周寧現任華源協作夥伴關係與中國事工副總裁，並擔任《每週中國快訊》（ZGBriefs）編輯。
加入華源協作之前，周寧曾在中國工作 28 年，期間擔任過英語教師、語言學生及專案主任，也為在中國工作的機構與企業提供跨文化培訓。她曾在明尼蘇達州的西北大學（University of Northwestern–St. Paul）教授中文，並在惠頓學院（Wheaton College）及泰勒大學（Taylor University）教授中國文化與溝通。
周寧擁有西北大學社會科學學士學位，以及聖湯瑪斯大學（University of St. Thomas）教學碩士學位。
周寧著有 Survival Chinese Lessons 和 The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China 兩本書。
周寧也經營個人部落格 Outside-In（joannpittman.com），分享對中國、明尼蘇達州、旅行，以及「如何在不屬於自己的地方好好生活」等主題的觀察與思考。
讀者也可以透過 X（@jkpittman）及 Facebook（@authorjoannpittman）關注周寧的動態。
周寧目前定居美國明尼蘇達州新布萊頓（New Brighton）。
This afternoon the good folks at FEDEX delivered a small package to my house, and it wasn’t even a Christmas present. In fact, it was something better — my passport, with a brand-spanking-new Ten-year, multiple entry tourist visa to China.
Much is written these days about what makes China tick. It's the pragmatism. It's nationalism, and the desire to be a player on the world stage. It's "socialism with Chinese characteristics," which to some is just another way of saying capitalism.
This book contains 15 short lessons designed to give you just enough language learning to help you function in very basic situations. This is a must for travelers or those who are going to live in China and are looking for a way to get some of the basics.
That's a question I hear quite a bit whenever I speak on China. People want to know about the availability of Bibles in China. Unfortunately many people still believe that owning a Bible is illegal in China, something that hasn't been true for decades. But as with most things in China, the issue of Bible availability is complicated.
A month or so ago I was having a lovely outdoor dinner with group of friends, one of whom was a high school kid from Beijing studying at a school here in the Twin Cities and living with an American host family.
On November 1, 2014, The Economist published an excellent article about the church in China, titled "Cracks in the Atheist Edifice." Written by veteran correspondent Rob Gifford (author of China Road), the article gives an overview of how the church (and individual Christians) in China are stepping out of the shadows, and the various ways in which the government is being forced to deal with this growing and more visible church.
In July, I wrote a post titled "Ten Lessons from the Church in China" in which I highlighted ten responses by foreign Christians in China to the question "what specific lessons can the church in the West learn from the church in China?"
In the mid-1990s, while studying Chinese, I stumbled across a Chinese expression that was a "key" to helping me understand what was going on. I was working through a textbook called Speaking of Chinese Culture that taught about key Chinese cultural rules and values. One chapter was on this Chinese concept called nei wai you bie (内外有别), which means "insiders and outsiders are different."
Contrary to what many think, getting ahold of legally published Christian books in China is quite easy. In addition to Christian bookstores, which exist in most major cities, China's e-commerce site Taobao is a great source of Christian material.
When trying to understand the church in China, it's easy to let predetermined narratives drive our interpretation of the things we observe. A recent article in the Huffington Post is a clear example of this.
Anyone serving in China knows that one of the more vexing issues to deal with is "security." How public can / should I be about my faith? How public can/should I be about the faith and values that undergird my ministry?
On October 1, the Cornerstone Blog of The Religious Freedom Project at The Berkeley Center published two helpful posts on religious liberty in China.