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Did you know that the Adventist church with the largest seating capacity in the world is in China? Yet, even though we have 420,000+ members and 4000+ churches, with the exception of only a dozen or so large churches, our churches in China are small and basic. In fact, many believers have no place of their own to worship. They have no place to come together and worship the Lord and enjoy the fellowship that a church provides.
Many must share a government owned facility with a Sunday-keeping congregation, which means that our members are typically at the mercy of other churches and restricted on when and what they can do in the building. Often, when Sunday church leaders realise that their own members are starting to worship on the Biblical Sabbath, they force the Adventists away, leaving them with no place to meet.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in China, just as elsewhere in the world, recognizes the importance of having a place of worship and the role it has in helping members remain and grow in the church. In Chinese cities, these places of worship usually mean a remodeled apartment or factory space. In the country side, to have a church is to have a simple structure where members can meet and be protected from the elements.
Across the vast expanse of China, there are many groups of Adventist believers that need financial help in order to secure a place of worship. This newsletter will introduce you to just a few of these places. Thank you for your interest and please continue to pray for China, asking that God will provide the necessary funds in order to lend a helping hand to our members in China.
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In a Western Province...
SDA:non-SDA Ratio is 1:19,000+
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Province X is located in western China, mostly on the high Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and is home to several ethnic groups. Buddhism and Islamism are the prominent religions. In this entire province, with have a total of only 300+ members and only one "church".
Back in 1958, Elder X and his family moved to the capital of this province, and began to share the Three Angels’ Messages. Soon a house church was formed. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, Elder X was put in jail and their house church was forced to go underground. Nonetheless, our church members in this capital city remained faithful and even in the darkest of times continued to worship together from Sabbath to Sabbath.
Now, after years of struggle, our one church in this capital city is growing. Its members are connecting with both young and old in the community and no longer can their group of 80 cram in to the small dark apartment in which they have been worshipping. With permission from the government in hand, they are excited and focusing on moving to another place of worship where they can grow. Please pray for this church family in western China as it is stepping out in faith to build a church so that the congregation can not only grow, but be a place which provides training for leaders and members. No doubt, this will have an impact on the Gospel being spread across this vast province.
The Chinese Union has committed to helping these believers with $65,580 and is inviting people such as yourselves, who are prayerfully impressed by the Holy Spirit, to be a part of raising an additional $10,325. We are confident that these members in province X can realize their dream of enjoying a proper church building! Join us in praying that minority groups and people with different religions throughout this province will accept Jesus through the ministry focus of this growing church family. |
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