Building God’s Kingdom Together
Even though obstacles to ministry in China are on the rise, our Heavenly Father continues to open new doors for ChinaSource.
Firsthand accounts of faith lived out in the context of Chinese Christianity.
Even though obstacles to ministry in China are on the rise, our Heavenly Father continues to open new doors for ChinaSource.
Being thankful and saying thank you is important any time of year. Certainly in this Thanksgiving season I want to say thank you to the ChinaSource community for your friendship, love, and sacrificial involvement together with us.
Fraser’s most acclaimed contribution to missions is his translation of the Bible and Christian hymns into the Lisu language. When he first met the Lisu people in Tengyueh, they had no written language of their own. After Fraser learned to speak the language, he began to translate the Bible into Lisu.
The new generation of believers and church leaders are no longer easily excited by large conferences and mission movements but are willing to delve deeper into each individual’s life. They have started moving away from focusing on the relationship between church and state and are now turning their attention to broader public concerns.
At a time when the study of Christianity in China is becoming more difficult, the CHCD opens a new portal to explore China’s Christian past. The tool might be different than rummaging through a traditional archive, but by repackaging archival materials into an online tool it invites anyone to ask, “What could be discovered if…?”
Chinese Bible translations were often the result of years of diligence, at times division, and significant group work. While Westerners often numerically dominated the projects mentioned above, Chinese Christians also played a role.
Throughout the work of the NTB, the Holy Spirit showed up time and time again by giving the translators “lexical surprises.” God gave words to express the Bible message, surprising words that were embedded in the language and waiting for discovery by the translators.
“The abrupt change in China's zero-covid policy allowed our congregation to live out God's love. In the face of sickness and scarcity, we supported each other sacrificially,” writes a Chinese believer. In the face of medication shortages and sick children, the church family pulled together to share what they had.
Challenges notwithstanding, the resilience and unwavering faith of the Chinese church are awe-inspiring. God’s grip on his church remains unyielding, and amid adversity, a vibrant faith continues to thrive in the hearts of believers across China.
A small congregation worked together to create a beautiful rental space, then lost their pastor and had to move from place to place due to government restrictions. Through this experience, they came together to create unbreakable bonds with one another and learn about what truly makes a church.
When external persecution came knocking, it was us, not our parents as in the past, who had to confront these challenges head-on. Such a shift compelled us to grapple with a fundamental question: What does it mean to follow Jesus, especially in the unique context of China?
God calls us to exercise self-control and listen well. And while challenging to live out, relating to others in this way is not impossible! Many of those I interviewed in China… described this spiritual fruit growing in their lives and the difference it made relationally.