, some of the immigration officials and police officers have come to faith through our example of helping these migrant workers out whenever there’s need.
'What happened to our worker?'
The second story is about a young migrant lady who works as a caregiver for the grandparents of a wealthy Taiwanese family. She started coming to one of our outreaches and became a Christian. Her life change was radical — so radical that her Taiwanese employer had to come and find out, “What happened?”
Soon her employer, too, began to ask questions about who God is — and has now accepted Christ through this Vietnamese migrant worker. Now, the employer even provides food and fruits and vegetables for the ministry! It’s been neat to see God using this employer because of the changed life of a worker.
Missiologically, these stories are not the way it’s supposed to go!
We generally don’t expect those who are vulnerable, those who don’t have a standing in society, to share Christ up the social chain.
But this is one way God is working in Taiwan. We have a lot of opportunities among Vietnamese migrants. In fact, we have too many! We need more people. So, when you think about Taiwan, think about the Vietnamese people and working among the diaspora here.
Diaspora ministry in Taiwan isn’t limited to Vietnamese. The other two groups we’ve done work with are Indonesians and Thai. There are about 250,000 Indonesians in Taiwan. They are, by and large, Muslims and we have complete freedom to work among them here. There are also about 60,000 to 70,000 Thai Buddhists here, and we have open doors to work with them as well. (Read the Joshua Project profiles of Vietnamese, Indonesians
and Thai
in Taiwan.)
God has opened up this opportunity for global workers who are interested in these people groups but can’t go live in these people’s home countries. They definitely can come live and serve in Taiwan! There is such a huge open door for migrant workers in Taiwan to be engaged with the gospel. Come join us!
Explore opportunities to serve in Taiwan. Or, email a missions coach
who can help connect you with the ministry there.
Learn more about the unreached
Additional Posts
Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
Learn about the spiritual harmony in Vietnam & how missionaries engage with college students. Join us in sharing the gospel!
Explore Georgia's spiritual heritage and the impact of SEND International's mission. Join us in fostering authentic relationships today!
