China: Missing Chinese lawyer confirmed alive
19 May 2010Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was confirmed alive on Sunday after more than a year without reliable information on his whereabouts. ‘I am tremendously relieved that my husband is alive,’ said Gao’s wife, Geng He, in a statement issued by Freedom Now, a group that represents prisoners of conscience. ‘My children and I have not seen their father since January 2009,’ she said. ‘We urge the Chinese government to allow Zhisheng to leave the country and be reunited with us in the United States.’ Gao, who is one of China’s most famous lawyers and human rights activists, was last seen in February 2009 when a dozen police officers reportedly seized him in public. Gao elicited the ire of the Chinese government by defending groups oppressed by authorities, such as underground churches, practitioners of the spiritual movement Falun Gong, and farmers evicted from their land. Gao himself is a Christian who worships in a house church. (See Prayer Alert 1309, 1509)
Praise: God for the news that Gao is alive and pray now for his release. (Is.42:6-8)
More: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/missing.chinese.lawyer.confirmed.alive/25591.htm
China: Investing in confident Christians
11 Sep 2010
Three decades ago, China's Cultural Revolution saw some of the most dramatic restrictions on the practice of religion ever seen. But today's communist rulers have radically altered their views about religion and have granted substantial freedom to Christians prepared to worship within state-sanctioned churches. Within these boundaries, Christianity is growing in China as never before - and doing so supported by millions of dollars of government funding. On the outskirts of Nanjing, a building site illustrates the scale of the communist state's commitment to supporting the development of Christianity. Local officials say that the building under construction will become China's largest state-sanctioned church - with space for 5,000 worshippers. It represents just one example of the strategy to encourage the development of religion in China. Praise: God for this growth of His Church in China but also remember the huge numbers of Christians meeting in house churches still faceing persecution. (Zec.8:12)
Remarkable news from China is that Alpha’s Marriage Course has been approved for distribution and use throughout the country. The news came as Marriage Course founders Nicky and Sila Lee were invited to China to run a two-day marriage conference in Beijing. Nearly half the delegates were government employees involved in selecting and training foster parents for projects across China. The vision to use The Marriage Course to train foster parents has created an extraordinary opportunity for The Marriage Course and Marriage Preparation Course to be used in China. National and local governments are interested in using the courses to strengthen marriage and family life across the country. There are currently over 1.8 million divorces each year in China.
Praise: God for this opportunity and pray that it will lead to a wider acceptance of Christian marriage principles. (Ps.48:10)
More: http://joelnews.org/
An Englishman now living in China has revealed that the company he works for has now brought out 110 Christian books – with the full permission of the government. This surprising fact was revealed by David Wright, General Manager of ZDL Books, during a recent interview at NRB 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. ‘I work for an organization called ZDL and we are based in Beijing and are focused on bringing Christian content legally to China,’ Wright began. ‘We have worked since 2003 to do that and today we have around 110 legally approved books that are being distributed all over the country. We also have a number of websites that have been built and are distributing content all over the country and we’re running training events which again are all open and legal.’ Praise: God for the spread of His Word. (Rom.10:15)
China: Christian faith plus Chinese productivity
11 Sep 2010
At first glance, it looks as though it could be any other factory driving the rapid development of the Chinese economy. But this is no ordinary enterprise because here religious faith is as important as profit. In fact, the owner of the Boteli Valve Group in Wenzhou would like to see all his staff convert to Christianity. And such a factory is not a one-off: it is part of a growing number of businesses run by Christian entrepreneurs whose success is now being studied by the Chinese government. Every Monday morning, the senior managers gather together and pray about the business. Once a week, members of staff are encouraged to attend an on-site Christian fellowship meeting, where they read the Bible and pray for each other. Praise: God for this development and pray that this example would lead to many more. (Mt.25:20)
China: 6,000 walls of prayer
18 Jun 2012‘The World Prayer Assembly in Indonesia in May was the most significant international prayer gathering I have ever been part of,’ says Brian Mills of the International Prayer Council, a collaborative network of prayer movements around the world. As one of his personal highlights he mentions the Prayer Tower in Sentul City, where Indonesian believers pray 24-7 throughout the year. ‘Every time I looked in there, hundreds were praying,’ says Mills. ‘And this is only one of the many hundreds of prayer towers throughout Indonesia.’ This was also inspiring the 600 strong Chinese delegation. ‘The Chinese were deeply touched by God's Spirit,’ reports Mills. ‘China is establishing 6,000 houses of prayer, which they call Walls of Prayer. One ministry alone has seen a 726% increase in the number of people coming to Christ in the past seven years compared to the previous seven years, and this has happened ever since they started to emphasize prayer.’ Source: IPC Connect newsletter.
Praise: God for the growth of His church in China. (1Ki.8:29)
More: www.wpa2012.org
Chile: Two Chilean miners accept Christ
23 Oct 2010
As I’m sure most of the world knows, 33 Chilean miners have been rescued having been trapped underground for more than two months, waiting to be rescued. God has heard our prayers. Lots of prayers from lots of people! Baptist Press News reports that when the mine collapsed, three of the miners - including José Henríquez who has been leading a Bible study underground - were Christians. Since then, two more have made professions of faith. The report notes that when Pastor Marcelo Leiva arrived at Camp Hope he didn't know anyone, but Henríquez's family quickly connected him with other families. ‘That connection allowed a lot of other people to hear the Word,’ Leiva says, ‘and to know that in the midst of this catastrophe, God is in control, and it is the Lord who has kept their family members alive.’ The wife of one of the miners who became a Christian met with Leiva over the past two weeks has also accepted Christ. Praise: God for the success of this rescue mission and for the new believers and pray that the experience will bring many more to accept the Lord as saviour. (Ps.22:5) More: http://www.openheaven.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=34420&PN=1&TPN=1
A brother and sister decided to sacrifice their birthday presents this year in aid of children in care. Instead of their usual birthday parties this year, Elsie Parlor, 7, and her younger brother, Alfred, 5, held a joint fundraising disco in Newport Pagnell. In place of gifts, guests were asked to put a donation for St Francis’ Children’s Society in a bucket. Donations from the night raised £260 to help find adoptive parents for children in care. Dominik Byrne, fundraising officer at St Francis’ Children’s Society said: ‘The whole team was moved when we heard about this party. Although parents often generously make donations, many of us are guilty of forgetting that children are often eager to help too. Elsie and Alfred are the first to have such a party – what a brilliant idea. They’ve inspired us to create party packs containing goodies, literature and a collection box for any other children who’d like to help.’
Praise: God for these caring young people and their idea; may many others be inspired to give. (Ps.100:1)