China (MNN) – A Pew Research Center study shows across 24 countries surveyed, 67% of adults have unfavorable views on China, especially its foreign policy.
Kurt Rovenstine, President of Bibles for China, says China’s religious freedom is also declining.
“You had registered churches from 2008 to 2018 that were meeting right out in the open in rented facilities! They couldn’t do everything that we do, but they were very dynamic and had an incredible amount of freedom.
“But then, when things began to change, when restrictions were put into place, when crosses were removed from churches, you know, all kinds of things happened, we kind of are moving back towards some of those days that were very, very challenging.”
(Photo courtesy of Bibles for China)
Unfortunately, within the global Church community, Rovenstine says, “That negative mindset and that inability to really know what’s going on in China I think sometimes taints our motivation to pray for China, to work in China, to walk through doors that remain open in China.
“But does that excuse us from taking advantage of the opportunity to do whatever we can within China for the cause of Christ?”
Rather than pulling back, ministries like Bibles for China need fellow believers to lean in and fuel a greater missions movement.
In China, there are still opportunities for the Church to be the hands and feet of Jesus. There is also a new generation of young Chinese believers who need training for biblical literacy and leadership.
(Photo courtesy of Bibles for China)
“One of the leaders told us we have a good supply of Bibles, but we have a lot of people who have Bibles who don’t understand them and are reading it out of context and misapplying it to life. So we find ourselves running around putting out fires of non-orthodox teaching,” says Rovenstine.
“We really need to train young leaders – at least young-in-the-faith leaders – to go back to rural areas and teach people how to read the Bible, how to understand it well, [and] how to apply it in context. So we’re looking into the possibility of partnering with the church to help fund the training of some leaders.”
Please pray in love for the Chinese to know Christ! Ask God to equip young Chinese Christians to take up the leadership mantle in the Church.
Also, Rovenstine asks, “Pray for us as we pivot and continue to pivot in an ever-changing China, that we walk in obedience.”
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Header photo courtesy of Karwin Luo/Unsplash.
