As promised, the subject of the prayer letter this week is our recent trip to China (April 27-May 16), but a full report will take three weeks to complete.Therefore, today our subject will be about our ministry to those in China who became Christians while in Boston.  Our ministry to “not yet” Christians in China, and to the church in China, will be the subject of our report the next two weeks.

Our Disciples in China 

On April 26, Deb and I traveled to China to visit those who became believers while in Boston. This took us to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Xian. It was a time of rejoicing and encouragement as we learned of their lives’ blessings and difficulties.

The Good and the Bad 
Although all of these disciples affirmed their Christian identity, they also explained the difficulties they are experiencing as Christians in China. Each one desires to continue their walk with the Lord, but none have fully intergrated with the church in China.

All are very pressured by work and life in their country, and several travel extensively, even for weeks at a time, making it difficult to settle in a church. Others express concern for the Chinese church, stating that it seems to be a place of pressure rather than a place of growth and blessing.

Those who became Christians while in Boston have become people of two cultures. They are struggling to adapt back into their host culture, and the Chinese church is struggling to know how to effectively minister to them.

On the positive side, we found these disciples eager to move forward in their Christian lives. On the negative side, they are having difficulty doing so in the Chinese church.

Future Ministry
Rather than rashly judging these disciples as lacking commitment or the Chinese church as being ineffective, perhaps we should ask God what He is doing.

Our Boston disciples who have returned to China are people of more than one culture who are very adept at functioning online.  Further more, many of them remain extremely mobile, a mobility that could be used by the Lord. You might say that these are globalized Christians who should be mobilized to join our Savior in building the universal church.

So, although we will always be working to help returning believers integrate into the church in China, perhaps we should also develop our online resources to continue the discipleship process. We could seek to develop a global online orthodox (doctrinally correct and committed) Christian fellowship, which could potentially include daily corporate communication, a corporate weekly Bible study, a devotional, discipleship resources, and a way to pray for each other’s needs.

What do you think?

This is Great Commission ministry,

Bill and Deb