In the country with the world’s largest population, many people are hungry for truth that cannot be found in political rhetoric and atheistic beliefs. Many are distressed with the lack of true peace and faith that can only be found in the steadfast love and mercy of God. Through the avenues of personal connection, Bible study classes, health classes, social media outreach of many kinds, publishing both in print and online, and much more, Laymen Ministries has been working for souls in China for over 25 years.

The China project of Laymen Ministries began in the mid 1990s with Samuel Wang, a political refugee from China who had recently been granted political asylum in the US. How the Lord connects people on opposite sides of the world to further the Gospel is always amazing! Laymen Ministries was able to help publish many books in China, including over 20 titles by Ellen G. White that Samuel Wang had translated. After being introduced to Dr. Ethel Nelson, a noted expert on the Bible-based origins of the characters of Chinese writing, the two worked together to write two more books: God and the Ancient Chinese (a study of the Gospel as found in the Chinese classics of literature), and The Beginning of Chinese Characters (the parallels found in the building blocks of Chinese writing and the book of Geneses).

It was also in the mid 1990s that Laymen Ministries was introduced to “Sister Jones,” an English teacher and tutor at a Chinese university — but her real vocation was as a missionary to reach Chinese people for Christ. Through private study groups, young adults of many of China’s various cultures came to know Christ, and many of these still serve Him today as business people, entrepreneurs, church leaders, teachers, health workers, and more, with their primary focus of reaching souls for Christ.

While “Sister Jones” was employed in China, she didn’t really have a supportive agency behind her to supply her with needed materials, to act as a backup in case of emergency, and provide the general support that could be so helpful. She came on board with Laymen Ministries and continued to serve in China, and also to seek positions for fellow “tent-making” missionaries to become teachers and tutors in China. Thus began our “Missionary X” Project.

It is not as easy as it once was to secure employment in China’s school systems as an English teacher or tutor. At one time a person with a couple of years of college was eligible, now it requires a bachelor’s degree (minimum), and certification in teaching English as a second language (TESOL or TEFOL).

About 10 years into our Missionary X program, two volunteers traveled to the heart of China to teach in a private tutoring school, operated by a Chinese Adventist family. They tutored students of all ages — from kinders to university students preparing for their final English exams, where the best scores would open doors for the best jobs. They made friends with so many students and families, and opened their homes to Bible study classes. Many students and professional people attended with the aim of improving their conversational English, and as a result, met a forever Friend in Jesus. Many of these have been baptized, and continue to be a strength and support for the Seventh-day Adventist churches in China.

The changing regulations for employment in China caught up to our English tutors, and now over the age of 65, they were no longer eligible to work in China. They returned to the US, but within a year or so, the close friends they had made in China were begging them to return. Not to teach in a school or private business this time, but as retirees living in China. This would allow them an unprecedented opportunity to be full-time Bible workers.

One of our missionaries was able to go, and many hands helped to find an affordable apartment where groups could meet for study and worship. Old friends eagerly picked up the threads of friendship and attended weekly studies. They brought their friends and family members, and study groups continued to expand. Group members were middle-school age and above, for the most part, and members learned to have a close relationship with a God who loved them and invited them into an eternal, personal, saving relationship with Him. Lives changed! People who had lived selfishly or under great stress became warm and compassionate people. They learned to give their worries to God, to invite friends to pray with them about their troubles. Spouses expressed their immense gratitude to Missionary X for the changed attitude of the person they lived with. I wish we were able to share so many personal stories of triumph here!

A long-time dream of Missionary X was to teach simple remedies and CHIP-based (Complete Health Improvement Program) lifestyle classes. The opportunity finally came, and the response has been incredible, even before the current COVID-19 crisis. Chinese doctors, nurses, nutritionists, psychologists, restaurateurs and more, have come on board to support and lend their expertise to these classes, known as Life’s 7 + 1, that teach not only seven healthful living principles, but the importance of finding faith in God. Students practice what they’ve learned and progress is tracked through monthly follow-up meetings.

As we have hoped and prayed for all along, the growing number of graduates from Life’s 7 + 1 are providing the basis of a core group who will carry on this ministry whatever happens in the future with visa, travel permits, or anything else. There are also individuals among the Bible study groups who have proved themselves able to lead these classes. Missionary X is also exploring several avenues of continuing to teach classes via social media platforms, which can be done from anywhere.

Over the last couple of years, Missionary W has conducted evangelism around the Pacific Rim, which has been uploaded for online viewing in China, and has explored the Bible by finding Jesus from Genesis to Revelation via the online WeChat social media platform, with attendance from around the world growing from a few hundred to well over 4,000. All this was conducted from various locations outside of China. Associates in China have done the details of hosting the WeChat groups, creating transcripts, and preparing the transcripts from these programs for publishing in book format and online.

Other workers in China are also using social media to reach the most people in the most effective manner. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns in many countries have taught us all to be inventive in keeping in touch with friends, families, church members. It has, by necessity, taught many of us how to do our jobs from remote locations. All of these ways of keeping in touch and communicating with groups will prove to be a blessing to our work in China. Since all US visitor’s visas have been revoked as of mid 2020, and travel to China for Americans is extremely difficult right now, conducting classes by Zoom, WeChat, and other means will enable Missionary X to work from home in the USA, encouraging emerging group leaders, answering questions, counseling those in difficult situations, and sharing information with the health leaders of Life’s 7 + 1. We are finding a blessing hidden among this mess.

Thank you for your support for the ongoing work of Missionary X and Missionary W, which helps them continue to conduct classes, evangelism, and health outreach, and continue publishing books and online resources in China.