Churches in China are co-ordinating rescue efforts, trauma counselling and providing support for those affected in Saturday’s earthquake.

Five years ago, when an earthquake hit Sichuan province, churches were at the heart of the response.

They opened their doors to survivors and counselled those traumatized by the event. And this led to a rise in church attendance. Before the 2008 quake the worst-affected area had about 60,000 Christians. Today that number stands at 80,000. Now, the churches are once again helping with the recovery.

Two hundred people are so far known to have died and some 11,000 have been injured in the quake that struck China’s Sichuan province at 8am local time on Saturday .

Longmen village is at the epicenter. It’s a rural farming area, at this time of year lush with bamboo, sesame, spinach and rice.

Now, the streets are full of rubble and people are living in the streets, too scared to return to their homes, as aftershocks continue to rock the region.

Jock Foo from Bible Society’s China Partnership said that churches were also “raising funds” and offering “prayer support” to victims of the quake.

She added, “Quite a few churches were damaged. Some roofs collapsed and some had cracks in the walls. Several Catholic churches were quite badly damaged. Houses were more drastically affected. Many collapsed and some were completely flattened. Many believers are left homeless.

‘The Bible Seminary in Chengdu with whom Bible Society works also had several cracks. For now, we estimate that six churches require re-building.”

She added, “Amazingly, one church in Ya’an, near the quake’s epicenter, remained intact and is now being used as a refuge area.

“Besides water and food, medicine and clothes are also needed.”

The Amity Foundation, the relief and development wing of Amity Press where Bible Society’s Bibles are printed, already has a small team in Sichuan. According to She Hongyu, Assistant General Secretary of the Amity Foundation, they are “assessing the need in the area and distributing aid”.

Amity has set aside 2 million Yuan (£212,400) for the relief effort. It has also set up a fundraising campaign to channel more much-needed aid to the stricken area.

Bible Society has strong links with church leaders in the affected region and has been supporting them in the recovery from the 2008 earthquake.

Credit: British and Foreign Bible Society