"Like Spring Rain In the Desert"

'C' who has been involved in training believers in China for some years. Here he shares his experiences on a recent visit. Posted on 23 October 2009.

We started in the south where we were to work with some friends. My son had met ‘B' three years ago. B had just become a believer at that time and was now leading a small team in an outreach to university students.

We arrived on the Sunday evening and were immediately introduced to some university contacts. One hung around when all the others had gone and wanted to know more about Christianity. His main question was "What can I do each day to be near to God?" The team had explained the Gospel to him in previous weeks and we followed this by explaining the need to make a personal commitment to God to enter into a relationship with Him. After some more discussion we felt happy that he was ready to take that step and he was keen to do so, so we had the privilege of leading him to the Lord. It was a good start to the trip!

The next few days were spent with this team and with another team who as well as working at local factories also reach out to fellow workers with the Gospel. We taught through each day. I taught on the Holy Spirit and my co-worker spoke on a life of worship from Romans 12:1-2.

We were very encouraged by their responsiveness. The factory team had to take time off work and could only get two days off but by the second day they had managed to get some more time so they could join us on the third day as well. As well as the teaching we spent a long time answering questions and discussing pastoral-related matters. They also insisted we prayed for them at various stages throughout the days.

These were very special times and we saw God minister to them very powerfully in our times of prayer. One girl concerned us with her response through the first couple of days and at the end of the second day she was being particularly noisy while we prayed for others. I felt I needed to address a spiritual stronghold. I spoke in very level tones, in English, to an unclean spirit and ordered it to leave her. She wouldn't have understood what I was saying as she didn't speak any English. The spirit clearly did, however, and after more noise and some retching she quietened down, relaxed and rested for 15-20 minutes. When she rejoined us, her countenance seemed quite different and her smile was enormous whereas before she was quite downcast! Demonic spirits seem very prevalent in China and one friend tells me that he always spends the first day casting out demons before moving on to teach in subsequent days. There is no doubt that you always have to be on your guard in China and be ready for anything!

On one occasion we were able to speak at length with the boys in the university team about the difficulties they are facing keeping people after "conversion". It was clear that, while they were good at getting people in, they weren't very good at keeping them! We spent some time looking at the principles of discipleship and how to care for new believers.

One thing became very apparent and that was the need for good quality literature. We were able to get in touch with our AM-CCSM contacts and collect a large box full of books. The boys were thrilled and excited to now have the resources to help disciple new believers and lead them into a firm faith. I was deeply impacted by seeing firsthand the manifest need of literature and the joy of getting some at last! I was also further convinced how the literature ministry and the teaching ministry can work hand in hand.

We had lunch with another contact in the city who told us of the constant demands she receives from all over China for more and more literature and the difficulties she faces in meeting the needs. She also shared about the needs of her city. She told us how she was sometimes reluctant to share the Gospel because of her inability to cope with more and more new Christians all needing care and discipleship.

Moving on to our next city, we spent three days with a group of about 20 leaders. We were thrilled by their responsiveness once again and they seemed excited with our teaching. One leader describing it as "like spring rain coming in the desert".

On the first day a selection of AM-CCSM books was laid out. There was quite a scrummage to get them! It was exciting yet heartbreaking that there were so few.

Every session ended with questions, as did many mealtimes! The hunger for understanding was incredible. Several issues kept coming up, including divorce, once saved always saved, etc., but more worrying was the prevalence of questions that we wouldn't have expected, such as, "If a preacher lays hands on you to pray for you, is it right that all his sins are transferred to you?"

Another guy gave a powerful testimony of being filled with the Spirit quite dramatically but, because the building didn't shake and there wasn't a ‘violent wind', he didn't think it counted as being filled with the Spirit! This same man had been a long-term hardened drug user until responding to the Gospel a year ago and now looked fit and well and was reaching out to drug users and homeless people in the city.

They are very keen for me to visit again. They particularly asked for teaching through an individual Bible book and I was delighted to see their hunger for everything to be firmly rooted in God's Word. I have subsequently had an email that read, "Dear Pastor, we need you now. When will you come here?" Hard to ignore!