Updates

Recent News from the Project China Team

Please join us in prayer and praise for these recent developments within our team. If you would like to contact one of the Project China missionaries concerning any of these updates, please contact us here.

• Mark and his family are hard at work with the planting of Gospel Baptist Church. They are still experimenting with service times, and as a result have seen a great number of first time visitors to the church. The leadership of the church is also developing as Mark is already giving young men in the church increasing responsibility.
• Ben‘s family has been soldiering on through their support-raising process! September was a busy month for them as they visited 16 different churches to share about their ministry plan for China! Praise the Lord for giving them safety in this time, and please pray that their support would quickly reach the goal!
• The four churches the team has planted in Jake‘s city are considering a major project: planting new Bible studies in various locations all around the city. Hopefully, some of these Bible studies will eventually be new church plants. For now, this will be a fantastic outreach opportunity. Their desire is to plant a Gospel-preaching outlet within reach of everyone in their city!
• It’s not often that we celebrate the death of a Bible study, but there was cause this month! Pastor Liu had been leading a Bible study for several months, and it was going great. But looking at the map, we realized that it was closer than he realized to one of the churches Pastor Jia pastors! Pastor Liu has done a great job working to get all those who were coming to his Bible study to join that fellowship! Now Pastor Liu is planning where his next Bible study will be planted…
• Jake was back in China again this past month. He was able to meet with the pastors and their assistants for many hours over the course of a week. The Chinese pastors are doing a wonderful job in his absence.
• Jake’s family is still in the final stages of their adoption process. Their baby girl just turned a year old, which means they’ve been back in the States for right at a year. They are hoping to return to China full-time in the next couple months. Please pray for their paperwork to be finished soon!
• John‘s family has continued to make good progress in language training. John has preached and taught Sunday school several times already. He is working to shore up his weaknesses and prepare for launching out into a pioneer work in the future.
• Please pray for John and his extended family on the passing of his mother. John got word last week that his mother’s health had taken a turn for the worse. John and his wife returned to the States and were able to spend a bit of time with his family around the funeral. Please pray for comfort for his family.

• Jake‘s family is still on furlough in the United States; they have had a great month of traveling and visiting some of the churches who have faithfully supported them for six years in China.
• The Chinese pastors in the city Jake’s family works had an internship this month for young men from the four churches who have a desire to serve. They are busy all day every day with Bible study and church ministry. Pray for them, as many of them are at the point of decision making about how they will invest their lives for God’s kingdom.
• One of the Chinese pastors, Pastor Liu (Omega Baptist Church), had a wonderful opportunity this month to preach for several days at a youth rally in another city in their province. Though it was a government church that extended the invitation, Pastor Liu took several people from the churches in his city and really had the run of the place! There were several students at the rally who made professions of faith during the week, and eight were baptized. Two high school students from that city returned to Pastor Liu’s city with him to participate in the last couple weeks of the internship mentioned above!
• Mark‘s family had an exciting month at their new church plant, Gospel Baptist Church. They had a church activity on the coast in front of hundreds of people – one lady who was a recent believer was baptized in the ocean! Keep Gospel Baptist in prayer this month as they continue to push forward the Gospel message in their community!
• John and his wife have returned to China even though John’s mom is still in declining health. They returned to China in time to go with Pastor Liu to the youth rally. John preached twice and was able to detect some improvement in his Chinese. John and his wife are now returning to their full-time language learning schedule.
• Ben‘s family has been all over the southeastern United States this month! Their support is steadily growing. They are also promoting a trip to China that will take place next summer – visit their blog for more info!

Made a trip to China this past week during the time I normally write up these monthly reports. Even though it’s a week late, still wanted to share some of the things that have gone on this past month…

• Jake made a trip back to China this month to encourage and teach the Chinese pastors in their city, as well as to see how the churches are doing in their absence. It was an amazing – though packed – trip, teaching the church leaders four or more hours a day.
• The most exciting result of that trip was getting to meet a new generation of disciples from Pastor Xu, Pastor Jia, and Pastor Liu’s churches. Jake met eight young men who expressed a desire to be preachers of the Gospel. There are a couple others that he didn’t get a chance to meet. Pray for these young men, that they would grow in their knowledge of the Gospel and giftedness to serve the churches.
• On his trip to China, Jake got to visit Mark‘s family and see the great things that are coming into place in their new church plant. God is bringing together a wonderful core of young believers who are falling in love with our Lord and his Word. Pray for them to be established in their faith.
• John and his wife are currently back in the States to visit with John’s mother, who is battling cancer. The doctors have not given their family any hope for recovery. Please pray for their family in this time of suffering. John and his wife will return to China shortly to continue their language training.
• Ben‘s family is still plugging away at the work of support raising. They are now at 23% of their support, and their schedule is filling up quickly! Pray for the Lord’s protection as they travel, and for them to find new partners in the great work they plan to do in China.

• Pastor Xu, Pastor Jia, and Pastor Liu continue to lead their churches in the planting of a new congregation in the city, Witness Baptist Church. They are praying for God to provide a clear leader to take the helm of that church in a key area of the city.
• Mark‘s family has continued to work hard at establishing Gospel Baptist Church. They were thrilled this month to see a lady who came to church for the first time with her daughter make a profession of faith! Pray that their services would continue to be greatly blessed!
• John and his wife are still plugging away at learning the Chinese language and making good progress. Pray that their summer would be a profitable time of language-learning and disciple-making.
• Ben‘s family and Jake‘s family were able to participate in the Our Generation missionary camp the last week of May in Dayton, Tennessee. This camp brought together several youth groups as well as a great group of college students who are interested in missions. Dozens of young people committed their lives to bringing the Gospel to the world. Please be in prayer for each of them, that God would guide them and prepare them for this good work!
• Jake‘s family is still waiting for their adoption paperwork to be done. They are investigating another route that might be faster. Jake will make a trip to China in June to encourage and help the pastors of the churches continue to shepherd the flocks they oversee.

• Pastor Xu’s church (Grace Baptist Church) was visited by a police officer this month. The officer had received one of their flyers on a Saturday and told them he might come by to check on them. He seemed mainly concerned that they might be a cult group; on Pastor Xu’s assurance that they held to historic Christianity, the police officer seemed satisfied and said he would just need to report to his superiors. Please pray for this church and their pastor as they continue to serve even when feeling fear!
• Mark and his family began services this month for a new church plant to be called Gospel Baptist Church. Already they have had a good number of visitors and some plans in motion for inviting the surrounding community to attend. Pray for this new church!
• Almost 50 believers from Pastor Xu, Pastor Jia, and Pastor Liu’s churches in the city where Jake works have traveled down to Mark’s city to help make a promotional push for the new church plant. They will be there for most of this week, helping Mark and the believers there make many new contacts around the city! Please join them in praying for this exciting project!
• John‘s family continues to work hard at acquiring the language. John is taking up more and more responsibilities in the ministry as his language proficiency grows. They are also helping alongside the team that has traveled to Mark’s city this week.
• Ben‘s family has had another busy month of traveling all across the southeastern United States; they’ve been encouraged to partner with a few new supporters, which means they are already at 14% of their needed support after just a few months of deputation!
• Jake‘s family has received both good news and bad news this month concerning their adoption. The bad news was that the process was going to take longer than they thought; the good news was that there might be a way for them to return to China before their adoption is finalized. Please pray that this will be a reality! In the meantime, Jake is planning a trip to China in June – contact him if you’d be interested in going along!

• John‘s family just found out that his mother and his wife’s mother have been diagnosed with cancer! Please pray for his and his wife’s families in this time of suffering. It’s not easy to be on the other side of the world during difficult family times such as this.
• Jake‘s family is waiting in the U.S. for adoption paperwork to be completed. They have been traveling to visit their supporting churches, many for the first time in six years. Please pray for the adoption to be finalized in a timely manner, so they can return to the work in China soon.
• Mark‘s family is returning to China! After a brief post-language-school stint in the States, they are heading back home to a city in Northeastern China with a tremendous need of the Gospel. They will soon begin work to plant a church there! Let’s pray for a great harvest in this city!
• Ben‘s family continues to travel from church to church in the United States to raise the necessary funds for beginning their ministry in China. This is a wonderful family that has already experienced life and ministry on the field. Please pray they’ll find their support quickly!
• The churches in Jake’s city seem to be doing well. The pastors – Pastor Xu, Pastor Jia, and Pastor Liu – are diligent in their efforts of reaching their communities with the Gospel, faithfully preaching the Word, and training other young men for ministry. Pray for them as they lead their churches in this time.
• A new semester in the Northeast Baptist Seminary in China is beginning! Pray for a good enrollment and for the teachers as they prepare for tough courses they’ve never taught before!