Asia: Huge New Christian Radio Signal | 310 | Report 3 & 4

Global Christian broadcaster Trans World Radio (TWR) was heard ”louder than ever” across Asia from Monday, November 21, after inaugurating two transmitters it hopes will help to reach “millions more people” including “persecuted” Christians in countries such as China.
“We thank God for the privilege of increasing our spiritual footprint in Asia,” said TWR President Lauren Libby.

The transmitters can broadcast in both “analog” and “digital” modes. Digital shortwave will enable TWR to reach both rural areas and large cities with a strong “near FM” quality signal as they are known to reduce fading and interference associated with analog transmissions, TWR explained. Mike Tirone, senior president and general manger of KCBI, a Texas-based TWR affiliate, said he hopes the network will also be able to better serve those who are persecuted for their faith in Communist China.

“I am so excited that now they are going to get the spiritual food and that this is going to help them grow [in God's Word].” Tirone said China’s government has consistently denied wrongdoing, saying Christians are free to  worship within the state-approved churches, but rights groups say many of the estimated 130 million Chinese Christians prefer to worship outside government control, often in home churches.

TWR says it uses the broadcasts in China to help “further supply, strengthen, and fuel the growing house church movement with programmes that offer seminary training, Bible teaching and spiritual encouragement.”

From Guam, TWR broadcasts to what it calls “numerous unreached groups,” including Han Chinese and Cantonese as well as people in North Korea, Burma, and Vietnam who “are largely unreachable except by way of shortwave radio.” Also within range of Guam’s broadcasting site are India and Indonesia who receive “numerous programmes in multiple languages,” TWR said.

Tirone urged company executives and others to become involved in TWR’s mission. “When Jesus saw the sea of lost people, he wept. We need to care about what the Lord cares about.” Founded in 1952, TWR broadcasts from 14 countries as well as through local radio stations, cable, satellite, and the Internet, reaching millions of people in 160 nations in over 200 languages and dialects. It claims to receive over 1.5 million letters annually.

Source: BosNewsLife

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 107:1-6

PRAISE: God for this major step forward, enabling Christian to be nurtured in their Faith, and unbelievers to hear the Gospel of Salvation in the nations of the Far East, including China, Burma, Vietnam and North Korea.

PRAY: That the Holy Spirit will prepare many people to listen to these broadcasts and come to know the living Christ. Pray that those who prepare programmes may have grace and wisdom.

The Chinese Hand-Written Bible | 309 | Report 25

It took years to finish, but on one day last October ChinaAid presented a portion of a hand-copied Chinese Bible to the George W Bush Institute, as a token of appreciation for President Bush’s “dedication to the advancement of religious freedom in China” and his “tireless efforts as an advocate for those Chinese ‘in bondage’.” The text had been painstakingly hand-copied by house church Christians imprisoned in a labour camp in northwest China.

In a letter to President Bush explaining the provenance of the hand-written scriptures, ChinaAid president and founder Xiqiu “Bob” Fu said that about a decade ago, a group of some 20 Chinese house church Christians were sent to a labour camp after their 5 a.m. worship meeting was raided by authorities. The labour camp refused to allow them to have a copy of the Bible, but another house church Christian in the same camp managed to get one copy of the Scriptures smuggled in. The prisoners began to copy the Bible by hand, book by book.

“These hand-copied Bibles were used by more than two dozen house church Christians in the labour camp for more than a year, sustaining the faith of these prisoners who read them in turn, book by book, in secret in the dark of night,” the letter said. “On the eve of the prisoners’ release, the text was smuggled out of the labour camp to prevent them from being confiscated when the prisoners left the camp.”

Source: Christian News Wire

BIBLE STUDY: Genesis 39:1-6

PRAISE: God that He sustained His people through His written Word, bringing them daily face to face with the Living Word, Jesus Christ.

China: A Force for Word Evangelism | 309 | Report 17 & 18

China’s meteoric rise to power over the last two decades is likely one of the most significant developments we are witnessing. It has amassed the wealth and power to make or break global markets. China is a force to be reckoned with, and Jonathon Shibley, with Global Advance says:

“Today is the day that we need to plant those seeds of thought into the new emerging Christian leaders in China, that they have a global responsibility for the fulfilling of the Great Commission. As resources shift, and as power shifts, we’ll see Chinese helping fund the advance of the Gospel around the world. it’s a good time to engage the leaders of the Christian Chinese business world.”

Global Advance recently held a strategic meeting in China to do just that. Business ethics often challenge Christian business leaders in China. The tools utilized by Marketplace Missions meet a growing need. “A lot of them struggle with being in a culture where spiritual capital is lacking in terms of doing business. There’s a lot of bribery and things of that nature, so the hunger level is high to learn how to do business from a godly perspective, but also to see themselves as a catalyst to being a light and an influence to other people…”

Through Marketplace Missions, Global Advance teams worked with Christian business leaders in China to awaken Kingdom vision and increase the expertise of Christian entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals. “People who are managers in multi-national companies and love Jesus are being catalysts for God’s purpose through the marketplace. It’s just exciting to see what God is doing.”

“The call to Great Commission is for the entire church – for believers in every nation, and not just the West,” Shibley notes. He adds that the meetings were a valuable resource for China’s Christian business leaders to connect with others who desire to transform their nations. Global Advance provided some resources through their Business Institute (GABI).

Special modular teachings focused on areas such as Accounting Finance, Management, Marketing, and Human Resources. Shibley says although there is persecution occurring throughout the country, believers are undeterred. Now that the Christian business leaders have tools, friends, and a growing spiritual acumen, “Pray that they’ll have the strength and the biblical encouragement to live out and integrate their faith into their work.”

That’s not the only need. Global perspective is the next challenge. As multi-national business opens up lanes of commerce for the Chinese, they can be a force for godly change, as indeed happens when Christian Chinese businessmen visit closed countries like North
Korea.

Source:Market Place Missions; Global Advance; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Mark 13:9-11

Report 17 – PRAISE: God that Chinese businessmen are realising their responsibility to the world.

Report 18 – PRAY: That they may learn to serve God in a difficult environment in ways that honour Him.

New Crackdown on Chinese Church | 307 | Report 29

Many readers may have read with concern of renewed threats and attacks on house churches and their leaders in China. This is because a new drive was launched against the house churches on December 1st 2010, according to ChinaAid.

What is particularly serious is that – in a new directive – the authorities have reportedly labelled the house churches as a ‘cult’. It appears that neo-Maoist elements in the Government have seized the opportunity to launch this campaign against the Church following a number of years in which more moderate elements in the Party had shown favour to the house churches.

It is clear that the main reason behind this new wave of hostility is the growth in the number of house churches and the increasing influence of Christians in the nation.

Source: OMF International: Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 2:1-12

PRAY: That our sovereign Lord will overrule the malice of men and that this storm will soon pass.

Opportunities to Reach China’s Miao | 307 | Report 22

During the early 1980s China became more open to missionaries. Returning missionaries found that Miao people groups that had eagerly responded to the Gospel prior to the 1949 Communist takeover still had strong churches. However, little had been done to reach out to the Miao people groups that were unreached in 1949. Today there are opportunities for sharing the message of salvation with the Miao.

There is a hunger for education among the Miao. The Chinese government has made only minor efforts to build schools in Miao towns and villages. Despite talk about racial equality, discrimination still exists in China. There is an open door for Christian teachers to start schools that teach both basic skills and the message of salvation.

Reaching out to the Miao peoples will be a daunting task. The Miao dialects belong to at least eight different language families that are very difficult to learn. Many of these languages do not even have a single Scripture portion. But Miao Christians are eager to learn the Scriptures.

Source: Global Prayer Digest; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Acts 13:47-49

PRAISE: God for Gospel openings in remotest China. Pray for Scripture teachers and translators.

The Story of a North Korean Refugee | 307 | Report 17 & 18

It is impossible for us here in the West to imagine how hard it is for people who lived all of their life under total State control and in abject poverty, with none of the basic conveniences of life. The pastor of a church in Seoul that caters for refugees from the North says that when refugees cross the border and reach South Korea, usually they
experience total confusion about life in their new country and often suffer from sickness. They are in need of much care that only God’s supernatural help can provide. One of the church leaders was herself a refugee. She tells her story:

“I was an active member of a communist group enjoying a high position (in North Korea). Because of my job, I moved to China. When I lived in North Korea, I was a nonbeliever. I never saw Christians. I just heard about underground churches. I first heard the Good News here in South Korea. As for the people of North Korea, the great majority hear nothing about the Gospel. Many of them never hear about Christ as Lord and King. They do not hear of the Bible as God’s Word.”

Asked whether North Korea might suddenly open up to the Gospel she shared some very interesting thoughts: “Actually, communistic ideology has its own set of doctrines… It almost has like 10 commandments. They even have something similar to tithing. That’s why I believe it may not be so difficult for them to understand the Gospel story. I wish I could go to North Korea someday, but I could get killed right away. I have four children that still live there. I pray for them everyday. I dream and hope that someday they could find the way to God and meet Jesus.

There is only one government-controlled TV channel that spreads communistic propaganda and ideology. So people there get no chance to believe in something else. If you were known to believe in other things outside of what they teach, you could be fired, sent to jail, or even get killed. People don’t really know what exactly is happening in the outside world and how it looks like.

Once I came to China I saw another reality. I watched TV channels from US and South Korea. I realized how big and amazing our world is. I was shocked. (But) in China I felt I wasn’t totally free. I still lived under someone else’s control so I decided to go to South Korea. Some people (here) took me to a Christian church where I heard Jesus and salvation preached. Since then, I have been attending this church and now truly believe in God. I am very thankful to our senior pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee for his kindness and deep dedication to God. I am happy that I can serve God here. When I became a member of this church, there were just 5 people from North Korea. Now we have got
300 people”

Source:Extracted from Christian Telegraph

BIBLE STUDY: Acts 8:26-39

Report 17 – PRAISE: God that many refugees are finding Christ as they are loved by the Southern Church.
Report 18 – PRAY: That many converts may be able to return to the North to proclaim Christ.

China: The Difference a Bible Makes | 304 | Report 22

In 2008 China celebrated 60 years of Communism. To prevent any anti-Communist sentiment being seen or heard, the government cracked down on religious activities – and house church leader Chang got caught up in the snare. His crime? Leading Bible studies. His sentence? Prison. But, unlike more than half of China’s 100 million
Christians, Chang had his Bible. “I’d waited six years for a Bible,” he says. “When I received one, I couldn’t put it down.” Chang’s memorisation of Scripture enabled him to lead many fellow prisoners to Christ. “For this alone, my time in prison was worth it,” he says.

Source: Word Power – The Bible Network

BIBLE STUDY: Deuteronomy 32:46-47

PRAISE: God for distribution of His written Word, and for those who carry it in their hearts and share it.

China’s Young Churches Overflowing | 304 | Report 13&14

Like other Christians around the world, Zhang Fei celebrated Christmas Day in traditional fashion. She attended a morning church service, joining in the carol singing led by a cassock-wearing choir, and then watched a nativity play performed by children from the congregation. But Miss Zhang’s Protestant church is an illegal one, and its 1,000 members have grown used to worshipping in a variety of office buildings across Beijing in an effort to avoid the scrutiny of the authorities.
A 25-year-old junior manager in an engineering company, Miss Zhang has been a Christian for four years. She says many people, including her parents, who are members of the Communist Party, think she is ”crazy” and question both her faith and the wisdom of being a Christian in a Communist country. “They say, ‘There’s no God in this world,’” she said.
“They haven’t stopped me being a Christian and I wouldn’t let them, but it’s a source of tension between us. I pray for them.” But unlikely as it sounds, Miss Zhang is part of a huge and growing number of like-minded Chinese who celebrated the story of Christ’s birth. Up to 100 million are practising Christians - possibly a higher proportion of the country’s 1.3 billion people than in Britain, and they outnumber the 76 million members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The Chinese constitution officially guarantees religious freedom but in an effort to monitor the activities, Christians, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant, are required to attend state-controlled churches – a stricture ignored by those who meet instead in flats, office blocks, university dormitories and even the private rooms of restaurants. The authorities frequently clamp down on their activities, yet the number of Christians continues to grow. Jin Tianming, the pastor of the house church which Miss Zhang attends, said: “When we started in 1993 there were just 10 of us. Now, we have more than 1,000 members. Every Sunday there are 30 newcomers.”
Particularly worrying for the CCP is the spread of Christianity’s appeal from the countryside, where it first took root, to the young, university-educated residents of China’s cities – the very people whom the party traditionally recruits. When The Sunday Telegraph attended the church, worshippers, mostly under the age of 40, occupied every seat and stood lining the walls, many clutching Bibles and prayer books in both Chinese and English.” New Christians are particularly drawn to the fervent, evangelical Christianity of the Protestant house churches, which has spread from nearby South Korea.
“It’s no problem if the government doesn’t like Christians or house churches,” said Miss Zhang. “God is in charge of us, not the government.”

Source: The Daily Telegraph

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 122:1-9

Report 13 – PRAISE: God that He IS in charge and the Gospel is spreading to the whole nation.
Report 14 – PRAY: That Chinese Christian witness may continue to show that the Gospel changes nations.

Growth Key: Pass on What You Learn | 303 | Report 31

When talking to people around the world who are involved in church planting, they all stress the importance of people passing on what they are learning. Curtis Sergeant, who saw a church planting movement in China, talks about the importance of discipleship chains – whenever someone learns something, they are responsible to pass it on to at least two other people, who in turn pass it on to two more. Evangelistic Bible study is one of the key ways of leading people to Christ. But then they are asked the question: ‘Who do you know who needs to hear this?’ By passing on what they are learning to others, the Kingdom spreads quickly.

Source: Joel News International; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Peter 3:14-16

PRAY: That every Christian may be a “passer on”.

Christians Aid China’s Productivity | 303 | Report 13

The employees work under the customary symbols of the atheist Communist state. At first glance, it looks as though it could be any other factory driving the rapid development of the Chinese economy. But this is no ordinary enterprise because here religious faith is as important as profit.
In fact, the owner of the Boteli Valve Group in Wenzhou would like to see all his staff convert to Christianity. And such a factory is not a one-off: it is part of a growing number of businesses run by Christian entrepreneurs whose success is now being studied by the government.
As he shows me the production facilities, the factory’s general manager, Weng-Jen Wau, tells me that every month, $5m (£3m) worth of industrial valves are manufactured. But he seems to have limited interest in the sales figures – he is far more concerned to tell me about the place his family’s Christian faith has in the life of the factory.
Every Monday morning, the senior managers gather together and pray about the business. Once a week, members of staff are encouraged to attend an on-site Christian fellowship meeting, where they read the Bible and pray for each other. And he tells me that when staff convert to Christianity, their attitude towards their work is transformed. When [Christian workers] do things wrong, they feel guilty – that’s the difference,” says Wau.
One of the workers who had recently converted to Christianity explained that his new-found faith was now a source of daily inspiration. “If everybody became a Christian, it would have a very big impact,” he said.

Christopher Landau – BBC News

BIBLE STUDY: Ephesians 4:1-6

PRAISE: God for the many Christians in business. Pray that they may show a true Christian example.

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