Just before the holidays our team was in Asia for a couple of weeks. One of the main objectives was to host our leadership conference for Chinese pastors. We had to fly them out of China as it’s too risky for them and us to gather in the country. Forty-eight key leaders were planned to attend, who either use or are interested in using our ABC discipleship and China Mission School (CMS) curriculum in their church networks.
The day of everyone’s arrival, six leaders and one of our Chinese staff members were restricted by Chinese custom officials from leaving China to attend the event. The seven had not broken any law; the government just knew them as Christians and that they were planning to attend a Christian gathering in another country yet still prohibited them from leaving China.
How did these custom officials know who they were? How did they know what they were going to do? It’s clear that the communications between our Chinese staff members and these leaders were monitored by Chinese officials – at a level much greater than we originally thought. We are taking necessary precautions while moving forward with our work, but this shows the length the Chinese Communist Party is going to in order to control Christianity in China.
Can you imagine being told you cannot leave your country simply to go to a Christian or Church conference?
China Update:
Their absence, the shared knowledge that these seven had been restricted from leaving simply because they were Christians, cooled the opening worship session. Our leadership team described their first morning together as “tepid worship” as the burden of persecution had followed these brave men and women to a free country.
Yet by the afternoon sessions, the presence of God removed those burdens; people experienced healing during worship, and the cautious, watchful countenances of people weighed down by fear and persecution changed over to a freeing, joy filled worship experience! The giving of people like you enabled this to take place.
One pastor we interviewed told an appalling story of a couple who taught the Word of God online. Since it’s illegal to do so, the police arrested the couple and brutally beat the wife. The authorities sentenced the couple to 18 years in prison.
These are the type of people you are helping to train when you give to World Compassion. You are lifting their arms and letting them know they have family in the body of Christ who have not forgotten them!
Coming out of this conference we have access to thousands of people through these leaders who need Bible teaching and leadership training. Just two weeks after the conference we have already had 1,200 requests for our ABC discipleship and leadership curriculum! This caused us to increase our budget for 2024.
We are now preparing to add an additional 4,000 students in 2024 and need your help to get this first 1,200 started right away! Your support will give believers in China access to over 300 Bible teaching lessons.
In addition, you’re helping us train Chinese believers to take the Gospel to the world through our China Mission School (CMS). We had one Chinese couple at our conference currently living in Pakistan as missionaries. There’s more we’ll share about this in the future.
It costs us about $50 (£40)/student to run these training programs. The cost covers the various formats to get the curriculum to students. Some use books, others need audio devices or other digital formats. It also includes the support of our Chinese team who maintain all the relationships and monitor student progress throughout their studies.
As our 55th year of taking the Gospel to restricted nations begins, I think of the importance of keeping the main mission the main thing – to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20)!
Would you consider a special seed gift to start 2024 and help get these discipleship, leadership and mission training materials into the hands of 4,000 more people in China? That’s a total goal of $200,000 (£160,000) this year toward Discipleship and Leadership training in China alone! $100 (£80) helps disciple two people; a gift of $1,000 (£800) would help train 20 leaders!
We know the Word of God changes lives, ours, and the lives of each person free to encounter it. Another Chinese pastor wanted prayer over his nation. He shared that, currently, people living in China are suffering. Many work seven days a week just to live. Many are exhausted and fear an economic fallout.
However, instead of requesting something for himself, one pastor humbly offered, “We need to work toward healing and reconciling with our government officials.”
In a place where people are not free to worship as they choose, persecuted and restricted because of their beliefs, where the Communist government makes no bones about stamping out Christianity and choking out access to the Word of God, we have a committed group of believers who seek reconciliation and peace with the very hands that would beat them. This is the power of someone submitted to God’s Word.
God’s word transforms us when we renew our minds in it. When you give, that is what you are helping these Chinese students accomplish!
You can be a part of transforming lives like this every month! If you are not already, I want to invite you to become a monthly partner with World Compassion. The consistent giving of so many allows the ministry work we do in every country to take place every month.
We live in a time when the geopolitical horizon is full of unrest, when the evil of war exists, when we lose innocent lives, and when governments of nations continue to be hostile to the Christian faith. Yet, we must not allow these distractions to create fear, stress or anxiety that would take our eyes off our mission – to go and make disciples!
The Church in nations hostile to the Gospel risks much. What can we sacrifice to help empower them to complete the mission we all share together? What seed could you give today to start 2024?
Thank you for standing with us and helping to lift the arms of the Church in nations hostile to the Gospel.
In the two weeks after our most recent conference for Chinese pastors, we’ve already had 1,200 new requests for our ABC discipleship curriculum!
Persecution will not stop the Church. The Chinese Church is ready to keep growing!
Can you help us reach 4,000 more students in China this year?
$50 supports one student
$100 helps disciple two people
$1,000 helps train 20 leaders
I want to support ground-taking, frontline ministry in China through discipleship training!
World Compassion Terry Law Ministries d/b/a World Compassion and its affiliates are not a part of nor associated with Compassion International. Your gift will be used for these projects and many other outreaches of World Compassion.
God has empowered His people, including you, to change the world.
You can help empower a Christian in a nation restricted to the message of Jesus from right where you are.
Your giving is what helps transform the spiritual and physical lives of people around the world.
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