This past April marked the 35th anniversary in China of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre of 1989. I remember visiting China as a child soon after this massacre occurred. It marked me as a young boy – getting to meet people who were there and severely wounded on that day. My eyes were opened to the reality that not all people had the same freedoms I had in the U.S.
And yet, here we are 35 years later, in the face of continued government restrictions, empowering the persecuted church in China.
The Communist government continues to build and support a state-sponsored, propaganda-driven version of Christianity.
In late June, the government-controlled Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) (the government approved “church”) held conferences with high level Communist officials who urged them to continue the sinicization of the government-endorsed version of the Chinese church.
Sinicization is where the teaching of the Bible becomes subservient to the teachings of the Chinese Communist Party leader, President Xi Jingping. Any churches that refuse to participate in this are seen as a threat to social harmony and progress in China (such as house churches or non-government-approved churches who represent the majority of Christians in China).
These continued discussions have only led to further persecution for the pastors and leaders who are choosing to preach the pure Word of God. We’ve gotten reports of landlords substantially raising rents with non-state sanctioned churches, churches being shut down, websites being turned off, and congregations being forced to disperse.
These are the pastors and leaders we continue to empower – the ones who are willing to stand for the pure truth of God’s Word in the face of persecution.
Just last year, six pastors and one of our World Compassion staff were detained on their way to our conference in another country. They were all heavily questioned and forced to cancel their flight. Two of them were visited by police when they returned home. This is what oppression feels like.
This isn’t stopping us or Chinese pastors from pressing forward. In just a few short weeks, 50 undeterred pastors will be discreetly leaving China to be a part of World Compassion’s Pastors and Leaders Conference. While their excitement must be contained in the lead-up to the event, once these pastors arrive, they will experience a freedom they currently do not have in China.
Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we are seeing an undeterred spirit of resolve rise up in the pastors of the Chinese underground church! Recently, we asked one of last year’s detained pastors how he felt about the government watching him. His response was: “No problem. We will continue to serve Him as usual.”
Your support is needed to help sponsor pastors like this. Please know our giving lets them know you have their back when they are willing to put their neck on the line.
This year’s conference will have an emphasis on missions training and mobilization. For several years, World Compassion has helped provide missions training but never at a conference like this. This year, we’re convening Chinese leaders who share this vision to further collaborate on helping them engage global missions on a larger scale.
A conservative estimate is that the house church population in China is made up of 120 million people. It’s this untapped horsepower in the Body of Christ that we want to help further mobilize. Our desire is to potentially connect them to some of World Compassion’s work in the Middle East – further expanding the impact in that region.
These continued discussions have only led to further persecution for the pastors and leaders who are choosing to preach the pure Word of God. We’ve gotten reports of landlords substantially raising rents with non-state sanctioned churches, churches being shut down, websites being turned off, and congregations being forced to disperse.
These are the pastors and leaders we continue to empower – the ones who are willing to stand for the pure truth of God’s Word in the face of persecution.
Just last year, six pastors and one of our World Compassion staff were detained on their way to our conference in another country. They were all heavily questioned and forced to cancel their flight. Two of them were visited by police when they returned home. This is what oppression feels like.
This isn’t stopping us or Chinese pastors from pressing forward. In just a few short weeks, 50 undeterred pastors will be discreetly leaving China to be a part of World Compassion’s Pastors and Leaders Conference. While their excitement must be contained in the lead-up to the event, once these pastors arrive, they will experience a freedom they currently do not have in China.
Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we are seeing an undeterred spirit of resolve rise up in the pastors of the Chinese underground church! Recently, we asked one of last year’s detained pastors how he felt about the government watching him. His response was: “No problem. We will continue to serve Him as usual.”
The total budget is $65,000 to sponsor all 50 pastors or $1,300/pastor to attend the conference.
This covers:
We need your help to sponsor the remaining 1,650 students to hit our goal of 4,000 students this year..
We are also looking to equip 250 new China Mission School (CMS) students for missions work both within the country of China and beyond.
A donation of $50 sponsors one ABC Bible training or China Mission School (CMS) student.
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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