Reaching the Lisu along two rivers
The Salween-Mekong Project
The Salween and Mekong rivers run from the mountains of Tibet to the sea. Millions of people live along them, and many have never heard of Jesus. Lisu evangelists from these villages are ready to take the gospel to every Lisu village along the rivers.
Our vision
The gospel reaching every village up the river
In this animation a light moves up the Salween, from the sea to the mountains. Each light is a village that has heard the gospel and has a church.
Animation, 15 seconds
The project in short
Our goal: the gospel in every Lisu village along the two rivers
The Salween-Mekong Project, formally The Salween-Mekong River for Christ Project, was planned by three Lisu Christian leaders. They come from the first Lisu in Thailand to follow Jesus, and they are called to reach their own people: from Shangri-La in the former Tibet, where the Salween begins, south to Thailand, and east into Laos and Vietnam.
Nobody has ever been able to go into these areas to bring the gospel to the local, native peoples. Some of these areas are in the middle of war. Others are restricted, and outsiders cannot enter them. That is exactly why we want to go.
We are native people ourselves, so we can go where outsiders cannot and carry out the Great Commission to our own people. Our team is Lisu, working with other local peoples, and already lives and serves in these areas. The evangelists, staff and plans are ready. What we need now is support to send the first 25 evangelists: five from each of the five countries.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19–20 (NIV)
Where the project works
Along the Salween and Mekong rivers, in five countries
The Lisu call the Salween the Numi. It rises in the high country of Tibet, runs south through Yunnan in China as the Nujiang, crosses Myanmar, and follows the Thai border to the Andaman Sea. Lisu villages sit along its whole length, and many other peoples live along it too, including the Lahu and the Akha.
The Mekong runs beside it through the mountains of Yunnan, then on through Laos and along the Thai border toward the sea. Many peoples earn their living from it. In Vietnam, the Lisu are called the Lipo. Many more Lisu are thought to have scattered across Southeast Asia.
- China
- Myanmar
- Thailand
- Laos
- Vietnam
- Salween River · about 2,800 km
- Mekong River · about 4,900 km
- The five countries where the project works
The need
Millions live along these rivers, and most Lisu have not heard the gospel
10 million
people live along the 2,800 km Salween River, from more than 13 major ethnic groups.
60 million+
people depend on the 4,900 km Mekong River, from more than 95 ethnic groups.
1.5 million
Lisu people in total: about 700,000 in China, 800,000 in Myanmar and 60,000 in Thailand.
2 in 3
Two out of every three Lisu have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.
5,000+
people baptized in the past 10 years through Stephen’s ministry.
20,000+
Lisu people at a Lisu Cultural Conference several years ago
How we work
Three parts of the work: share the gospel, teach the Bible, teach work skills
We care for the whole person, so that each church can pay its own way and, in time, send its own missionaries.
01
Share the gospel (evangelize)
Train local evangelists and send them into every village to share the gospel, plant churches where believers gather, and make disciples.
02
Teach the Bible (equip)
Teach the Bible step by step, so every evangelist and church leader is rooted in God’s Word and can teach others.
03
Teach work skills (empower)
Teach life skills and trades, so churches can support their own pastors and families can turn from opium to honest work.
Step 2 · Starting now
Now, we send 25 native evangelists
We are starting with 25 native evangelists: five from each country, in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and China. Each one needs $200 a month. All 25 together need $5,000 a month, which is $60,000 for one year.
$200 supports one evangelist for one month. It lets him travel from village to village among his own people, teach God’s Word and start a church. Every evangelist sends us a report every month and gets support until his local church can support him.
The goal at full scale
70
native evangelists and pastors once the project is fully built out: 20 in Thailand, 30 in Myanmar and 20 in China. The first 25 are the start.
25
Evangelists we send first
Five from each of the five countries
$200
A month supports one evangelist
$5,000
A month supports all 25
$60,000
Supports all 25 for one year
Who we send
Every evangelist we support has graduated from Bible studies with Asians for Christ (AFC). We choose each one carefully, because what they preach matters to us. They preach the same message the apostle Paul preached.
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)
More about the project
Read the story, the plan and the budget
Board members, churches and partners can ask for the complete written proposal.
Our Story
How Stephen grew up in a Lisu village that feared spirits, came to Jesus, and has seen more than 5,000 people baptized in the past 10 years.
The Plan
The five kinds of work, the goals for 20 and 30 years after the project starts, and how we report on every gift and worker.
Budget & Giving
Support one of the first 25 evangelists, give a one-time gift, and see the full budget.
How you can help
Help every person along these rivers hear the gospel of Jesus.
Please pray for the evangelists, join the work, or give. They come from these villages and speak these languages.
And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Romans 10:15 (NIV)
