The Gospel in China: Trends and Traditions
Encouraging article from the Gospel in China blog:
Trends and Traditions
There’s some clear trends among modern missions efforts in China. Missionaries and their organizations are, in general, moving…
- AWAY from urban centers, TOWARDS rural areas…
- AWAY from church-planting, TOWARDS supporting roles…
- AWAY from language-learning, TOWARDS English-based ministry…
- AWAY from bold witnessing, TOWARDS secretive witnessing…
These trends are… discouraging. But over the past couple weeks, I have happily been exposed to the works of several independent Baptist missionaries across the country who are bucking these trends. They are bright exceptions to the dull landscape that is Chinese missions. While I’m sure that there are good men of other affiliations who are equally opposed to these trends, I have yet to encounter a group in China with higher percentages of people moving in the opposite direction of the trends listed above. Though there’s not many of them, our missionaries, by and large, are ministering in Chinese. They are located primarily in big cities. They’re generally not afraid to witness. And they’re working in unregistered churches – many of them planting.
Since I’m an independent Baptist myself, I’d be more hesitant to glory in this tendency, were it not for a few things…
1. Second Corinthians is my flavor of the month, and as Paul says, ‘all things are of God.’ There is no place for boasting in the ministry of the new covenant, for, at our most faithful, we are but executors of the message of reconciliation entrusted to us. So anything that our men in China have gotten right, they can only glory in the God who both founded and prospered their work. God is the architect of every church planted. He alone gives the language. He grants boldness. He puts us in strategic places. To glory in these things rightly is to glory in Him!
2. We’re still not doing as well as we would wish. Our churches aren’t as strong or as numerous as they should be. Our Chinese is not as good as it should be. We’re not as bold as we should be. So while I’m excited that we’ve got the right bearing, I think we all mourn the limited progress in that direction. It’s a good start, but not much more.
3. This ministry strategy was not hit upon by creative problem-solving or innovative, out-of-the-box thinking. Rather, the opposite is the case: this strategy is the result of a lack of creativity! The biggest reason our missionaries in China are planting churches, learning the language, and living in cities is… well, they’re traditional. It’s just what we’ve always done! Our missionaries’ works in China are almost embarrassingly similar to what we do in the West, and to what we did as missionaries fifty years ago. It’s ironic that what many perceive to be our churches’ most critical weakness in the States would prove to be our most critical strength in China!
These men are so traditional, it’s refreshing! Because all the creative ministries are just about played out! No longer is ‘using English to reach people’ a novelty – it’s a cliché. Speaking in missionary code isn’t much of a secret anymore. Targeting minority peoples is now the majority position.
Of course, these anti-trends are all connected to each other. Most of these men have been motivated in their language learning by a desire to be integrally involved in church leadership (this isn’t the place to discuss it, but this is undoubtedly one of the biggest reasons why people can’t learn Chinese – they have no such motivation). They can plant a church because they have been more bold in inviting and evangelizing. They’re in urban places because that’s where the bulk of people are. See? It’s really like they just couldn’t think of anything trendier to do!
Creativity in missions is overrated. How much is there really about the Gospel ministry that we’re comfortable fiddling with? We have a tendency to talk about ‘all these traditions that we’ve heaped onto the Western church.’ Which traditions exactly? The church-planting tradition? Many missionaries in China are so creative, they don’t even go to church. Or maybe the tradition of boldly declaring the Gospel? Many missionaries in China are so creative, they can be a Gospel witness simply by being a positive example. China has had quite enough of these novelties!
The Gospel ministry isn’t kindergarden. We don’t get points for creativity. Our standard is faithfulness to the biblical model. Anyway, little bit of a rant there at the end, but I wanted to share with you some of the excitement I’ve been feeling this week as I’ve learned about some faithful men serving in this country! Before you get sucked into any of the trends I mentioned at the beginning, either as a missionary or as a sender, know there’s another way. It’s not very creative, but that might be the best thing it’s got going for it.
Source: The Gospel in China
The Gospel in China: A Grateful Christmas Post
Here is a recent blog post from my co-laborer giving an update about the new church plants. It’s exciting, get involved!
Merry Christmas to everybody! Just wanted to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all of you that have contributed toward our church-planting project. Almost half of the money needed for the entire first year of the two new church plants has already been given. This is a huge blessing and encouragement to us, and helps to eliminate a big part of the stress of expansion!
Speaking of these two new plants, here’s a little update. One of the new churches is close to the first church we planted here in this city. I say ‘close,’ but there’s well over 50,000 people between the two locations! Maybe a mile apart. Cong Wei is doing a fantastic job here. Their attendance is averaging in the mid-teens right now, and they’re having new people come regularly. Cong Wei and his core people have been out inviting people (in below zero weather, by the way) to their services, and they had a great turnout for their Christmas service – about 40.
The other plant is led by the young man we recently ordained, Ning. His plant is on the other side of town in a part of the city that is developing rapidly. He and his wife have led a Bible study there for about a year, and they have already seen some wonderful fruit. Sunday I was there and saw him baptize three. The church is definitely more ‘from scratch’ than the other plant, mainly because of their distance from the original church. Cong Wei had a handful of people go with him from our church to help him get rolling, but Ning was kinda out of luck there. But he already has something of a core there, too, and their attendance is about the same as Cong Wei’s place – and their special Christmas service had about the same turnout.
I go to both of these churches about three or four times a month. It is a blast to preach to these brand new churches and encourage them in their efforts to reach their areas. Plus the new plants make the regular training times that I spend with these guys far more exciting – there’s always a lot to discuss. It’s amazing how pressure lengthens your attention span!
So thanks once again to all of you that have gotten on board with these two very exciting new church plants. I think you will find it a very profitable investment over this next year! Both of the churches are taking offerings and teaching their people to participate in giving, hoping to achieve a measure of financial stability as soon as possible. If you want to join these others and lend your hammer to the project, there’s definitely still room! Please go to ProjectChina.org to help out!
5 Past Posts: Bibles & China
Here are five past posts dealing with the topic of “Bibles & China”. Also, you can “click here” to find more articles about Bibles in China from the blog that are part of other post or mentioned elsewhere on the blog.
5 Post about Bibles & China
- Bibles in China?
- We bought Bibles in China
- Chinese Bible Resources
- F.A. Q. – Bibles And Other Christian Resources
- Demand for Bible Outstripping Supply in China
10.18.11
Walking away at crunch time!
I was blow away when I read this article not knowing what to expect and truly think it is an incredible article. Written by a staff missionary out of our home church, I was encouraged and challenged by this article and wanted to share it with you for your consideration.
Note that his heart in the article is not an ‘either / or’ proposition but a ‘both / and’ proposition. I am looking forward to reading the future post that deal with this subject (make sure to subscribe to his blog for the follow up post).
Missions needs to be more strategic and less exotic or adventurous. Here is a good way to start that conversation, enjoy!
Walking away at crunch time – part 1
Can you imagine spending long, exhausting days plowing and preparing a vast field? Can you imagine then carefully planting your crops and waiting for weeks to see that crop begin to sprout and grow ever so steadily? See yourself pulling weeds, keeping away the birds and small animals that would love to feast on the tender new shoots. As the heated summer days give way to the cool fall, you know harvest time is nearing. Imagine the time comes to start harvesting the fruit of all the labor, toil, and patience. As you begin to fill the first baskets and rejoice in the bountiful, plentiful crop, you suddenly turn your back on the ready harvest and walk away to look for another unkept, unworked field. The remaining harvest sits untouched on the vine while you and others deliberate about the next ‘more exotic’ challenge in some adjacent field.
This is what our missions movement has done in large part in Latin America. In the early 20th century, missionaries boldly planted the first gospel preaching churches in Latin America. They faced persecution and often imprisonment. Over the following decades more and more attention was given to this area of the world. In the 70s and 80s many missionaries began to see hundreds and even thousands come to Christ. In the 90s the momentum continued. But things have radically changed in the last decade. Now, most have lost interest in Latin America. When it came to crunch time in the harvest, at the peak of evangelism and church planting, most missionaries walked away.
As a young missionary serving in Chile, we have seen people saved essentially every week for six years and multiple men called to full time ministry. There is no doubt that if more workers would concentrate their church planting efforts in Latin America we could see thousands, if not hundreds of thousands come to Christ in our lifetime. We are in the early stages of a total religious revolution in Latin America. Now is the time to up our efforts not to retreat and abandon.
In the next post, we’ll see why this shift has happened and what have been some of the consequences to this shift.
Source: BiblicalMissions.com
09.26.11
JOHN, GRIFFITH (1831-1912)
JOHN, GRIFFITH (1831-1912)
Welshman sent to interior China by theLondon Missionary SocietyBorn at Swansea, educated at Brecon College, and ordained to the ministry of the Congregational Church (1855), John was an explorer for the London Missionary Society (LMS) after China’s ports were opened to foreign commerce (1842). He passed through the Yangtse gorges and penetrated Szechuan province even before Hudson Taylor, the first missionary to inland China. He eventually settled in the city of Hankow.
John was as fluent, eloquent, and persuasive a public preacher in Chinese as in Welsh and English. Mighty with his pen, he also contributed greatly to the united Protestant literary ministry. He chaired the Central China Tract Society. He produced in Mandarin (the national spoken language) the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs, as well as the New Testament in Wenli (the literary language).
Protestant lay people and missionaries throughout China held him in high honor, and he was equally esteemed in Great Britain. The University of Edinburgh bestowed the D.D. degree on him (1889). The Congregational Union of England and Wales elected him chairman (1888). The large Griffith John College (a high school for boys) in Hankow kept his memory fresh until the communist regime closed the institution about 1950. P.BEAVER
Douglas, J. D., Comfort, P. W., & Mitchell, D. (1992). Who’s Who in Christian history (372). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
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Hudson Taylor – Radical Missionary
Here is a quick excerpt about Hudson Taylor from a book. I don’t endorse everything he did, but this short introduction to his ministry is interesting and encouraging! Pray for more laborers that truly want the Christian faith taken to the interior of China.
Radical missionary
Taylor was born to James and Amelia Taylor, a Methodist couple fascinated with the Far East who had prayed for their newborn, “Grant that he may work for you in China.” Years later, a teenage Hudson experienced a spiritual birth during an intense time of prayer as he lay stretched, as he later put, “before Him with unspeakable awe and unspeakable joy.” He spent the next years in frantic preparation, learning the rudiments of medicine, studying Mandarin, and immersing himself ever deeper into the Bible and prayer.
His ship arrived in Shanghai, one of five “treaty ports” China had opened to foreigners following its first Opium War with England. Almost immediately Taylor made a radical decision (as least for Protestant missionaries of the day): he decided to dress in Chinese clothes and grow a pigtail (as Chinese men did). His fellow Protestants were either incredulous or critical.
Taylor, for his part, was not happy with most missionaries he saw: he believed they were “worldly” and spent too much time with English businessmen and diplomats who needed their services as translators. Instead, Taylor wanted the Christian faith taken to the interior of China. So within months of arriving, and the native language still a challenge, Taylor, along with Joseph Edkins, set off for the interior, setting sail down the Huangpu River distributing Chinese Bibles and tracts.
Galli, M., & Olsen, T. (2000). 131 Christians everyone should know (251–252). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
09.8.11
Of Coffee Shops, Indigenous Worship Leaders, English Classes, and Boy’s Homes
Here is a great article from a missionary friend who was just in our city. He and his family are missionaries serving in a creative access country and reaching Muslims with the Gospel. I wholeheartedly agree with his perspective in the article below. I too, with the one life I am given, want to preach Christ, disciple men, and plant churches. May there be more laborers raised up to do the same!
Of Coffee Shops, Indigenous Worship Leaders, English Classes, and Boy’s Homes
I am in Northern China right now and in a city with over 300 missionaries among 10 million people. I spoke with one of these missionaries at a house church on Sunday. He is attending the church after being in the country for three years he has no disciples and no real results from his specific efforts. I asked him what his goal is in being in the country and he said, “I would like to develop indigenous worship leaders in the country.” This missionary’s goal is to ignite church planting movements among college students whom they have identified as the future influencers of society.
Another missionary in the same city has been here even longer with similar results, measurably speaking. He has started a coffee shop in the downtown area where I ate breakfast this morning to the sound of Casting Crowns and Third Day. Their goal in being here is also to assist in and ignite church planting. I sat in their shop for over an hour and the only Christian influence being exerted were the subliminal messages you could get from the music. The owners have a strict rule to not use words in their shop like Jesus, God, church, missionary, etc so as not to cause their front problems with the police.
I was speaking with a local pastor named Stephen who was reached by my friend Jake here four years ago when Jake first arrived. I asked him if he had ever met a Christian before Jake. He said, “Yeah, sure! I had many teachers at the university who are all here to spread Christianity but I never knew it. They never told me about the Gospel or invited me to church. I learned English from them but not Jesus.” Jake and his wife shared Christ with Stephen and many others. This week I worshipped Christ together with almost 80 Chinese in the church they started. They are one of maybe 5 missionaries in this city of 300+ missionaries who have started a church.
Several months ago I was speaking on a Bible college campus about missions to Muslims. A student approached me and shared with me his plan to start a boy’s home in the West of the U.S. He wanted to know what I thought about this. I told him in so many words, and would still tell him: Mathew 4:19.
Jesus called his disciples here to be fishers of men. He spent two to three years with them teaching them to be bold preachers of the Kingdom of God. He modeled for them everything they were to do. He sent them forth to replicate what he was teaching them. He continued to instruct, mold, and build their faith and skills. After his time of training by fire he sent them out, equipped with the Holy Spirit to fish in all the world for men. He taught them to start churches and make disciples.
Would the disciples have started a boy’s home? Would the disciples, having learned at the feet of Jesus, have made it their goal to train indigenous worship leaders? Would the disciples have started businesses and café’s in every city where they would enter? NO!
While there are still cities in the world by the thousands without churches, while there are still billions who have not heard of Christ, while there are still young lives ready to be trained, how can we “disciples of Christ” do anything but focus our efforts on the preaching of the Gospel, the discipling of men, and the planting of churches? Can we not trust the methods of Christ to be more effective than all our plans? With the one life I am given, I want to preach Christ, disciple men, and plant churches.
Source: projcectna.com
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Happy to be Persecuted
Here is a timely article from my pastor on persecution. He has been a great help and encouragement to us. I wholeheartedly agree with his thoughts below. Enjoy!
Matthew 5:1-12 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
This is so opposite of what we think. We are blessed when we get persecuted. We are happy when we get persecuted if we know that they are persecuting us for doing right.
God has promised to reward us in Heaven. We know that when they persecute us we are just another in the long line of so many that have gone on before us.
So what should our attitude be when our missionaries are arrested for preaching the gospel in a closed country (where it is illegal to preach the gospel)?
Some would question whether or not we should even be there but I must remind you that we were commanded to take the gospel to the whole world.
Others would err on the side of too much caution. They want to avoid persecution so they make up good “spirit;” excuses for being quiet and hiding their light under a bushel.
Others question whether they should support such a missionary and what do we do when they get kicked out of the country. Which is better, to get kicked out for preaching, or to not preach and get to stay.
What do you think Jesus would have done? Would He have risked death to do the job He was sent to do? Would Paul have tried not to get into trouble or would He have rushed in where few would dare to go?
Jesus said that if we get persecuted for preaching that we are blessed, happy, and rewarded. How can you argue with that?
Source: austingardner.net
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Missionary Wife Robbed at Gun Point
Please read the following from our Pastor about the Bush Family. They Bush family is a tremendous family serving in Argentina as missionaries (I as able to visit and stay with them back in 2005). I hope you will pray and consider giving to help this family recover the things stolen. Read the following:
Missionary Wife Robbed at Gun Point
I just got off the phone with missionary Jeff Bush in La Plata, Argentina. They were just robbed in their home at gunpoint. If you remember Mindy is pregnant. Two thieves met them as they opened the door to their garage and home.
They put a gun to Mindy’s head. They stole their wedding rings, engagement ring, both laptop computers, camera, cell phone, jewelry, all the cash in both dollars and pesos that they had, which was about $1,000.
The thieves went into the house. They grabbed the necklace around Mindy’s neck and were going to jerk it off but were kind enough to take it off as they held the gun to her head.
There were two men and with two guns. They were told that if they report this to the police that they will come back and steal the baby, Alexandra.
This is a horrible set back. They have lost down to their wedding rings. They have been held at gun point, they were threatened. The $1,000 was money that is needed for ministry needs this week and must be taken out in cash so it is gone.
They are ok. That is the good news. Mindy, Jeff, and the girls are all ok. But this will be a scare for the family as you know.
Will you pray for them? Would you consider giving a love offering to help get their rings, their computers, camera, etc.
If you want to send a special offering you can send it to
Jeff Bush
MWBM
P O Box 519
Braselton, GA 30517Their web site http://reachingall.com/main.html
If you would like to get more information you can call me at 770-500-8021.
I ask you to help. They are in real need!
Source: austingardner.net
07.14.11
Roosevelt, Missionaries, China & Willingness
If you haven’t already noticed by now, I have a thing about putting out quotes that reference China and missions. A friend recently wrote an article on his blog and included a quote about missionaries and in specific missionaries in China. Thus, not only a repost of the quote but the whole post was great and I thought that I would share it with you. Enjoy!
All they which dwelt in Asia heard…
Acts 19:8, “And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.”
President Roosevelt said:
“Since becoming President, I have come to know that the finest of Americans we have abroad today are the missionaries of the Cross. I am humiliated that I am not finding out until this late day the worth of foreign missions and the nobility of the missionaries. Their testimony in China, for instance, during the war there, is beyond praise. Their courage is thrilling and their fortitude heroic.”[1]
Our desire is that the whole earth would know Who the true and living God is! The only Way to the God is through Jesus Christ. In this passage (Acts 19:10) all of Asia hears the truth of God’s Word. In other parts of Scripture (Colossians 1) every creature is said to have the Gospel preached to them. May God help us to see that HE is able to do this through us in OUR GENERATION. Here is one of four thoughts that will be coming out:
BE WILLING AND OBEDIENT (Acts 19:8)
Boldness comes from our prayer life (Acts 4), but here this boldness is seen in the fact that “…he went“! I personally cannot speak as the the specific location that God would have you to be in this world. There is much to be done in America to train leaders and much that needs to be done to encourage the cause of Christ worldwide; but I must be willing to go where the Lord would have me to go, and so do you! For the world to be reached, we must have a generation that is willing to go unto the ends of the earth! Do not simply ask God a generic request, but ask Him to help you to be made willing.
[1] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.
If you enjoyed that article I encourage you to check out Max Fernandez’s blog. Max is the Associate and Youth Pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Middletown, Ohio. We enjoyed getting to know him and his family a little while we were on deputation and we are excited to see how the Lord is blessing their ministry. Also, we are looking forward to seeing him and a few others when they visit China this fall.
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