We begin our Derek Prince Ministries China update with these uplifting words from a Christian believer in China:
“Your team’s daily spiritual encouragement is like a spring in the desert for me. When I read today’s email with teaching from Derek Prince, I was in tears. Thank you for your encouragement. Let’s walk together on His road.”
Cold Winds Are Blowing
Our Derek Prince Ministries China team recently summed up the situation for Christians in China with a Chinese proverb 山雨欲来风满楼. “Storm winds are blowing throughout the house. Get ready for the rainstorm that will follow.”
Clearly, storm winds are blowing through the Lord’s house in China, His church. Christians are facing persecution, and churches are being closed.
Pastor Chen told our team: “I learned that our church’s second WeChat channel had been permanently shut down by the Chinese government less than a month after our first channel was removed. Hundreds of thousands of followers of our Bible teaching just evaporated overnight.”
Millions of Chinese leaders and believers rely upon WeChat, the most popular cell phone app in China. They need our help to receive solid teaching.
Strict Censorship
Every blast of the storm from the Chinese government is part of a deliberate and coordinated plan. In 2018, China introduced new Regulations on Religious Affairs, effectively banning any “unauthorised” religious teaching (teaching not permitted by the Marxist government). In March 2022, any online Christian postings (including “inducing minors to believe in religion”) were prohibited—unless given permission by the Marxist authorities. That is unlikely to happen!
As one brother shared, “There is currently very strict censorship of speech in China.” Brother An agrees: “The government’s control over the speech of Christians is unprecedented.” More laws will be passed. More freedoms to worship will be curbed. Christians in China need our help to prepare for this coming storm.
Our Team Cares
The Derek Prince China team works passionately to help believers find a shelter in this storm through Derek’s teaching. A sister in Sichuan province wrote: “Dear family in Christ, peace be with you! Through the training materials you have delivered to us, we can still hear God’s word. It has benefited our church greatly.”
Because our team members love the brothers and sisters in China, who are their own people, they care for the multitudes. But they also care for individuals. One aging brother, a believer for more than 50 years, was unfamiliar with the internet. So, our team sent him audio materials by email.
Another sister in Hunan Province was studying on the Ye Guang Ming online Bible course (Ye Guang Ming is Derek Prince’s name in Chinese). Facing a fight with cancer, she wrote to our team: “It was an amazing experience to know God’s presence every day. Thank you for your prayers. The procedure for the removal of the cancer went well.”
Preparation For This Day
How times have changed! Thirty years ago, we printed books in Hong Kong and used ‘donkey’ teams to carry Derek’s books into China. Today that would be almost impossible. Instead, much of what we do now is through online communication.
Amazingly, the Lord has raised up a new generation of Derek Prince Ministries China team members—all Chinese themselves—who are skilled at breaking through the “great firewall of China.” Before we ever knew what we would be facing, the Lord supplied workers with skills for this hour. He prepared us for this difficult day!
Other Vital Tasks
Some believers still prefer hard copy books for their study, such as “Unshakable Hope” and “Entering God’s Presence.” Our target in 2022 is to print a total of 300,000 of these books at a projected cost of around $240,525.
In addition, we continue to distribute USB devices filled with Derek’s material in written and audio-visual format. These “libraries” of life-changing materials feed scattered church members at a cost of around $12 per USB device.
Older believers for whom Internet and technology are still a mystery receive audio devices full of the Bible and Derek’s teaching. These devices are a little more expensive to produce, costing us around $32 each. Our monthly budget for both of these items is around $12,830 (630 USB and 150 audio devices). Obviously, we would love to distribute even more of these helpful tools!
To counteract the Chinese 2018 laws banning those who are under the age of 18 from entering a church, we are intentionally distributing children’s proclamation cards, a vehicle which Derek highly treasured. There are 13 cards in a set.
Your Help Makes All The Difference
A brother from Henan Province shared with us:
“Thank you for giving us your loving kindness and support during this difficult time of Covid. Even though meetings all around China have been prohibited, the USBs, books, and proclamation cards have enabled us to feed our older and younger generations.”
We are deeply grateful for the assistance you have provided in the past. At this pivotal moment in the work of Derek Prince Ministries China, please stand with us in prayer and support. You will be helping your brothers and sisters in China today to find shelter from the gathering storm.
