the persecuted church
08 - 11/22 /10:23
Sunday 11/6 our church participated in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. As we do every year, Hope Community dedicated our gathering to pray for persecuted Christians from Cuba to Nigeria to North Korea. After hearing painful testimony, we prayed for deliverance of the persecuted and for the repentance of their persecutors.
In China over the past decade under President Xi, persecution of the church has increased. Eugene Bach recounts a 2017 roundtable discussion of American pastors with Chinese evangelist Brother Yun. Regarding persecution, they asked what might be done to stop the Chinese government from ripping crosses off church buildings.
In China over the past decade under President Xi, persecution of the church has increased. Eugene Bach recounts a 2017 roundtable discussion of American pastors with Chinese evangelist Brother Yun. Regarding persecution, they asked what might be done to stop the Chinese government from ripping crosses off church buildings.
Brother Yun did not share their concern. “I’m not worried that the Chinese government has been ripping down crosses from buildings. Crosses never should have been on buildings. Jesus told us to carry the cross every day. The cross belongs on our backs.
“We have gotten lazy. We placed crosses on buildings in hope the buildings would carry the burden of the cross for us. The government has pulled the crosses down so that Christians can once again carry their own crosses.”
But what about church buildings being destroyed by the Chinese government?
“This does not disturb us in China. Why should it? It is only a building. We are the church. Our vision in China is to see so many Muslims come to Christ that mosques are transformed into gathering places for Christians. Our prayer is that we will see so many Buddhists come to Christ that Buddhist temples will be transformed into Christian revival centers.
“Let’s not use the resources of Christians to build new buildings for the body; let’s re-purpose the resources of the enemy to facilitate the needs of the church.
“The destiny of the house churches of China is to pull down the world’s spiritual strongholds—the house of Buddha, the house of Mohammed, the house of Hinduism—and to proclaim the glorious Gospel to all nations before the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“If you hear that hundreds of us have been killed or imprisoned, don’t assume that’s bad news and that the Back to Jerusalem vision has failed. In China we have learned to trust the sovereignty of God. If we are in prison it is because He wants us there. The very thing some people may see as failure could turn out to be the point of breakthrough and victory.”
Blessings,
Dan Nygaard