In the middle of the 19th century, Hudson Taylor, the pioneer missionary to China, was overcome by a great burden for China. He voiced his profound feelings after leaving a church service in the English town of Brighton before it had finished.
“On Sunday, June 25, 1865, unable to bear the sight of a congregation of 1000 or more English Christian people rejoicing in their own security in Jesus while millions in China were perishing for lack of knowledge of the Gospel, I wandered out on the sands of Brighton Beach alone in great spiritual agony.”
Without question, the members of the Derek Prince Ministries China team carry that same kind of burden for modern-day China—and we believe you may feel the same way. You have expressed that concern by standing with us in prayer and in giving, and we send you our most profound thanks on behalf of the DPM-China team for your fellowship in the Lord’s love for China.
Two Main Challenges
Today, there are two issues that burden the Derek Prince China team.
One is the eternal destiny of 1.4 billion Chinese men, women, and children. How will they know that Jesus died to bring them life?
The other is the need to support the church in China under tightening government policies.
We are focused daily on these issues. Our challenge is to utilize both new and traditional approaches to strengthen our dear brothers and sisters in China!
Inventing New Ways to Serve China’s Church
The newest and most innovative approach being used by our team is the DPM online outreach. Today over one billion people have access to the internet in China. Huge numbers of believers can be reached across China through cell phone apps. The Chinese government strictly censors online Christian teachings, but God has given us a team of highly skilled Chinese co-workers.
They have a special ‘locked’ Derek Prince Chinese media centre. Our printers inside China can bypass China’s Great Firewall and safely download Derek’s materials.
Our team has started an online Bible book club. Pastor An told us: “We continue learning through the online book club materials. May the Lord greatly bless Derek Prince Ministries!”
We are one of the few ministries that still have a presence on China’s most used app, WeChat.
Apps, e-Magazine and Chatbots
Today, Our DPM-China workers have also built their own app, similar to WeChat, with daily posts of Derek’s materials, devotional audios and short videos. They maintain three Ye Guang Ming (Derek Prince) websites, and they have created a new bilingual e-magazine. Many users can view Derek’s teaching online or printed and then share it among churches.
We are developing a tailor-made Derek Prince chatbot to answer questions about Derek Prince’s materials. We are also reaching out to the vast number of Chinese who live outside China through Instagram and Twitter (which are banned inside China).
The team cares for individuals. Brother Lin thanked them “for the fast response after sending my prayer request. I am now feeling much better by God’s Word. May God strengthen your hands and let more people be blessed by your service.”
The monthly cost for this special team to serve the Lord Jesus through Derek’s teaching is US$4,000. They could be earning much more in secular jobs.
Proven Outreach Approach
For almost 40 years we have distributed Derek’s teaching through printed books and other traditional means. With all the online developments, these methods may seem no longer necessary, but they are still urgently needed by many who are not internet trained.
Sister Xiao has been greatly helped by these kinds of materials.
“Thank you for the continuous support and encouragement during the pandemic. My family is studying the ‘Foundation Series’ daily and it really helped us a lot in such a difficult time!”
Many believers in China prefer hard-copy books to online materials. Already this year, our precious brothers and sisters in China have requested the Self-Study Bible Course, Declaring God’s Word, and The Coming Revival.
We intend to respond to these requests, and our target for the year is 300,000 books, or 75,000 books every three months.
The average cost to print a book inside China is US $1.00. Your contribution of $50 would help us print 50 books for believers like Sister Xiao and her family members. Other helpful materials are printed proclamation cards, which cost around $1.25 per pack. These helpful packets enable Chinese believers to stand on the promises of God’s word.
We have been asked to provide audio devices packed with Derek’s teaching and Bible recordings. Older folk often prefer these. For younger children it is also so important that they can hear God’s word at home because no Sunday schools are allowed. One device costs US $19.
We are providing USB devices packed with as much of Derek’s materials as we can for those who cannot or are afraid to go online. One such life-giving USB costs US $7.
Thank you for helping us with this priceless task of serving the Chinese church. Please continue to work with us through your prayers and your giving to provide new types of assistance as well as traditional help for China’s many Christians.
