Never in a million years did I think I would ever find myself in a group of people praying and worshipping Jesus outside in public in China.
I got to China with many questions. How discreet did we need to be? Who, when, and how could we tell why we were actually here? How were we supposed to balance boldness with caution? How much information could we send home? China is, after all, a closed country, right?
Our contact explained that, contrary to the way many missionaries see things, it is not illegal to be Christian in the area where we’re staying. It is not illegal to go to church. It is not illegal to preach the gospel. He has been living in this area for seven years and never tries to hide his faith. He’s not into “James Bond” ministry. He’s bold. He tells people straight up that he’s a Christian missionary here to tell them that Jesus loves them.
I love that.
I love that kind of faith.
I want that kind of faith.
It’s the kind of faith that was seen in the disciples with the first church. In Acts 4 we read about the arrest of Peter and John after teaching in the temple and healing a sick man. They were thrown in jail overnight and questioned in the morning. We hear that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to preach to the rulers and elders about who Jesus really was and all He’s done in their lives. The rulers could not dispute their arguments, since the healed man was with them, and let them go, commanding them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” [Acts 4:18-20] After they were released, they went back into the town, asking the Lord to protect them from the threats of the rulers so they could still teach with confidence and boldness.
The first Sunday here, we had a semi-church service outside the apartment building where we’re living with worship music, personal reflection time, and a time of sharing what God was laying on our hearts. If we, as American foreigners, didn’t normally draw a crowd of locals wanting to take our picture, to see a group of us worshipping together REALLY brought a crowd. There were so many people coming up to us, asking us what we were doing and why we were there. Kids picking us flowers. People taking pictures of and with us. Pointing at us. I even saw a police man on his radio at one point, but he just walked away and left us alone. I’ve prayed for years for God to give me boldness. I never imagined it would be in here in China, a closed country, where God would show me what real boldness looked like.
If I can find this kind of boldness in China, why does it seem so uncommon in America? Our government allows us to be bold and we don’t take advantage of it. Why don’t we find ourselves unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard? I ask everyone reading this to do two things.
One: Pray for our team. Our ministry here is to reach out to day cares, houses, and universities throughout the community. Pray that we would be led by the Spirit to the people who are hungry for His word. That we would meet God where He’s already at work in people’s hearts. That we would see people interested in studying the Bible with us. That our hearts would be broken for the lost, for those who don’t know His name, who long for something more out of their life.
Two: Seek out areas in your own life where you can be more bold. Don’t have the “friends” who don’t even know about the part of your life that is most important. Share your story. Walk where God leads. You don’t have to fly halfway around the globe to reach out to people with Jesus’ love.
