Following is a report from our most recent trip into a security-sensitive country. Email me for more details.
Our primary work in XXXX was with the und__g__und pastors of a large city of 10 million. For security reasons we cannot reveal the name of the city. To date the pastors have been fractured and concerned with only their own congregations. When we heard that four or five had been meeting together, we asked to join them for five days of meetings. About 15 cell churches were represented which is only a small beginning of the hundreds of fellowships that secretly meet. Still this was the largest gathering of pastors in the history of this city and all were encouraged by how the Lord worked among us. A wealthy sister provided a secure central meeting room and donated lunch at her 4 star restaurant for the 25 participants. We know it was due to your prayers that none of our meetings were hampered by government. It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord provides for our needs, often with touches of luxury.
We worshiped and prayed together and old barriers came down—as they did for the pastors we saw come together in California, Zimbabwe, and India. I was able to give several days of pastoral training and as with most everywhere we go, I discovered I may have the training but they have the faith and true heart knowledge of what it means to serve the Lord. So we encouraged each other and finished with a commitment to the spiritual mapping strategy we brought from prior ministry work. They will continue to meet and expand their und__g__nd network as they bring focused prayer to bear against the "spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places" (Eph 6:12) over their city.
One brother, we'll call him Xu Quing, refused to join in because of doctrinal differences. He pastors a fast growing church and is very organized in his approach to evangelism and discipleship. I met with him privately and explained my testimony as a pastor who once did not trust other denominations until the Lord convicted me to love them and humble myself to let God work in all of us toward accurate teaching. We had a real meeting of minds and spirits and Xu Quing attended the final day.
Meeting so many und__g__und leaders blew open the doors for invitations to speak at more house churches then we could get to. Several groups combined so we could speak to groups of 30 to 60 at a time. We were busy every day with a constant barrage of amazing ministry with beautiful people. Their stories of heartbreak, seeking God, and victories create a beautiful college in my memory. God is very much at work in XXXXX.
Here are a few insights we gathered from this trip:
- There are as many as 50 to 80 million Christians in XXXXX. These are tried and tested believers. There are perhaps only about 28 million devoted followers of Christ in America. Over and over I asked the XXXXXXX to begin sending missionaries to America and they only laughed. They still mistakenly look up to us. Because of their persecution they are on the whole stronger believers than their American counterparts.
- Only about 1/3 of the believers are in the government approved churches. They are required to be self-administered (no outside control), self-supporting (no foreign money), and self-taught (no outside mission influence). All these have proven to be healthy however the official church still often waters down doctrine—heaven and hell are rarely mentioned, love is taught as the answer instead of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is rarely discussed, and sermons must be pre-approved. Nevertheless, we were encouraged to meet several solid believers who are staying in the official church to promote reform.
- The und__g__und church already has some connections over the whole of XXXXX and many good resources including Bible colleges and mature churches that send missionaries to the remote areas of their own country. For example, it is largely the Christians that are currently on-sight helping the disaster victims.
- Bibles are readily available and inexpensive wherever we traveled. They have three modern versions available and one old version that would be comparable to our King James Bible.
Dani was able to continue some of the work Denise started: a woman's Sunday School class and the English Corner at the bookstore where she was using an inspirational story to teach new English words to a group of Christian and non-Christians who wanted to learn more English.
We saw again so many dear friends we had made last year and it was good to catch up with each other. We also met so many new people. We were taken care of by the XXXXXXX Christians from the minute we passed through Customs to when we went to check in to leave. They are an amazingly considerate, generous, and traditionally graceful people. We look forward to going again if the Lord calls us to.
It was a highlight to hear the pastors as they fervently prayed for each other in small groups for more than an hour. Incredible bonding took place for the first time. Following is a list of their prayer requests so we can pray with them. Please share this with others with caution:
S/N | Name | Church Name / Location | Prayer Request |
1 | Qian (Sis.) | (XX, East） | More co-workers required for church |
2 | Manna, Jiang (Sis.) | (XXX District) | Training system required for coworkers |
3 | Ruth Sun (Sis.) | XXX Church | More work at church, need better time management, need relief of workload |
4 | Shi-Wei, Tao (Bro.) | XX City | Need good leader at the church |
5 | Loshan | New District | More instructors needed for Suzhou bible college |
6 | Shu-Xia Qin (Sis.) | XXX (SouthEast) | Sunday School textbook and teacher needed, place of 100 M2 needed for Sunday school |
7 | Wu (Sis.) | XXX () | Unity of churches on Truth |
8 | Andrew (Bro.) | Fellowship (XX, East) | Co-workers and pastor needed |
9 | Xiao-Yang (Bro.) | XXX Fellowship (XX Sub-church) |
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10 | Kang （Bro.） | Fellowship () | Full time coworkers needed, training needed, financial turn-over needed to support family, family consolidation needed. |
11 | Zhang (Sis.) | (New) | More brothers needed for ministries |
12 | Mei-Rou, (Sis.) | XX Church (East) | 1. All existing coworkers full time serve Lord. 2. Offerings exceed 100K RMB per year. 3. Setup Youth fellowship. 4. Electronic Piano/Piano/Guitar teaching service for one year. 5. Healing for my Husband (Shou-Ming Jin) diabetes mellitus, reborn and be a coworker with me |
13 | Ji (Sis.) | XX Church (East) | Students' life growth on Truth, Mature in Christ. My personal direction in service. |
14. | Peter Mao (Bro.) | (XX, East) |
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15 | Cai (Sis.) | XX City (North) |
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Following is a message sent to the leaders of this revival work:
Chong and Wong, 2-Jul-08
For you and all the pastors:
As I walked through your city on my last day I kept feeling a deep pull on my soul. I could not understand what the Lord was telling me; the feeling returned several times. It felt like a holy dread that something major was about to happen. I asked the Lord if it was about the pastors or perhaps me or my family. It felt like I was inside a ship going to an important war. Late in the day I could not get peace from this stirring so I pled for God to show me what it was about and randomly opened the Bible to the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall around the city of Jerusalem.
(I will insert comments on what I believe God is saying to us through this passage.)
Neh 2:17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision."
(the spiritual wall around XXXXX is in ruins from many years of idol worship. The demons laugh at their continued victories.)
Neh 2:18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, "Let us rise up and build." So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
(Now you are ready to rise up and do the good work of praying for the rebuilding the wall of protection around XXXXX.)
Neh 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?"
(Some will oppose what you are doing and jeer at what you are attempting saying, "This task is impossible and you have no authority to do this.")
Neh 2:20 Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem."
(God will be with you to accomplish this work and those who ridicule you will have no share in the eternal rewards of this mighty project.)
Neh 7:1 Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,
Neh 7:2 I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.
(You brothers and sisters are set as leaders over this work because you are "more faithful and God-fearing men/women than many".)
We stand with you in prayer for your city.
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