TO THE WORLD

I have just come from the most amazing missionary conference I have ever attended and shared in…or ever dreamed I would be a part of. I could not ask for your prayers beforehand for security and secrecy reasons. As coordinator of Project Pearl, I’ve shared the many miracles of the one million Bible delivery to China in one night on June 18th 1981, in many countries of the world. Today I shared the story with PowerPoint pictures for the first time with Chinese INSIDE China. I wish you could have seen their response. One older brother named Joshua hugged me so hard and would not let go. Turns out he distributed thousands of Pearl Bibles in northern China as well as for other projects. Even though he spent two periods of time in prison for his activities, he estimates that over the years he distributed 400,000 Bibles to other believers. He was impacted as a young man by Pastor Simon Zhao who had the original “Back To Jerusalem” missionary vision. Every evening for 31 years in labor camp Simon faced toward the west, and cried out to the Lord, “Oh God I’ll never be able to reach Jerusalem on foot. Our vision has perished. I pray you’ll raise up a new generation of Christians in China who are willing to lay down their lives to take the gospel all the way back to where it started in Jerusalem!” Like many others, Simon did not live to see how fully God answered his prayers! My excellent interpreter was Brother Mark who grew up and was disciple in the of Allen Yuan in (many will remember this dear pastor who spent 21 years and 8 months in prison beginning in the mid-fifties). Mark is a dynamic speaker as well as interpreter. The venue was an international missionary conference, CHINA TO THE WORLD, organized by NEXUS mission held in a public hotel ballroom with approximately 175 Chinese house church leaders and church young people meeting openly to discuss how they can be involved in joining hands to fulfill the Great Commission. Current Chinese missionaries to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia, Middle East and SE Asia tribal areas shared the challenges of their ministry. Other missionary reports were given by a brother from Egypt and a South African missionary to India. Teams of Chinese youths also reported on their short term mission trips to Cambodia and Bangladesh (they prepare for six months before going on these trips). Chinese missionaries to China’s internal people groups also shared. The twenty-five or so foreigners attending were from Brazil, South Africa, Namibia, Hong Kong, USA and Canada. Most of us were amazed at the opportunity to hear these house church believers freely sing at the top of their lungs as well as share their missionary exploits. The Chinese believers attending were excited because they understand that China (now with the largest economy in the world) has the longest lasting revival movement in history and is predicted within a couple of decades to become the largest Christian nation in the world. The privilege and responsibility this represents is not lost on them. I ended my presentation with a reminder there are still 6000 people groups remaining who have yet to be impacted by the Gospel – a good number of them inside China. I also did a quick survey of Matthew Chapter Ten where Jesus sends out His disciples as “sheep among wolves”…which indicates that the completion of the Great Commission will include great suffering…BUT…eternity will prove it is worth the price. And the cross-centered message requires cross-bearing messengers. Jesus essential message in this chapter is: 1. Expect persecution 2. Don’t be afraid 3. Take the ultimate risk

Have things ever changed in China since my first visit in early 1977. These were three days I will never forget….please continue to pray for Chinese missionaries serving in difficult places.

While this conference was in session, a co-worker was in China with a group of four Christians involved in Project Pearl. They sent the following letter:

Dear Brother Paul and the other brothers and sisters, peace be with you in Christ! Today, we (a small group of Chinese Christians who were directly or indirectly involved in Project Pearl) came together for a meeting. We are utterly grateful for how the Lord used your hands to bless Chinese churches and the development of our Gospel spreading ministry. It’s beyond words to describe how spectacular that night was. We are simply short of words to express the excitement in our hearts but give all the glory to our God. Please allow us to convey our deepest gratitude on behalf of all the Chinese brothers and sisters.