Northeast China

Background on the district and churches
The area of northeast China stretches from Shanhaiguan in the south, Heilongjiang in the north, the Gulf of Bohai in the east to Inner Mongolia in the west. In terms of administrative regions, the northeast part covers the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Its total population is about 107 million. Most of the residents had migrated there before the liberation, especially during the reign of the pseudo government installed by the Japanese. Originating from the provinces of Shangdong, Hebei and Henan, they brought along a pluralistic culture to the area. Prior to the liberation, the churches in the northeast were key missionary bases, with branches set up by the Presbyterian Church, Baptist Church, Methodist Church and Seventh-day Church. The True Jesus Church and Church Assembly Hall (the 'small group') also had their own assembly places.

The Spread of the Gospel
At present, the number of believers in the three northeast provinces is around 1.5 million, amounting to about 1.5 per cent of the population there. The Gospel was being spread fast there, and the Spirit was very much at work, leading to a rapid growth in the number of believers. Among the believers, some had longed for the truth but had not had the chance to hear it. But at long last, they could hear about the truth that provided them with guidance and caring love. Some saw the light in the midst of financial hardships. Due to historical reasons, many large-scale state enterprises are located in the region, but they were on the brink of closing down or restructuring as a result of the open door
policy. Many workers were made redundant and had to look for another job. They began to turn to God for comfort and help. There were other people who were in poor health and with financial difficulties who could ill afford the cost of consulting doctors. Feeling helpless, they needed God's
blessings a lot. On the whole, the degree of urbanization in the northeast cannot match that in the coastal region in the south. The people in the northeast have less desire for material possessions and tend to be open to the Gospel. An opportune time exists for spreading the Gospel in the area.

Training Ministry
At present, there are three public training institutions for church workers: the Northeast Bible Seminary in the Shenyang city of Liaoning, Heilongjiang Provincial Protestant Bible School and Liaoning Theological Training Centre. Yet they cannot meet the needs of local churches. For
sometime, the cult known as 'The Eastern Lightning' was very active in some areas in the northeast. Some church co-workers stayed very vigilant and taught believers to beware of the cult's teachings. But still, the cult had caused nuisance and even damage to some other churches. Some have provided systematic discipleship training lasting one to two years for leading co-workers who will later train the other workers. The teaching materials used vary depending on the background of the believers.
For example, the materials for co-workers in rural churches contain more pictures and the teachers will explain concepts by using more actions, avoiding mentioning any vague concepts in teaching the Bible. Still, the training remains insufficient.

Minorities Ministry
There are quite a number of ethnic minorities in the northeast, among them the Manchu, the Korean, the Xibe, the Daur, the Oroqen and the Hezhen etc. There are more believers among the Koreans but few among the other ethnic groups. The Manchu are concentrated in high mountains or rural villages. In recent years some churches have begun evangelical work catering for them. Workers have also been dispatched to Hezhen who practise shamanism. They are carrying out evangelical work in tears.
Despite the tough circumstances, the Holy Spirit can certainly soften people's hearts so they can believe in Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is really needed for softening the hearts of the many minorities people living in remote mountain areas, in isolation from the outside world, and not welcoming outsiders.

Impact of Urbanization
As urbanization increased, network marketing has become popular, people in townships are selling products to others through personal networks. Some brothers and sisters are also involved in such activity and they are keen to donate one-tenth of their profits to their churches to support preachers' and co-workers' livelihood. Yet some brothers and sisters have been trapped by the lure of money as their businesses get bigger. Economic development has impacted on believers' spiritual lives.

Thanksgiving and Prayer Items:

1. Thank the Lord for the rapid development of the churches in northeast China. May the Lord continue to cause the church ministry there to prosper so more people can be blessed.
2. Heresies (mainly the 'Eastern Lightning', followed by the 'hoodwinks'etc.) seriously influenced most of the local churches to split up. Pray that the Lord will stop the interference of the heresies
   and protect the young flock in different places.
3. Pray for the theological education and fundamental training ministries in local churches with more teachers, church workers and lay leaders so they can teach fellow believers Biblical truths and ward off heresies' interference. Pray also that most non-open churches will be better managed and provide higher quality theological education.
4. May the Lord bless the economy there and help the believers abide by Biblical truth and bear witness to God while they face with a higher standard of living.
5. Pray that the Lord bless the work of the churches and that the Gospel will be spread to the remote areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, providing salvation for the large number of lost souls.

Other Prayer Items:

Teachers Requiring Sunday School Teaching Materials

"We have 17 churches in this district and we have begun Sunday school. Altogether there are more than 40 Sunday school teachers, and I am one of them. Every month we spend one day studying together. On one occasion, I received some teaching materials unexpectedly. Thank God, the content of the materials was very good. When I showed them to other teachers, they were also delighted and wanted to have the same materials. At present, we are faced with difficulties in our work. Some churches do not support or even object to the Sunday school ministry." (Taken from a letter from a co-worker in Liaoning province)

Please pray for the Sunday school ministry of this region. Pray that the Lord will prepare suitable materials for the Sunday school teachers. Most of the mainland churches lack the materials, undermining teaching quality as well as the development of the ministry. May the Lord strengthen the teachers so they will insist on teaching children God's Word even amid difficulties.

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