August 2014Chantal de Bruijne

IN CHINA

JESUSmore popular on China's twitter than current president and Chairman Mao

Lack of interest in Communist ideology and rising interest in Christianity may help explain the relative frequency of Christian-related content on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. According to a recent study, Chinese President Xi Jinping only received 4 million mentions on Weibo, but Jesus more than 18 million mentions. The research also reportedly showed that the term "Christian congregation" was mentioned more than 41 million times, while "Communist Party" yielded just 5.3 million mentions.

Source: Newsmax

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Li jianbing Roman Sigaev

China on course to become world's most Christian nation in 5 years

The number of Christians in Communist China is growing steadily and by 2030 it could have more churchgoers than America. The 5,000-capacity Liushi church, which boasts more than twice as many seats as Westminster Abbey and a 206ft crucifix that can be seen for miles around, opened last year with one theologian declaring it a "miracle that such a small town was able to build such a grand church". The $14 million, building is also one of the most visible symbols of Communist China's breakneck conversion as it evolves into one of the largest Christian congregations on earth. Every Sunday worshippers flock to this Church to pledge their allegiance - not to the Communist Party but to Christ.

"It is a wonderful thing to be a follower of Jesus Christ" beamed Jin Hongxin. "If everyone in China believed in Jesus then we would have no more need for police stations. There would be no more bad people and no more crime," she added. Officially, China is an atheist country but that is changing fast as many of its 1.3 billion citizens seek meaning and spiritual comfort that neither communism nor capitalism seem to have supplied. Christian congregations have skyrocketed since churches began reopening following the end of the Cultural Revolution. Less than four decades later, China is now poised to become not just the world's number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation.

"By my calculations China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon," said Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University. "It is going to be less than a generation. Not many people are prepared for this dramatic change." China's Protestant community, which had just one million members

in 1949, has already overtaken those of countries more commonly associated with an evangelical boom. In 2010 there were more than 58 million Protestants in China compared to 40 million in Brazil and 36 million in South Africa, according to the Pew Research Centre's Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Prof Yang, a leading expert on religion in China, believes that number will swell to around 160 million by 2025. That would likely put China ahead even of the United States, which had around 159 million Protestants in 2010 but whose congregations are in decline. By 2030, China's total Christian population, would exceed 247 million, placing it above Mexico, Brazil and the United States as the largest Christian congregation in the world, he predicted. "Mao thought he could eliminate religion. He thought he had accomplished this," Prof Yang said. "It's ironic – they actually failed completely." Like many Chinese churches, the church in Liushi, 200 miles south of Shanghai, has had a turbulent history.

It was founded in 1886 by William Edward Soothill, a Yorkshire-born missionary. But by the late 1950s, the region was engulfed by Mao's violent anti-Christian campaigns and it was forced to close. Liushi remained shut throughout the decade of the Cultural Revolution as places of worship were destroyed across the country. Since it reopened in 1978 its congregation has gone from strength to strength as part of China's officially sanctioned Christian church – along with thousands of others that have accepted Communist Party oversight in return for being allowed to worship. Today it has 2,600 regular churchgoers and holds up to 70 baptisms each year, according to Shi

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Xiaoli, its 27-year-old preacher.

The parish's revival reached a crescendo with the opening of its new mega-church, reputedly the biggest in mainland China. "There wasn't room in the old building for all the followers, especially at Christmas and at Easter. The new one is big and eye-catching." Said Ms Shi. The Liushi church is not alone. From Yunnan province in China's southwest to Liaoning in its industrial northeast, congregations are booming and more Chinese are thought to attend Sunday services each week than do Christians across the whole of Europe. A recent study found that online searches for the words "Christian" and "Jesus" far outnumbered those for "The Communist Party" and "Xi Jinping", China's president.

Among China's Protestants are also many millions who worship at illegal underground "house churches", which hold unsupervised services – often in people's homes – in an attempt to evade the prying eyes of the Communist Party. Such churches are mostly behind China's embryonic missionary movement – a reversal of roles after the country was for centuries the target of foreign missionaries. Now it is starting to send its own missionaries abroad, notably into North Korea. "We want to help and it is easier for us than for British, South Korean or American missionaries," said one underground church leader in north China who asked not to be named.

The spread of Christianity has the Communist Party scratching its head. "The child suddenly grew up and the parents don't know how to deal with it," the preacher from China's illegal house-church movement, said. Some officials argue that religious groups can provide social services the government cannot, while simultaneously helping reverse a growing moral crisis in a land where cash, not Communism, has become king. Ms

Shi, Liushi's preacher, who is careful to describe her church as "patriotic", said: "We have two motivations: one is our gospel mission and the other is serving society. Christianity can play a role in maintaining peace and stability in society. Without God, people can do as they please."

Some within China's leadership worry about the possible impact the rise of Christianity will have on the Communist Party's grip on power. As a result, a close watch is still kept on churchgoers, and preachers are routinely monitored to ensure their sermons do not diverge from what the Party considers acceptable. In Liushi church a closed circuit television camera hangs from the ceiling, directly in front of the lectern. "They want the pastor to preach in a Communist way. They want to train people to practise in a Communist way," said the house-church preacher, who said state churches often shunned potentially subversive sections of the Bible.

The Old Testament passage where the exiled Daniel refuses to obey orders to worship the king rather than his own god is seen as "very dangerous", the preacher added. Christians' growing power was on show recently when thousands flocked to defend a church in Wenzhou after government threats to demolish it. Faced with the congregation's very public show of resistance, officials backed away from their plans, negotiating a compromise with church leaders. "They do not trust the church, but they have to tolerate it because the growth is there," said the church leader. "The number of Christians is growing – they cannot fight it. They do not want the 70 million Christians to be their enemy."

The underground church leader said many government officials viewed religion as "a sickness" that needed curing, and Prof Yang agreed there was a potential threat. The Communist Party was "still not sure if Christianity would become an opposition political force" and feared it could be used by "Western forces to overthrow the Communist

political system", he said. Churches were likely to face an increasingly "intense" struggle overcoming decade as the Communist Party sought to stifle Christianity's rise, he predicted. "There are people in the

government who are trying to control the church. I think they are making the last attempt to do that."

Source: The UK Telegraph

Jesus said unto His disciples, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into His harvest."

Matthew 9:37-38

And if only Hudson Taylor and the thousands of other missionaries who gave their lives for China could be alive today to see what you have just read about there would be great rejoicing! And how rewarding it is for God's people who have prayed for China over the years to know their prayer is being answered.

This report is truly an answer to prayer! This is something only God could do!

Be encouraged to continue in prayer for China and the nations!

Hudson Taylor was born at Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, on May 21st, 1832.

At the age of 5, after hearing about heathen lands, he said: "When I'm a man I shall be a missionary and go to China."

A thoughtful little lad, brought up by serious, devoted Christian parents, he was accustomed to hearing the great Eternal truth spoken daily. Salvation and living

for God were shown to be most important things of all.

The little boy of 5 meant to go -the lad of 17 yearned to do so, and for this he made every effort.

After much waiting upon God, to know His will, Hudson Taylor sailed for China from Liverpool, England, on the "Dumfries," September 19th, 1853.

Historian K. S. Latourette wrote that "Hudson Taylor, was...one of the greatest missionaries of all time, and...one of the four or five most influential foreigners who went to China in the 19th century for any purpose." The China Inland Mission was the largest missionary agency in China and it is estimated that Taylor was responsible for more people being converted to Christianity than at any other time since Paul the Apostle brought Christian teaching to Europe. (1832 - 1905)

- Eric Leach

Pray for China and the nationsOrder an EHC World Prayer Map - see enclosed reply slip

REVIVAL BREAKS OUTAMIDST CIVIL WAR

COLOMBIA

n the shadows of a city street in Colombia, Reinel and his brother watched as a man walked from door-to-door, up and down the streets. The man knocked on each

door and spoke for a time with anyone who answered. He left a booklet at each home and then walked to the next one — door-after-door, home-after-home. Reinel and his brother followed the man for over an hour, plotting. They needed money for drugs.

At a calculated moment, Reinel rushed out of the shadows and lunged at the man. He expected this robbery would be like all the others; he thought the man would struggle and fight as he grappled for his belongings. Reinel pushed and shoved the man, demanding his money, but he realised the man wasn’t fighting back. Instead, the man was—embracing him?

Reinel paused to catch his breath and heard that the man was saying something. “Jesus loves you and forgives you,” he was repeating over and over. Reinel’s brother came out of the shadows to join the fight, but Reinel stopped him. As he heard the

man’s words, his heart was broken. “Please,” Reinel said, “pray for me!” He hardly knew what that meant, but he knew he needed this love and forgiveness.

The man introduced himself as Darius, a local pastor and EHC volunteer. He prayed with Reinel and his brother, and the two received Christ right there on the street. In the weeks following that encounter, Darius and other EHC workers visited the brothers in their home several times each week for discipleship. Now they are part of a local church and studying the Word of God—their lives transformed by an embrace and the love of Jesus.

“We suffer terrorism and violence in our nation,” EHC Colombia National Director Jaime Doncel says. “We never know when we might be robbed, beaten, or worse.”

The South American nation of Colombia is devastated by decades of conflict. Its people are living in uncertainty and fear, caught in the lurches of history’s longest-running civil war. This conflict, which erupted full-scale

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in 1962, has resulted in an estimated 250,000 deaths and the displacement of over five million people.

“Many areas where we have active ministry are filled with violence,” Jaime says of the current situation in his nation. “We often have to seek permission from the guerrillas before we can share the Gospel from home-to-home. Sometimes we must risk unauthorised evangelism though, because the need of the people is too great. This puts us in many life-threatening situations. But in the midst of this great crisis, we are carrying on the work the Lord has entrusted to us.”

Though the obstacles to ministry are numerous and significant, God is making a way for His Gospel to go forth and His Church to flourish in Colombia. Jaime reports: “Every day men and women are being touched by the Word of God. Some of these people had never heard of Jesus, much less salvation or eternal life. But now, they are being reached and transformed by the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In Colombia today unity among churches, revival, salvations, and miracles abound. One man was working on a farm outside his home when EHC workers approached him. One of the workers simply said, “God loves you. He does not want you to make the wrong decision.” The man was astonished: “You have answered exactly what I was thinking!” He told the team that for several months, members of the armed opposition had been contacting him, urging him to join the ranks of the guerrillas. This would come with monetary compensation that would secure his family’s future. The EHC workers shared about the love of Christ, and the man immediately gave his heart to Jesus. In the months since then, he has refused to join the guerrilla forces and has been studying EHC’s Bible correspondence course to learn more about walking with the Lord.

Brother Dario Santamaria hired a wooden boat to transport his motorcycle to reach a very remote region filled with guerrilla activity.

“...But in the midst of this great crisis, we are carrying on the work

the Lord has entrusted to us.”

MARTYREDFOR CHRISTCENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

rapped in a surge of violence, the EHC Central African Republic National Director John (name changed for security purposes) and his wife hid,

having barricaded themselves inside their own home. “It felt like we were in the valley of the shadow of death!” he says. They could not leave. There was no way out. “The streets outside were filled with rebels and littered with the dead,” he describes. “Everyone in the district was in terror.” For six days the only thing they could do was hide and pray.

“On the seventh day, the Lord made a way for us to escape our neighbourhood,” John recalls. With only a few of their belongings hastily packed, the couple raced to the airport—only to find the roads blocked by rebels preventing people from fleeing the country.

“We almost lost hope,” John says, “but the Lord provided a Red Cross car that took us straight to the airport.” Like thousands of other Central

Africans, John and his wife boarded a plane and fled to a neighbouring country, leaving behind their home and family. They have no idea what they will find when—if—they return. When John reached his destination, he wrote to our office: “We are alive only by your prayers.”

Unstable since its first days of independence, the Central African Republic today is fraught with unimaginable violence. This ongoing warfare has thrown the nation into chaos—and suspended the EHC ministry. It is simply too dangerous.

The Central African Republic has endured decades of coups and uprisings, but promising progress toward stability was being made from 2008 to 2012. That progress was halted and reversed in early 2013 when a rebel alliance group captured the capital and ousted the president. Waves of killings followed, and anti-rebel militias arose, seeking

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Riots and chaos break out in Bangui,Central African Republic.

Photo by: ERIC FEFERBERG

revenge. In the months since, the nation has descended further and further into ethnic and religious violence. Tens of thousands have been killed; over 650,000 have been displaced within the nation; and nearly 300,000 have fled the country.

“Inter-communal hatred remains at a terrifying level as evidenced by the extraordinarily vicious nature of the killings,” United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay said earlier this year. “This has become a country where people are not just killed, they are tortured.” These brutal killings happen daily, and justice is absent as killers walk free.

For many months, EHC ministry continued in the midst of this great suffering and violence. EHC teams risked their lives to take the Gospel from home to home, plant Christ Groups, train leaders, and mobilise local churches. The work was difficult. After one outreach, the team wrote: “Pray for the village of Borongh. The rebellion is uncontrollable—400 houses and three churches burned to the ground. All the villagers have fled.”

John said, “Pray for the Lord’s protection over our pioneer missionaries who are going from forest-to-forest, searching for refugees to reach them with the Gospel.”

In many areas, EHC workers saw Christians experiencing intense persecution: “Pray for the protection of Christians and pastors who are being persecuted. Pray for God’s intervention!” Some workers faced terrifying persecution themselves, as John wrote: “We praise the Lord for His protection over our brother. The rebels burned his house while he was still inside, but the Lord rescued him.”

Yet even in the fires of such violence, the EHC ministry was thriving as Central Africans turned to Christ. During one outreach, two young rebels repented and committed their lives to Jesus. They were touched by Jesus’ teaching about loving our neighbours. Elsewhere, a child who had been in a coma for three days was

“Pray for the Lord’s protection over our

pioneer missionaries who are going from forest

to forest, searching for refugees to reach them

with the Gospel.”

AUGUST 2014miraculously healed, and the family received the Lord as a result. Several teams reported instances of deliverance from demons as the afflicted surrendered to Christ in prayer.

In one area that had been hit hard by rebels, EHC workers arrived just as a group of young people were gathering to form an anti-rebel group to avenge the deaths of their parents. But when the EHC team knocked on their door, they all eagerly listened to the Gospel and immediately repented. They received Jesus as Lord, and a few days later they were baptised. After their baptism, the group burned the weapons they had been planning to use in avenging their parents.

Although dangerous, heartbreaking, and at great cost to EHC teams and their families, the Gospel was advancing, taking hold of hearts needing hope and comfort in the midst of crisis. Despite warfare, homes were still being reached, people were still receiving salvation, Christ Groups were still being planted, and churches were still being mobilised to reach their communities.

But then, tragedy struck the EHC Central African Republic team.

EHC pioneer missionary Hilaire (pictured above) was martyred. He had been a vital team member since 2009 and was faithful in all he did, making sure every single home in his assigned area was reached. On this fateful day, he was teaching a local church how to reach their community. At the end of the training, Hilaire and the church’s pastor just stepped outside the church when rebels ran out of hiding and gunned them down at close range, killing both instantly. Church members fled to a nearby forest, and they were not even able to retrieve the bodies of these two beloved brothers because rebels in the area declared that no Christian should receive a proper burial.

Hilaire left behind his wife and three children, who are devastated at the loss but take courage in knowing Hilaire died doing what he loved most and equipping others to do the same. Still, please pray for Hilaire’s family in this difficult time.

Hilaire’s senseless death came at the beginning of a new upsurge in violence in the Central African Republic, and just days later John and his wife were forced to flee the country. With these events, EHC had no choice but to shut down the work.

Today, EHC leaders are praying for the Lord to open the door to return to the Central African Republic, hopeful that ministry could restart

stronger than ever. French Africa Regional Director Edoh Fiozandji believes much could be accomplished through ministry and literature focused on reconciliation and forgiveness. “The challenges are huge,” he says, “but anything we can do to minister to the people through the Gospel must be done.” But this will only be possible through prayer. In this impossible situation, we turn to you, our partners and

friends, to ask you to join us in contending for this broken nation suffering horrors of all kinds.

Please, pray today for the return of EHC ministry to the Central African Republic. This nation is in desperate need of the Gospel—Jesus is the only hope. Pray for an end to violence and killings. Pray for peace. Jocelyn writes, “Pray that the Church in our nation would become a channel for God to work through, bringing peace and forgiveness and binding up broken hearts.” EHC’s ministry experience in the months prior to the suspension of work proved that Central Africans are ready to hear the Gospel, waiting to meet Jesus—pray the Lord would make a way for EHC teams to reach them with the Good News they are longing to hear.

EHC pioneer missionary Hilaire