by Frank and Wendy Parrish
There is a story told about China that is both sad and hope-filled.
The largest empire in human history was ruled by Genghis Khan, a man who lived in thirteenth-century Mongolia. This empire stretched from China to India, from Siberia to the edge of western Europe. Upon the death of Genghis Kahn, the empire was broken up and the bulk of it went to his grandson, Kublai Khan, who established his empire’s capital in what is now called Beijing (China’s current capital).
At this time, Kublai entertained in his court two Italian merchants seeking trade. During their discussions, the merchants began to tell the Emperor about Christianity. Kublai became very interested – so much so that he asked the merchants to bring back with them 100 missionaries to tell all the Mongolians and Chinese about this Christ. Kublai Khan said to them, “when we learn about Christianity, there will be more Christians in my empire than in all Europe.”
So the merchants returned home with the request. Sadly, they could get no one to come back with them. Eventually, two friars agreed to return to China with them; but on the way they became afraid and turned back.
When the merchants arrived back in Kublai Khan’s court, he asked them, “Where are the missionaries?” They had no answer for him.
Eventually, a small band of missionaries did come to China, but by that time the opportunity had been lost.
Though this true story has a profoundly sad ending, when put within the context of the flow of history, it can still give us hope. Why? Because history reveals that God has never given up on China!
Through the centuries there has been wave after wave of the moving of the Holy Spirit and the presence of the Gospel witness to the Chinese people. Our God is the sovereign Lord over history and the kingdoms and nations of men. Not only does He reign supreme, but He has done – and is doing – all that He wills to bring all people everywhere to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Acts 17:24-31).
Though there is historical record of Christianity’s presence in China, it seems that now God is opening the windows of Heaven and pouring out His Spirit upon that nation! Conservative estimates are that tens of thousands of Chinese are becoming Christians every week. God is reaping a great harvest of souls for the glory of His Son and the blessing of His children!
God’s Time
China has been in our hearts for many years, and we have been privileged to serve the cause of Christ there, albeit from a distance. We had been praying for an open door and a leading of the Holy Spirit in order that we might visit China someday. Needless to say, we were thrilled when the invitation was extended to us to join with an established ministry and conduct leadership training in China – and we were grateful that our Board of Directors heartily agreed that this was indeed God’s time for us to go.
Our recent ministry trip to China was in partnership with a gifted couple who have ministered and/or lived in China for years. One of the pair speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, and is an anointed interpreter and guide. We were blessed to be part of the team!
Rigors Of Travel And
Training
Our first full night in China, the four of us ventured out of Beijing into the countryside, via an all-night train ride. When we arrived at our first destination around 6:00 a.m., we were quickly hustled into a small van with darkened windows. With our luggage piled on our laps, we rode an hour even further out into the countryside to our first meeting location, a Bible school.
The facilities are primitive by Western standards – simple cement-block buildings, dirt or brick floors, very little electricity or plumbing. The students grow or raise much of their own food, and prepare it over brick fire-pits. Laundry facilities are a pail and washboard; bathroom facilities are a dirt floor and two bricks to stand on!
In this school, the Bible students participate in two-week sessions of intensive teaching, intercession and worship; then they are sent out to preach the Gospel and minister in the surrounding communities for a third week. They repeat this three-week cycle for one to two years, until the leaders determine they are adequately trained and equipped to become full-time ministers. There are no televisions, entertainment or other distractions. Their Bible training is rigorous and requires diligent consecration and commitment to the things of God.
Spiritual Giants
We were warmly greeted by the leaders and students, who were so eager, expectant and deeply hungry for teaching. After a quick breakfast of stir-fried vegetables, rice and a type of flatbread, the meetings began.
Our schedule was tight, so we were given only one full day with these precious students who ranged in age from 18 to their late 20s. There is so little available to them that every opportunity to gain a better understanding of the Scriptures and spiritual principles is treated as a gift from God. So we crammed a full two or three days of teaching and ministry into six sessions that day – but what a blessed time!
Their rapt attention and diligence to note every word brought several thoughts poignantly to our minds:
Lord, help us learn from our Chinese brethren to “…incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding” (Prov 2:2).
Even as we were preparing to leave for China, we felt so inadequate – what could we teach these “spiritual giants”? Shouldn’t we be the ones going to learn from them? Yet God was sending us to minister to them, so we trusted and believed on Him to help fill our mouths with His words and enable us to express His heart for our Chinese brethren.
At the school, we taught on the Father’s love, the pleasure of God, anointing, the heart of the Gospel message, and more. All of the teachings were openly received and responded to.
At the close of our final session with the students, we laid our hands on each of them and prayed for them: that God would touch them and freshly anoint and empower them for ministry. They were so ready to receive ALL that God had for them, and the Lord met them powerfully!
The Curse Of Shame Is
Broken
As we were praying, we were impressed to pray for them regarding shame. For generations shame has been used in Chinese culture to motivate or control people, especially by parents against children. As we began to pray for them about this, the young people began to sob and weep. We felt that we needed to stand before them – representing their mothers and fathers – and repent and ask forgiveness for shaming them, rejecting them, criticizing them, and other specific things the Lord brought to our minds. Then we declared words of life, honor and blessing over them. As we spoke and prayed these things, we got a powerful sense of chains being broken! What tremendous healing and breakthrough God gave them!
At the close of our prayer time, we had them lay hands on each other and pray. It is difficult to find words to describe how powerfully God meets people in these times; but suffice it to say, He does!
As we prepared to leave, we were swarmed by young people who hugged us and, with tears, called us “mama” and “dada”! How quickly our hearts were knit with theirs, and how we yearned to stay with them a little longer.
Hungry For God
But as we debated the possibility of staying, word came that church leaders had already traveled many miles to gather at our next destination and were expectantly awaiting our arrival. So, after 15 hours of ministry, we piled into the back of a small truck, and bounced along a myriad of confusing pot-holed streets for a 90-minute ride through the dark of night.
We eventually reached a narrow alley and our driver abruptly turned directly toward a solid metal gate! To our relief, it quickly opened, and the truck drove right into the dark courtyard of a house. There was a rush to close the gate behind us – and it remained closed throughout the next three days of meetings we were about to enjoy.
We shared the house and courtyard with more than 100 house-church leaders. We ate family-style meals together, slept in close quarters together, worshipped and prayed together, and broke the bread of God’s Word together.
The facilities were again primitive by our standards. No plumbing, no showers, and only one line of electricity with scant bulbs. More leaders had come for the meetings than the small single-family dwelling could accommodate. So they would rotate in and out of the house throughout the day and evening meetings, in order that all the leaders who came could get in on at least some of the teaching times.
We met in the “living room” of the house for our ministry times. It was empty, except for the very small folding wooden stools the leaders would crouch on. Our team could manage to sit on those seats for only about 20-30 minutes at most; they were terribly uncomfortable. But the leaders – so hungry for teaching and impartation – would crouch on these seats, crammed shoulder to shoulder into this small, stuffy room for hours at a time. Those who couldn’t fit into the meeting room would spill out the doorway and into the courtyard, where they sat on low, narrow wooden benches.
Gentle Wind Of
Refreshing
We were not prepared for the level of humility and pure-hearted devotion these dear saints walked in. All had suffered persecution, poverty and much loss for the sake of the Gospel. Yet they worshipped with such deep joy, prayed with such deep conviction, and fellowshipped with such deep love. We were humbled and honored just to join with them for these days of ministry.
The leaders would begin each day with corporate prayer at 5:00 a.m. After two hours of prayer, they would receive very practical instruction from their main overseer.
After breakfast at 8:00 a.m., it was time for our team to teach. As in the Bible school, we would have 5-6 teaching sessions a day, some lasting for more than two hours at a time. In one session, Frank was teaching on the anointing of the Holy Spirit – what it is (and is not) and how to receive and walk in the anointing more fully. It was lengthy and meaty material, with a thorough look into the Scriptures on the subject. He would repeatedly offer to let the leaders take a break, but the whole group insisted that he continue. This particular session lasted almost three straight hours, with their complete and unflagging attention!
After teaching on a subject so foundational to life and ministry, a time for response is imperative. This allows an opportunity for biblical truth to become more than just “head knowledge”, but to be received and implanted into the heart. So we asked the leaders who desired a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit in their lives and upon their ministries (Eph 5:18) to stand. They all eagerly stood, and raised their hands to Heaven as hungry children before a loving Father to receive (Luke 11:9-13).
It was a joy to watch the leaders as the Holy Spirit descended freshly upon these precious saints and filled them to overflowing. Their faces, emotions and postures were all impacted. Many went down as the presence of the Holy Spirit came upon them; others fell to their knees; some stood and wept or laughed. This was no raucous emotional outburst – the Spirit’s presence was like a gentle wind of refreshing, breathing over and into the wearied lives of these servants. Many testified later of being healed, having burdens lifted, seeing hope and vision restored, and experiencing a new sense of intimacy with the Lord.
God was faithful to help us teach and minister things that blessed and equipped these dedicated servants.
Unforgettable
Devotion
Our unique setting of a primitive house in a Chinese countryside community provided some interesting challenges. The stove was in the courtyard, a corner brick oven with a large metal wok on top. As each food dish in this particular province is seasoned with hot peppers, they would stir-fry the peppers for each meal. Smoke would drift into our meeting room, and the spicy vapors would cause our eyes to tear and our throats to constrict – making the teaching sessions a bit of a challenge at times!
With neighbors right next to us on either side, we were constantly reminded to keep our voices down and curb the volume of any celebration of worship. Though the Chinese worship is normally not loud or boisterous, it carries a quality that is truly unforgettable. Many of their songs sound like old spirituals, weighted with tones of trial, suffering and loss. Yet the songs were uplifting, as they expressed the believers’ dedication to preach the Gospel no matter what the cost and that it was all for the sake of Jesus and His Cross.
One such song goes something like this:
Don’t
worry about me,
I have
my pack on my back;
You
may not ever see me again,
But
don’t worry about me –
I’m
going out to preach the Gospel
To
the ends of the world!
But
don’t worry about me –
For Christ, His Spirit and Word are with me.
Though the words are not necessarily poetic, they certainly grip our hearts and cause our spirits to soar! Such pleasure it must give the heart of God to hear and see the sincere and heartfelt worship and devotion of these precious Chinese believers. They hold very lightly to this earthly life and what it offers; they keep their eyes fixed on the prize of God’s upward call to share the Gospel everywhere with every person – and their hearts set on one day being home with Him in eternity.
We were humbled to see their unswerving devotion to Christ and His Great Commission. Our eyes were also lifted to see more clearly the Harvest that is so ripe – and to sense more deeply God’s heart to bring all that would come into His glorious Kingdom forever!
To Love And Serve
We especially enjoyed sharing meals with these leaders and (through interpreters) hearing their testimonies.
One young married couple felt impressed to work among some unreached peoples, and would ride their bikes more than 300 miles each way to hold meetings with them. On one recent bicycle trip, they were both struck from behind by a truck. As we talked with them, both were still recovering from their very serious injuries; the scars and open wounds were still quite pronounced. There was not a single complaint, or a “why did this happen to me”. They were just grateful that God had spared their lives.
They did admit, however, that for a while, they were tempted to give up on this outreach. But they determined that they wanted their lives to count, and were anxious to “get back on the road” to again share the Gospel.
Another woman shared about denying the call of God upon her life because of witnessing the imprisonment and torture of her parents and other siblings when she was growing up. She watched when everything was taken from them; many times there was not even food to eat – simply because they were Christians. She was even left to care for her younger brother for months when her parents were in prison. She decided she would rather have a career and make enough money to support those who suffered such losses in ministry. But God dealt with her heart, and she responded to His call – she is now a faithful minister of the Gospel, partnering with her parents and her husband in ministry.
Another group of young people at our gathering were serving among people who live in some of the most impoverished and difficult places in China. These young leaders were living among these people, gaining their friendship and trust, in order to share the Gospel with them. When these leaders do finally begin a church, they do not receive offerings for at least the first three years. They work at other jobs and live very much by faith. The leaders never want to send the message that they are there to get anything from these people. They are there only to love them and serve them, not to take from them.
Highway To Harvest
Our time with these beloved church leaders was all too soon over. With many smiles and tears, and heartfelt hugs and handshakes, we loaded into a small truck for another departure.
Our third destination was another Bible school. We had only a short time there, but we were again so profoundly moved by the students and their pure and undefiled dedication to Christ and His purposes.
Aggressive Commitment
We greeted them on your behalf – those of you who help World MAP to meet the desperate need for training materials in China and other developing nations. We assured them of your love and prayers for them; they want you to know that they are praying for you, too!
As the church in China continues to grow exponentially, we need your help. With the aggressive commitment of Christians in China to evangelize – and the 1.4 billion people who live in this nation – the need for church leadership training has never been greater!
A Great Challenge
The greatest challenge to this huge growth of the Body of Christ in China is the desperate need for trained leaders to shepherd the lambs. Many cults and other false religions are actively promoting their false gospels in China; without strong Christian leaders, many new converts are led astray.
“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matt 9:37) – this is true in China now more than ever. But what can we do?
Jesus told us, “Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt 9:38). That is one thing each one of us must do – pray for God to raise up and send out even more laborers into China.
Jesus also told us that we are to “make disciples…” (Matt 28:19). God has given World MAP an assignment to help provide the materials church leaders around the world need to train and equip their flocks to be faithful and true disciples of Jesus Christ.
CHINA AT THE
CROSSROADS
China is seeking to become an economic world power. Thus, the Chinese government must of necessity open the country to more and more outside influence, and somewhat relax their rigid control over their own people. Many businesses from many countries are taking advantage of this more open-door policy, and are now pursuing joint business ventures within China. Western influence and travel are on the increase. Television broadcasts and other forms of entertainment from Western nations are on the rise.
In addition, the world is focusing on Beijing, the host city for the 2008 Olympics. This is creating a virtual “re-making” of this vast city of over 6 million people. The many mud-hut villages, which for centuries have been places of community living and values, are being destroyed and replaced by high-rise apartment buildings all over Beijing and beyond.
China is experiencing historic changes culturally, socially and economically – so much so that only in recent years has a Chinese person been able to choose where to live, whom to marry, and what kind of job to pursue. These newly-formed and highly-prized liberties are welcomed, but they present serious challenges to the Chinese believers.
The rise of homosexuality and pornography, the pursuit of wealth and materialism, the breakdown of the traditional family life, and the devaluing of human relationships – these trends are on the rise in China. Added to this is the infiltration of poisonous cults and false religions that mimic Christianity in order to lead the elect astray.
There has never been a more critical need for the raising up of a generation of biblically-sound and committed Christian leaders to shepherd the exploding Church in China. I had the strongest impression while in China that this is the time for an even greater harvest to be reaped in the nation of China! For there is One Who, as the Ruler of all nations, is at work in and through this social, cultural and economic upheaval to bring about His purposes!
God is the One Who opens doors and – though there is still extreme opposition to and persecution of the growing underground house-church movement – what Paul said to the Corinthian church still rings true: “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1Cor 16:9).
The Chinese people are open to the Gospel like never before: “Therefore pray…”!
The Size Of Our God
Scripture tells us that our God is sovereign over all the earth. Jehoshaphat declares, “are You not God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the Kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?” (2Chr 20:6).
Our God is Lord and Master over the rise and fall of nations and kingdoms, and He rules from everlasting to everlasting. Yet in His supreme sovereignty He loves each person, be they good or evil, near Him or far from Him.
God the Father spoke prophetically to God the Son, and it is recorded in Psalm 2:7,8: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.” Father and Son both knew that the crown of the King of kings could be gained only through the path of the Cross. And it was at this Cross that the Son of glory laid down His life in payment for the 1.4 billion Chinese people – and all the people of the earth.
It seems that China has been opened once again to the sovereign and powerful working of God. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2Cor 6:2).
So many more still need to hear the Gospel for the very first time. The task may seem overwhelming until we remember the size of our God! Let us rise up, press on and do all we can to give, to go, to pray without ceasing in order that we may partner in gaining for the Lamb the due reward of His suffering! Amen? Amen!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Our
ministry partners in China have traveled many times into the country, and
commented that our trip with them was one of the smoothest and most effective
yet. We believe that is due in large part to the "effectual fervent
prayer" of the World MAP Prayer Corps -- THANK YOU for praying
for us!
If you haven't yet joined the
Corps and would like to receive monthly prayer bulletins from World MAP, please
send us your E-mail (WMAPPrayerCorps@world-map.com)
or postal address and we'll gladly include you!
– Frank and Wendy