As part of the Radical challenge by David Platt, we have been praying for a different country each day when we sit down to do school. Today was The People's Republic of China. I have always loved learning, reading, watching movies or documentaries, anything about China. I know several people who have adopted from China and I enjoy hearing their stories about visiting there. I've even been blessed to follow the progress of two different friends as they have adopted and one of them currently adopting for a second time (see The Miller Family Chronicle) I know one family that lives in China because of a desire laid upon their hearts many years ago to serve God in this country.
One of my favorite movies as a child was "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" and later as an adult I enjoyed reading the biography of Gladys Aylward whom Ingrid Bergman plays in this 1958 movie. Now as a parent I was thrilled when I watched it recently to have Leah watch with me and later have her ask to watch it again. [By the way...I'm convinced someday Leah will serve God overseas somewhere!]
Something within me just beats a little faster when I hear stories of house churches, smuggling Bibles and the persecution that believers in China face. We are blessed to live in a time of unprecedented growth in God's church...mostly because of the rapid, explosive growth in China. In 1975, there were about 2.7 million evangelical Christians in China. In 2010, there are reportedly well over 75 million (potentially a conservative estimate)...all in a country where to be a radical Christian runs a huge risk of imprisonment, torture or even death.
Francis Chan recently, intentionally travelled to parts of the world where Christians are persecuted for their faith. While in China, the believers just assumed that every Christian in the world suffers for Jesus...because of their experience and the precedent for this set in the Bible. He said they laughed when he explained that 'no...some Christians in my country will even leave a church just because they don't like the music.' He said they could not comprehend this at all.
Suffice it to say, I love China. God has given me the desire to see the country and her people someday and I pray it comes to fruition! In the meantime...we were blessed today to have an opportunity to pray for them. Here's a prayer video to watch if you'd like to share in this blessing.
Also mentioned in the post:
Operation World pray for China
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