Back At It

Well I’m back in China after four months in the States. This was the longest that we’ve been away from the ministry here since arriving in 2007. And it has been an educational summer for me. Let me tell you some of the courses I’ve had to take…

1. Furlough Productivity

I seriously hate to write that. But imagine my surprise when I find that the men in training here have grown in maturity and ability in my absence. Guess things won’t necessarily fall part when I get my grubby little mitts off them! Beyond the benefit to the ministry here, furlough was a great opportunity to spend time talking to American believers and churches about the need here in China. The amount of disinformation on the subject is disheartening to say the least.

2. Persecution Results

I have often wondered what would happen if… well… What would happen if what happened this summer happened! Sure some people don’t come anymore. Sure we don’t have our big auditorium anymore. Sure the guys had to go through an afternoon of questioning and stern warnings. But the church honestly lost very little momentum. The cops know we’re here, know we’re meeting, know the guys are leading. Not as devastating as we thought. Plus we learned a lot about what gets people in trouble and what doesn’t (more on that some other time).

3. Value of a Missionary Team

This topic merits its own treatment, but for now let me just give this positive aspect. Having a team lets you see a couple moves ahead. A good mentor is someone who is about a thousand steps ahead of you. But a good team has people at many levels of experience and ability. The team that I am privileged to serve with has missionaries that have been on the field for a couple years longer than I. A couple more guys who are a full term ahead. A couple more yet who are two or three terms ahead. The chance to learn from them is an invaluable guide as we chart our way forward here. This summer I got to interrogate a couple of these teammates about some things I’m losing sleep over.

So it’s been a good summer – but we are so thrilled to be back on the lines here in China!

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