June 2005

BACK TO JERUSALEM MOVEMENT HAS BEGUN

Over 40 years ago, Chinese pastors caught a vision of reaching out from China with the gospel to take it all the way back to Jerusalem. The vision burned passionately in some hearts of pastors and leaders until World War II and the Communist takeover of China brought the plan to a screeching halt. But the vision never died. The flame flickered, and for a time during the terrible years of the Cultural Revolution, when thousands of people perished for the cause of Christ and many more thousands were imprisoned for their faith, the flame was almost extinguished. As the howling storm of adversity swirled around stalwart leaders in forced labor prison camps and dungeons, the flickering flame once again burst into full bloom right in the midst of the darkness.

Men and women who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for Christ rather than recant, learned lessons that made the vision burst into brilliant flame again. They understood that the road back to Jerusalem would be through Muslim lands in the 10/40 window, and those who dared to penetrate Satan’s strongholds would need to be prepared to suffer every form of persecution. Members of the Body of Christ, who languished in harsh prison camps for decades, realized that they were in God’s training school and they gladly applied themselves to learn the lessons He was teaching them.

Today, the thousands of Chinese, mainly in house churches proliferating throughout China, believe that God has uniquely prepared them to penetrate Satan’s strongholds. There is a growing conviction that China must send out an army of 100,000 messengers of Christ to infiltrate and establish beachheads in all the lands of the 10/40 window. They believe that God has prepared the Chinese church through persecution and suffering to be the instrument of the 21^st century to complete this task.

There is no form of persecution or suffering they have not already endured. There is no barrier so strong that they have not already broken down through prayer. There is no group of people in any church so committed to this vision and task as the Chinese church.

v     What is your part in this titanic task? Pray! Pray! Pray! There are brothers and sisters at this very moment engaged in the training of messengers to go forth. Many are in training in secret Bible Schools inside China as well as training centers outside of China that cannot be publicized. There are already messengers moving westward into some of these forbidden lands establishing themselves in various kinds of businesses and occupations so that they can have a legitimate reason to be there and at the same time be a faithful witnesses for Christ.

v     Pray that these believers will be mightily used of God right in Satan’s stronghold.

v     Pray for the training centers inside China, and both leaders and students who continue to risk their lives for Christ.

v     Pray for a few training centers outside of China where people are being prepared for cross-cultural ministry. In addition to praying, funds are needed to support these training centers.

v     Ask God how He wants you and your church to be involved and step forward to be part of the greatest missionary advance since the first century. This advance demands the fullest cooperation of many groups in China and outside of China.

v     For information on how to give to this advance, please send me an e-mail for further information that cannot be made public or posted on the Internet. Be assured though that there are already many channels in place to assist the Chinese churches and individuals in this great movement.

v     But a word of warning is necessary here. As always, there are many organizations mushrooming that are unworthy of your support. Their motives are personal and greedy, and designed to snare unsuspecting Christians to give to programs that will not accomplish the vision of the Chinese church.

ERRC = Educational Resources and Referrals - China

The following information has been gleaned from Current, the ERRC newsletter. Imagine teaching English to young teens at a Youth English Camp in Shenzhen, China close to the Hong Kong border? Or how about teaching English to adults while learning Mandarin in Tianjin or Jinan? You can by becoming part of ERRC’s programs in cooperation with Chinese universities and colleges. At the English Youth Camp, participants will teach English conversation to middle school students in the morning, and in the afternoon engage in sports, music, crafts and field trips.  At the Language/Cultural Exchange Program, ERRC will send Christians to universities south of Beijing. These individuals will study Mandarin in the morning and in the afternoon they will teach English to small groups of students. These are but two of the many opportunities for Christians to have a vital ministry through English in China. Contact ERRC for a list of available opportunities by sending an e-mail to errc@aol.com or by writing to 1405 Arch Street, Berkeley, CA 94708. Telephone: 510-486-8170.

 CHALLENGING FACTS FROM DR. JEFF LEE OF "PRAY FOR CHINA"

Ø      There are approximately 26,000 drugs addicts in Beijing with only 4,000 over the age of 35!  The government has forbidden the church to teach children under 18 for decades. Today the country suffers from that ban. PRAY that the relaxing of the ban will give full liberty to the church to teach children. 

Ø      In a survey taken by the Party, they found that 40% of Shanghai’s youth approve of extra marital affairs and 40% agree divorce is acceptable. PRAY that the church will be able to attract city young people to the gospel.

Ø      There are 13.33 million college students in China. There is a growing number of Bible study groups on campuses. Invariably, this is the first time these students are exposed to the gospel. PRAY that this incredible outreach will touch thousands of lives.

Ø      China leads the world in smoking with an average of 16 cigarettes a day. More women and young people smoke today than ever before even though the government opposes tobacco ads. American tobacco companies are flooding the market with cheap cigarettes. PRAY for the nation that does little to combat lung cancer and neglects regulating these imports.

Ø      90% of second generation overseas Chinese (those outside of China) no longer attend church after leaving college because most of their churches do not have staff fluent in English or the local language. PRAY that the overseas churches will awaken to this alarming trend and take adequate steps to reach these young people.

HUDSON TAYLOR’S FIRST CHURCH DESTROYED TWICE

According to The Voice of the Martyrs magazine, one of the first churches established by Hudson Taylor long before the Communist takeover in 1949, was destroyed two years ago by bulldozers because they refused to be registered. Members rebuilt a simple structure but again it was destroyed. However, the believers refused to be cowered by the government, but took their message to the streets by means of a parade with music. The Christians joyfully passed out tracts to the crowds that gathered to watch this unusual scene. Government officials thought they had solved the problem by bulldozing the church twice, placing Pastor Hua Hui Qi under house arrest, and beating many of the believers. The government brands these stalwart believers as “barbaric” and “evil cult” members. Pastor Hua has also been engaged in training young people for ministry as evangelists and pastors in a secret Bible training school. PRAY for these Christians to be strong under pressure and to overcome through Jesus.

PASTOR ZHANG RONGLIANG IMPRISONED

This pastor, who heads the Christ Church network of churches with 10 million members, turned down the opportunity to remain in the United States last year while on a visit. “For my family and for my safety, I wish I could stay in this wonderful land,” he said, “but for my church and for God’s people, I have to go back to China.”  He was arrested in December and is presently in police custody, cut off from fellow believers and even his family. It is unclear what the charges are against him, but it is rumored that he is facing life in prison. PRAY for this dear brother to remain a powerful witness in the midst of the harsh circumstances of prison life.

PRAY FOR THE RELEASE OF “EXILES OF HOPE” SOON

Due to circumstances beyond my control, this powerful story is still delayed at the publisher. PRAY that all difficulties will be overcome this month. Pastor Yang in this story was a personal friend of mine who suffered for twenty years exactly as Pastor Zhang is suffering, but he turned the darkness of his prison camp into a glorious pulpit from which he proclaimed the riches in Christ. This story took place in the 1950s-60s, but it is still happening today- men and women of God still suffer and die for Christ in this land of great paradoxes. Watch for the publication SOON.    

MANY NEW NAMES ADDED TO THE MAILING LIST  

Many times a month, requests come from people who received CHINA CLIPPINGS from a friend, asking to be added to the mailing list. Please keep forwarding this report and help generate new prayer partners for the urgent needs of China today.

If you wish to be deleted from the list, please send an e-mail to that effect. All requests are honored immediately.

Trusting in a great God who always does great things,

Anthony Bollback