AG Bollback Ministries

ITS OFFICIAL - 130 MILLION CHRISTIANS

The top religious official of China, Yie Xiaowen, finally rejected decades of ambivalence toward religion by telling Xinhua News Agency that “religion is one of the important social forces from which China draws strength.” He also admitted that the number of Christians in China has reached 130 million, including some 20 Catholics!

The Chinese government has intentionally understated the number of Christians for decades in a futile effort to downplay the continued miraculous growth and impact of the church. In 2002, they estimated the number to be 15,000 whereas it was probably closer to 70-80 million believers! House church believers have never been recognized or counted. This announcement through the official Chinese news agency is significant and cause for much praise. Hopefully, it signals the end of the severe persecution suffered by the house churches of China. Dr. Bob Fu, President of China Aid Association, writing about this latest official revelation said, “The unprecedented growth has happened under ceaseless persecution. We pray that China will realize true religious freedom soon.”

THE REASON FOR GROWTH

A worker visiting in China as this is being written, wrote to report that one young couple, Bible School graduates, participated in a two-week “cold turkey” evangelism sharing outreach. The first day, they shared the gospel with 10 people, day two with 25, day three with 32, day four with 41, and day 5 with 50 people- a total of 158 people! Several prayed to receive Christ. All across China similar evangelistic outreaches are touching the lives of thousands of people through the commitment of men and women carrying out the Great Commission. New converts require an ever-growing need for Bibles to strengthen and guide them. Amity Press has now topped 40 million Bibles printed since its inception, but that is only a drop in the bucket of need. The American Bible Society which supplies the paper for Amity Press through contributions received in the USA, encourages people to become partners with them through their Bible-A-Month plan. Many other agencies are printing Bibles for China and circulating them through the house churches where the need is so urgent. A Chinese Christian said that reading the Bible is like eating rice. You have to do it every day!”

EVANGELISM EXPLOSION IN CHINA

Tom Mangham, Vice President for EE Asia reports extraordinary plans for the expansion of EE in China. The China Initiative Task Force will be meeting in Penang, Malaysia April 23-25 to lay plans for the 21st Century EE China Rally in the fall. Members of the Task Force have been traveling in China to assess the growth of EE and determine what needs to be done. The growth has been beyond all expectations. Workers are pushing ahead with plans to establish EE in every province of China! A recent report stated that $10,000 was urgently needed to develop leadership through EE Clinics, (short 3-4 days of concentrated training for pastors and trainers). As God lays this need on your heart, gifts may be sent to EE International at Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the China Project or contact Tom Mangham at tmangham@eeinternational.org

GREAT CHALLENGES NEED URGENT PRAYER

There are some urgent challenges confronting the Church in China today:

With the lessening of persecution in many places, and the rising income and prosperity of the nation, many Chinese leaders are calling for renewed vigilance against the inroads of materialism and the fatal spiritual devastation that results from comfort and ease. Vance Havner, spiritual giant and champion of full dependence upon the Holy Spirit for holy living and power in ministry once wrote that “the church was never more powerful than when it was in the arena, and never weaker than when it sat bedecked with medals and honor in the grandstands.”
Another urgent need is for trained workers to shepherd and disciple the estimated 7-10,000 new converts a day! Without disciplining, these new converts are subject to deception by the ever-present cults, both homegrown and foreign.
The third request is for more Bibles. Although Bibles are permitted to be printed in China by Amity Press, the 2 million they are able to print each year does not begin to meet the urgent demand. At present the government does not look with favor on Bibles being imported or even printed within the country except by this one approved outlet at Amity Press.
There are many pastors and leaders in prison because they were involved in printing and distributing Bibles that were printed in Hong Kong or other unapproved locations.

CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP GROUPS ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES

A new phenomenon has been quietly developing on the university campuses all across the nation. A few years ago, 3 or 4 Christian groups were meeting secretly and with great caution on university campuses. Intellectuals were not in the vanguard of acceptance of Christianity because of decades of atheistic instruction from early childhood. But the astounding growth of Christianity has begun to penetrate many of the largest and most prestigious campuses of the nation. Today there are more than 30 vibrant Christian fellowships meeting openly on campuses and being led by professors and student leaders. These are the new "house churches" of China that are sprouting up all over the country. This has great promise for the future of the nation as more and more future leaders pledge their allegiance to Jesus Christ.

CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING OF WORKERS CONTINUE

One of the most impressive ministries going on in China today is the training of a host of cross-cultural workers to carry the gospel from China all the way to Jerusalem through the Muslim countries of the 10/40 Window. It has been frequently reported that the Chinese Church desires to raise up 100,000 such workers. It is actually happening quietly and without fanfare in many training centers both inside and outside China that cannot be divulged for security reasons. You and your church are urged to pray for:

teachers and leaders of these many training centers and their awesome responsibility to train people for ministry,

for wisdom in preparing people for this dangerous mission,

for the students who are willing to bleed for Jesus and perhaps even to die for Him but who are constantly bombarded by temptations to turn back,

for the finances to make it all possible.

For those who feel the burden to assist through prayer and financial support, please contact prayer@lfdusa.org or you may give directly to your Mission Agency that is working in China. Be sure to designate your gifts for "Chinese cross-cultural training."

100 YEAR-OLD CHURCH FLOURISHING TODAY

More than 100 years ago, missionaries penetrated a remote area that taxes the stamina of visitors today as they travel over bone-jarring roads! So complete was the transformation of most of the 200 villagers at that time, that they renamed their village the “Gospel Village” as it is still called today. During China’s Cultural Revolution, the Communists forced them to change the name to the “Social Education Village,” but as soon as conditions relaxed, the people reverted to their former name. Today, some of the 100 year-old buildings are still in use as a vital part of the community for their school and chapel. An elderly woman who managers the church is the grand daughter of one of the first elders. His son also followed as an elder, but was arrested by the Communists and imprisoned for eight years. During this time he became paralyzed from mistreatment and after being sent home in 1965, he suffered from his severe treatment in prison and died five years later. His widow continued to faithfully raise her family to love the Lord, and also to win many others to Christ. The elderly woman who managers the church today married one of those converts and became a Christian herself. Through terror and pain, threats and beatings, this village could not be turned away from their faith in the living God. It continues today as a thriving Christian village. Cook Communications Ministries International supplies them with the Pictorial Bible Studies, a Bible story book for children that has been inexplicably approved by the Chinese government. For many decades, it was forbidden to teach children under the age of 18 in Sunday Schools or churches. This is a new and exciting development that made possible the printing of over 4 million pieces of literature in Chinese last year by Cook International!

GOOD NEWS FOR JACK AND JENNY FANS	"Capture of the Twin Dragon is the latest addition to The Jack and Jenny Mystery Series that is being mailed out without interruption. It is a wonderful addition to the children's series since this release includes a Discussion and Study Guide at the close of each chapter. This makes it ideal for useby homeschoolers and Christian schools. Reports of satisfied parents are very exciting. "Hijacked" is the most recent new story, and I hope your children and grandchildren are reading these books. These are stories with a purpose.
space	Orders may be sent to 1622 Calvin Circle, Kissimmee, FL 34746. Each of these books cost $6.00, and if ordered separately, please add $2.50 for postage. Order both bocks to the same address, and the total cost will be $14.50--a savings of $2.50.
	The entire set of six books is available for $32.00 postage paid.

	Books 1, 3, 4 and 5 purchased separately are $5.00 each plus $2.50 postage or 1-3 books for $2.50 postage, and 3-5 books $3.50 postage.