Identifying Needs
They patiently persevered as "people of the soil," knowing trees take a long time to grow and bear fruit.
Joann Pittman
Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs.
Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Chinese Culture and Communication at Wheaton College (IL) and Taylor University (IN).
Joann has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas (MN).
She is the author of Survival Chinese Lessons and The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China.
Her personal blog, Outside-In, can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes on China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong."
You can find her on X at @jkpittman and on Facebook at @authorjoannpittman.
She makes her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.
Latest
Preserving and Nurturing Unity
Our calling is not to create unity, but to preserve and nurture it. Unity is a consequence, not something we can manufacture.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer
In the next month, let’s use the Lord’s prayer as a model to pray, not just for the people of China, but for ourselves.
Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life
JD has put together a two-page Prayer Walking Launch Guide to help people get started. If you’re in China, it’s a great resource to help you pray for the city in which God has placed you, either by birth or by a call to sojourn.
Christianity in East Asia
God is actively working among his people throughout East Asia in ways that may be surprising to those of us in the West or may appear hidden.
New Religious Regulations for Foreigners in China
The Chinese government announced an updated set of regulations to govern the religious activities of foreign personnel. These regulations went into effect on May 1 and apply to all foreigners living in or visiting China and their religious activities.
Operation World
From that humble beginning, a worldwide prayer movement was launched.
Prayer Resources—China Partnership
China Partnership is a US-based organization that supports “an indigenous gospel movement in China.” They serve a network of urban churches that are able to provide timely and firsthand requests for prayer.
Nestorian? Or Not?
But the question is: should we still use the term "Nestorian" to refer to this early Chinese Christian movement?
![The website banner of prayforchina.us. B.F. Weston has recently started a website called PrayforChina.us, with the goal of “promote[ing] prayer from every US state for every Chinese province (and county).”](https://media.chinasource.org/uploads/2025/02/BL250224-ChinaSource-Chinese-Christianity-Pray-for-China-United-States-Pray-for-Gansu-Gansu-Prayer-300x150.jpg)
Pray for China: A Guided Prayer Resource
B.F. Weston has recently started a website called PrayforChina.us, with the goal of “promote[ing] prayer from every US state for every Chinese province (and county).”
Praying for China | Prayercast
We are starting a series designed to introduce various resources that can be used by individuals and churches. One such resource is a site called Prayercast, a ministry of OneWay Ministries.
Living to Be Forgotten
In a society and culture that values platforms and celebrity, may we be like the ordinary disciples of the early church—living to be forgotten so that Christ will be remembered.