When I transferred from my previous location some time ago, the Han (majority Chinese) church was flourishing. The regional minority congregation was not growing, but working hard at translating. These two groups meet separately for worship and study, because they use different languages and have very different cultures. But they cooperate with and support each other. None of these groups in this region may worship legally. They are often harassed by government authorities and also by Sunday-keeping church officials and members. But they are strengthened in spite of the difficulties.

The Han church is successfully reaching many people through health services. Their outreach in local public areas has been curtailed, but the work is still progressing by word of mouth. In this same area, the body of the church has grown from one to six groups.

In the Minority

The minority group, focusing on translating the Bible rather than on evangelism, was struggling. (You may recall, there has never been a written Word of God for this minority.) It was suggested that they stop translating and concentrate on evangelism for a time. They didn’t know how to go about building up their little church, but stepped forward in faith, and in only a few weeks they had more than ten new members! Now the church consists of more than 20 baptized members, and 20 more who are preparing for baptism. They are now a well organized group.

With minority groups such as this, most church members and inquirers are students, as their families live in remote grassland areas, far from the centers of population.

One newly-baptized member, however, is a middle-aged man. He is a natural leader, and I have invited him to work with me in minority evangelism. His wife, as yet unbaptized, is excited about the plan. This man is intellectually very talented, but his life has been a succession of failures because of his drinking habit (common among the minorities). He has had difficulty holding down a job, had lost his friends, and was divorced by his first wife. Since meeting the Lord, however, he has been transformed—quit drinking, smoking, and fighting. He is firmly on the wagon now, and loves to read Spirit of Prophecy books (he can read them in English!). Please pray for us, and especially that the Holy Spirit will keep this man strong and firm in his determination.

Another faithful worker in the minority church faces a different dilemma. Before learning of Jesus Christ, she was engaged to marry a man who is not a believer. In this culture, engagement is considered an iron-clad commitment—breaking an engagement is as serious as divorcing. This young woman is under heavy pressure by both her family and her fiancee’s to marry immediately, but she knows she must not. She needs your intercession.

In another province, we have had two gentlemen working as a team. Over the past year they have raised up a strong Seventh-day Adventist church, and helped build up another. After these successes, I asked one of them if he would consider being a pioneer to a strongly Muslim minority in another area. He enthusiastically agreed, so we studied Muslim evangelism methods together, and he also spent some time with a church group who helped him.

He is now settled in another province where there is a large concentration of this Muslim heritage. As a medical professional, he has contact with many people. He also located the small, struggling body of Seventh-day Adventist believers and has been a great help to them. He already has several people studying the Bible with him, and more that he is instructing in healthful living.

Remote and Rugged

There is even a pioneer presence in a remote and rugged Buddhist region. A young friend is beginning his second year studying the local language and making friends whom he hopes to be able to reach for Christ soon. He has been without Christian fellowship, and struggles with loneliness and poor health, but his faith is strong. He has made many friends and can speak and write the language fairly well, but still needs another year of concentrated study before he will be able to study the Bible with the local people. We continue to pray that the Lord will send someone to this remote outpost who will bring the Adventist presence there to a total of at least two people.

This young pioneer is engaged to marry a young woman, but until they are actually married, she cannot go to work with him. They cannot marry yet, as she is not quite old enough (she is 20 now) and until her parents are reconciled to the idea of her living in such a remote place. In the meantime, she continues to learn the responsibilities of leadership, and how to work with new kinds of people groups.

Fellowship Hunger

The cultural issues of China in general, and the minorities in particular, are difficult to describe to someone who has not experienced them. While the Adventist church is quite strong in many regions among the Hans, the majority group, it is culturally unacceptable for minority peoples to worship and fellowship with the Han believers. It can’t be forced—it simply won’t work.

I sometimes find myself in the heartbreaking circumstance of seeing a minority person attracted to the Truth of God’s Word, only to find them put off by the lack of fellowship with Adventist Christians of their own minority. Many Sunday keeping missionaries are working as English teachers in China and her autonomous provinces. These missionaries actively pursue those who are seeking for Truth, and can often offer more Christian fellowship than I can. Even though these seekers begin to understand the truth, they may still go to the Sunday-keepers for fellowship more and more often. As is to be expected, this influence, over time, weakens their appreciation of, and commitment to Truth.

Our great need right now is for workers to come and teach English in the public schools, and by example and a careful word here and there, demonstrate the difference in a life that knowing Jesus Christ can make.

Lightening the Load

I have also recently, with the Lord’s direction, assembled a group of committed Adventist laymen who assist me in planning and maintaining the work here. The work has grown to the point where I can no longer manage it alone, and I am so grateful for the input of these Christian brothers and sisters. By combining our strengths, we are making plans for expansion of these projects.

Please keep these matters in prayer. These precious new believers need strength and encouragement in the difficulties of the new lives they have chosen. We also need God’s wisdom in planning and financing this expanding work.

Many minority students in China return home to visit and help their families diring summer. In these remote regions, many still carry on customs that are timeless, and with none of our "civilized comforts."

The hope found in Jesus Christ brings a new melody and life to the songs that drift across the hills and fields of rural China.