China (MNN) – In the United States, the Bible used to be ingrained in several areas of our culture. Even the short-lived but revolutionary Pony Express had elements supporting the importance of Scripture.
(Photo courtesy Bibles For China)
Wendell Rovenstine of Bibles for China recently learned a lesser-known fact about the Pony Express at a conference. He says, “Every one of those riders had a Bible from American Bible Society and it was just very encouraging to me to know that early on in our nation that the Bible was significant.”
From the East to the West coast, the riders took about ten days to deliver mail and news. But along the way, one has to imagine they were able to share some of the Good News they carried with them.
Rovenstine points out that today, the culture has very little to do with the Bible, and perhaps fewer people value it as they once did.
But just as the Pony Express riders carried news, even the Gospel, with them thousands of times across the country, Christians in China are planning to carry the Gospel from rural areas into the city.
(Photo courtesy of Bibles for China)
“In China, I see a real openness to His Word. People will walk for several kilometers if they hear that we’re going to be there distributing Bibles.”
Their eagerness to have their own copy of Scripture signifies that in China, Scripture is incredibly important.
“As I see Bibles for China sewing God’s Word through China, I see a real move of God, I see the Spirit of God moving, I see new people coming to faith in Christ.”
Rovenstine says the Gospel is thriving in China’s rural areas, but in the city where life can be prosperous, people don’t often feel the need for it. Within these rural Christian communities popping up in isolated areas, there has been a great desire to reach countrymen in the city as well as their neighbors nearby.
“These people who have nothing—the Bible in their hands and sharing the Bible in the rural area—they are preparing their hearts and their lives and planning to go into the urban area eventually to win people to Christ.”
Bibles for China distributes Bible alongside churches in the country and under the guidelines of the government. They strive to be transparent in their work.
This June, Bibles for China is attending the Southern Baptist General Convention and have the opportunity to share what they do and raise support for their work.
Please pray for their impact at this conference, and for Bibles for China’s work. Pray also for these rural Christians with a heart for the people of the city.
