Ministry News

Fruitful Shanghai Christmas

[China: Jan 15, 2010]
The Lord has kept His promise to draw men to Him, if we but lift Him up (John 12:32)! More than a hundred people have trusted in Christ in December alone.

Our team is heavily involved in the youth fellowship of one of the registered churches in Shanghai. More than a year ago, that church invited our team to begin introducing fellowship newcomers to Christ and discipling them. Perhaps because of Christmas' approach, there were more first-time visitors in December than usual. In the two weeks leading up to Christmas, our team was able to lead a total of 18 people to Christ and begin following them up as part of the fellowship.

The team also organized a special Christmas program on their own. This one was patterned after the weekend retreat they had done earlier in the semester. They set aside a full day and shuttled about thirty friends, relatives and university contacts to a retreat center on the outskirts of the city. They organized a number of ice-breakers and games before lunch, which brought down a lot of defenses and drew the attendees together. After lunch, staff evangelist Jason presented the Gospel to the group, and six people accepted Christ into their hearts. The team was excited about the new format, but sobered by the logistical challenges.

But the biggest event was back at the registered church, where our team was again invited to organize the youth fellowship's annual Christmas program. This year one of our more outgoing trainees preached the Gospel, accompanied by the Bridge Illustration via projector. Shanghai team leader Joe took over for the altar call and welcomed 88 people forward. Limitations with the facilities still inhibit one-to-one counseling, but our staff will continue to cast that vision to the church leadership as we look forward to next year.

Our staff have been busy calling all these new Christians and inviting them into our regular follow-up and discipleship ministry. They've also organized special follow-up meetings to try to get as many as possible started off well in their new walk with Jesus. Through it all, they trust fully in the Lord continuing the work He Himself began (Philippians 1:6).

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