How God Provides
Whether through manna in the wilderness, Elijah’s ravens, Paul’s tents, or the generosity of the Philippian church, Scripture is replete with examples of God using any and all of these means to provide for his people.
Our China Stories
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Missions from China
The journey outward to the ends of the earth must also include preparation for the inward journey.
Beyond Proclamation
It is the beauty of a transformed life that gives credibility to our words and vitality to our witness.
Narrating Persecution
The journey from mythmaking to mission entails putting aside our chosen metanarratives, seeing with fresh eyes and listening with fresh ears, not only to the facts as we perceive them but also to the narratives of those in the stories as they interpret their own reality.
Receiving the Gifts of Advent
As the experience of China’s church demonstrates, the gifts of Advent seem to come strangely wrapped. The gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love are received through suffering and sacrifice.
Our Generational Stories
Understanding China today requires a sense of where China has been.
The Water We Swim In
We bring to China our view of the world and our place in it, our sense of “the way things ought to be,” our values and priorities. Through this lens, we try to make sense of a culture and people very different from ourselves.
State Dominance of Religion
Surveying the fraught relationship between church and state in China, the late Chinese church historian Daniel Bays asserted that government control of religion has been a constant feature from Imperial times to the present.
Enduring Lessons for a Changing China
While honestly embracing their own evangelical legacy, with its imperative for gospel witness, the Mennonites also found in their heritage values of “hosting, listening, waiting, learning, inquiring, affirming.”
Beyond Suffering: China’s Resilient Christians
Beyond the story of suffering lies the sacred narrative of how the church continues to be the church.
The End of Persecution
The persecution story may be unending, but neither is persecution the end of the story.
Metaphorically Speaking
Metaphors have the power to expand our imaginations or limit our thinking. May the lived experience of China’s Christians, both inside and outside China, inspire new images of what is possible in Christ’s kingdom.