Dear Brothers and Sisters, Peace to you in our Lord!
When you receive this letter, we may be on the way to the “Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and Footprints of Jesus” Holy Land Study Tour. Thank the Lord! This time we have a record number of 55 brothers and sisters participating, and everyone is very excited about this study tour.
Meanwhile, last Saturday (June 4), we just finished the Youth Camp after the May Discipleship Training and May Lay-minister Discipleship Training. Since June 1, the brothers and sisters who signed up for the Bible Camp have begun writing their assigned reports, and the CWC coworkers also need to take time to read their reports, so a busy summer for us is expected, please continue to remember us in your prayers, “exhausted but still in pursuit. ” (Judges 8:4)!
During the Discipleship Training in May, Pastor King Tai Tie mentioned that in the US, black churches and Chinese churches were more impacted by COVID-19 than the white churches. This is a warning sign! As I mentioned in previous issues: In this year’s monthly prayer letter, I would like to ask the CWC coworkers and Board members to share a series of views on “Church Regrouping after the Pandemic” in our monthly prayer letter. In this issue our coworker, Pastor Charles Huang is sharing “The Revival Opportunity of the Church after the Pandemic.”
The Revival Opportunity of the Church after the Pandemic
As Christians, have we ever asked God: Why is there a pandemic? Why did God allow the pandemic to happen? Over the past three years, life of believers and non-believers alike have all been impacted by the COVID-19 from having mild symptoms to death. Church congregation numbers declined, evangelistic work facing difficulties, and relationships have become estranged due to online gatherings. This has left Christians confused as to why God allowed this to happen. How should Christians view the pandemic and its impact on the church from a biblical perspective?
I. Spiritual Numbness
Christians should have seen many of God’s works in their lives, yet they didn’t because of spiritual numbness. This is understandable, just as Jesus performed the miracle of feeding five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish. Right after that, Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, Then He came to them, walking on the sea in the wind, and when he got on board, the wind stopped. The disciples were utterly astonished at Jesus’ miracle on the sea. Why were they so “ utterly astonished “? It seems that the disciples had not fully accepted Jesus’ identity. Therefore, Mark writes, “This is because they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened.” (Mark 6:52) Undoubtedly, even though the disciples heard many of Jesus’ teaching and had witnessed many miracles of Jesus, even, only a few hours ago, to the miracle of feeding 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish, and heard Jesus’ teachings to multitudes, yet they did not truly accept Jesus’ identity. It was too hard for the disciples to digest spiritual things and they were too slow to believe. The disciples heard many of Jesus’ teaching and had witnessed many miracles of Jesus yet they did not truly accept Jesus’ identity, that is spiritual numbness.
Can Christians also be spiritually numbed? We have God’s full revelation, the Bible. We have God at work in our lives. What have we seen when going through the pandemic?
II. A Biblical View of God’s Sovereignty and Human Life
Almighty God, who rules over human history with his infinite knowledge, also guides every aspect of each of our lives. The pandemic is in God’s control, so He must have His purpose in it.
James says, “ Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4) Through trials, God often builds up a person’s life through suffering in order to strengthen his/her faith and become more spiritual mature. Because God is building up our lives, we should also be “rejoicing” when facing trials. If we consider the pandemic as a God-given trial, may He give us wisdom so that our lives may be built up through it.
From biblical revelation, we know that life is God’s gift to man (Acts 17:25); God alone has the power to give and take away (Job 2:10); Life is short and has some degree of suffering (Heb. 9:27); God has set the length of life (Matthew 10:29); Life is short (Psalm 144:4). The concept that “in Him we live and move and exist” should be deeply imprinted in our worldview.
On biblical principles, God can use the pandemic to turn people to Jesus – the Creator of all things and the Savior of mankind. Through the pandemic, God once again reminds humanity of its finiteness, weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and need (Revelation 3:17). Christians live in the world and are often attracted to the affairs of the world (1 John 2:15-16). Trials with suffering awaken us and help us turn wholeheartedly to Him, rely on Him, obey Him, and live daily lives according to His will.
III. God’s Will and Church Revival
On earth, God’s most precious is the church which Jesus had bought with His blood, that is, we Christians. After the pandemic, the number of congregation of churches has declined. Most of the Chinese churches in North America are recovering, some have only recovered less than 50%, and some have 90%. We often pay too much attention to numbers, but I think the measure of church revival is not only numbers, but also the quality of the church and the spiritual life of believers. When there is quality, the growth of numbers is a natural result. If the church has no quality, when encounters trials, the size will decrease.
Jesus’ example shows us that He values quality and spirituality of man. Almighty Jesus could lead many disciples, but He patiently trained only the core 12 disciples. Jesus gave the church the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), and the center of the Great Commission was to make disciples. We can say that the central purpose of the church is to make disciples, and making disciples is also a channel for improving the quality of the church.
Many churches have been doing “discipleship training”, but first, we need to have a clear definition of a disciple. Who are the disciples that meet Jesus’ requirements? Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24) What is the definition of “self-denial”? I think the prayer Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane is fully expressed~ “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39) “Self-denial” means giving up one’s own will and make God’s will his priority. “Take up his cross and follow me” was publicly portrayed in Jesus that He came to the world and was crucified on the cross which was a price and sacrifice for obedience to the will of God the Father. “Taking up the cross” means submitting to God’s will and willing to pay the price and sacrifice of one’s life. This is what Jesus asked of the disciples, and it should be the goal of discipleship training.
Jesus had high expectation on His disciples, this also should be our lifetime pursues. In Chinese church, we emphasize God’s Word but stays only as hearers and not doers of the Word. In the Internet age, we can hear sermons from “renowned” speakers at any time. Jesus’ Great Commission emphasizes the importance of making disciples, “ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you ” (Matthew 28:20). The success of “teaching” depends on whether the person being taught “obeys” God’s Word. If God’s Word were only intellectual, without works, our lives would not change much. As Paul said to the church of Philippi, “ work out your salvation with fear and trembling ” (Philippians 2:12).
Jesus gave us another concept of discipleship, and that is “life influencing life”. Jesus not only taught by words, but also by example. The so-called “Example is better than precept”. Jesus lived out His teachings, and His life could influence His disciples even more. Jesus said to love the enemies, and Jesus demonstrated His teaching on the cross. Jesus taught “to be the greatest shall be the servant”, and He humbly washed the feet of his disciples and eventually died on the cross to serve people, fulfilling God’s salvation for mankind. In the same way, in order to build up people to be the disciples that the Lord requires, we are to first become the disciples that the Lord requires. In this way, we can effectively influence others with our lives. The priority of discipleship is to build up oneself before it is possible to influence those around you.
Jesus’ Great Commission also teaches us how to make disciples. “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you ” (Matthew 28:19-20). “Go” is about taking action and stepping out of our comfort zone. “Baptizing” is evangelism, witnessing to the Lord and leading people to Christ. “Teaching” is the teaching of God’s Word and not only the transmission of knowledge, but also the teaching of people in behavior to “observe” God’s teaching.
Spiritual life takes time to grow, just as children need time to grow up. Basic spiritual discipline is necessary in order to have a solid relationship with God. We should have good spiritual discipline to build up our lives.
- Regular Devotion Time: Devotion is being alone with God and building a relationship with Him. Indispensable for devotion is “reading the Bible” as God speaking to us; “Reflecting” on the passage you have just read, and “praying” as speaking to God.
- Evangelistic Lifestyle: Develop the habit of witnessing to the Lord and make sharing the gospel a lifestyle.
- Involve in Church Ministry: Attend church meetings regularly (Heb. 10:25) where brothers and sisters inspire each other, and participate in church ministry. Without serving in church, we cannot reach the level of spiritual maturity God wants us to achieve.
- Participate in Training Outside the Church: Attend Discipleship Training camps, Bible Camp, Gospel camp, etc. organized by the Christian Witness Center.
The ongoing meeting
(1) Holy Land Study Tour (6/19-6/30)
Thank the Lord! This time our plane will first land in Egypt, in addition to visiting important Egyptian monuments (pyramids, sphinx, Egyptian museum), we will follow the route of Exodus – cross the Red Sea, “camping” at the foot of Mount Sinai (climb Mount Sinai early the next morning) (June 19-22), then we will pass Moab, Edom, Amen, take the King’s Highway (Num. 21:22) (June 23-25), and finally cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land (June 25-30), Besides getting familiar with the footprints of the great King Jesus when He was on earth (Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, etc.), we will also visit important sites of the Old Testament (Megiddo, Engedi, Mount Carmel, Mount Tabor, etc.) along the way. Please pray that all members in the group are protected before the Lord physically, mentally and spiritually, and for the safety of our journey that the Lord’s pillar of cloud and fire covers us.
Future Meetings
(1) August Bible Camp (7/30-8/5)
This time we are going to study the history book “Kings and Prophets”, which includes: 1 Kings 11-22, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles 10-36. So far, more than 50 brothers and sisters have signed up. If you are interested in participating the camp, study schedule and registration form have already been posted on the website, please download. The speaker will be Pastor James Ip. Pastor Yip is an Old Testament professor at Christian Witness Theological Seminary in California. Strict registration deadline is June 15, please click here for details and the registration form.
(2) August Discipleship Training (8/6-8/12)
Since last year, we have seen students return to North America to study, which is a great opportunity for us to restore fellowship and church. Pastor Ko often said, “Are we, the old students, equipped to welcome and serve the new students before they return to us when the new semester begins?” He continued: August training is the last chance to be equipped before school starts in the fall. Our two speakers in August this year are: Pastor Kuang-Fu Yang, Pastor David Wu and CWC coworkers. Pastor Yang and Pastor Wu have served the Lord in Arizona and Ohio for nearly 30 years, and both are retired. I believe that with their life experiences of serving the Lord we all will be edified. Details will be announced in the next newsletter, and the deadline for registration is July 28.
August and September Short-term Mission
In the past, when we mentioned “short-term mission teams”, it was natural to respond: “short-term mission teams from California”, but now more churches are willing to encourage their congregation to step out and participate short-term mission. Thank the Lord! Their first thought was that they came to the United States to study, came to Christ as students, and are familiar with student ministry. This year, in addition to the California churches still sending short-term missions, six Texas churches and a New Jersey church will also send short-term missions teams. We thank the Lord for them! This year we still have two mission arrangements: one from August 18 to 27 and one from September 8 to 17. We hope that the churches and Bible study fellowship groups in the Midwest will grab the opportunity at the beginning of the new school year to team up with the short-term mission teams to evangelize not only the new students on campus, but also the old students who we have missed to reach for Christ during the pandemic. If your church or Bible study group are interested, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can make appropriate arrangements.
Past Meeting Report
(1) May Discipleship Training and Lay Minister Discipleship Training：
We thank the Lord for the May Discipleship Training and Lay-minister Discipleship Training this past May! Although the restrictions for COVID-19 have been lifted and many people took the opportunity to return to their home country to visit relatives during the summer vacation, which had affected the number of participants in many programs as well as in our two training camps, but thank the Lord that there were still more than forty brothers and sisters with their eight children attended the May Discipleship Training; and nearly 70 working brothers and sisters who brought about 20 of their children to participate the Lay-minister Discipleship Training. Thank the Lord! The two speakers, Elder Daniel Luan, Pastor King Tai Tie shared different messages from the perspective of life testimony or from the perspective of rational theology, with Elder Ka Leung Lee, who is a tent-maker, joined in the Lay-Minister training as a speaker, all participants were richly blessed. Thank the Lord! The meetings were filled with God’s presence! We pray that after returing to their ministry field, every brother and sister not only have changes in their lives, but also bring about a revival to their church because of what they had learnt and received. As I always say, as long as we are willing to step out and be equipped, God will speak to us, constantly illuminate and shape us. May all praise and thanks be to the Lord who sits on the throne.
(2) June Youth Camp
More than 40 youth participated the Youth Camp, and thanks to the Lord that they not only have been encouraged by the speakers Brother Edwin Lin, his wife Elanor Lin, Pastor Steve Tan and Pastor Berry Edwards, they also went to eight nursing homes on Thursday afternoon, where the teenagers sang songs, gave personal testimonies of salvation, performed Bible skits, and chat with the elderly after the meeting. And thank the Lord even more that many youth expressed the eagerness of sharing their experience when they go back to their church, or would like to start an online Bible study group with each other. May the Lord continue to work in the hearts of these young people so that they will not be strayed from the Lord all the days of their life.
Sunday Online Bible Reading & Prayer Meeting
During the pandemic, many churches went online, and Pastor Ko started this Sunday evening Bible study and prayer meeting to lead brothers and sisters continue to have a life of Bible reading, prayer, and spiritual sharing. Though in sickness, Pastor Ko still had come and led the meeting, and brothers and sisters at the same time had interceded for Pastor Ko’s health before the Lord. Although Pastor Ko has gone to be with the Lord now, we will keep this prayer meeting going to unite brothers and sisters spiritually. We are studying the scriptures in accordance with the progress of Bible Camp to help brothers and sisters prepare in advance. Currently we are in the books of History. We encourage those brothers and sisters who plan to attend August Bible Camp to join this meeting every week. The online Bible reading and prayer meeting every Sunday at 6:30pm (Central Time) via Zoom, the account number is: 8110999917, password: 737903.
Thanksgiving and Prayer Requests
- June Holy Land Study Tour: May the Lord bless a safe path and that life of brothers and sisters will be enriched abundantly.
- Future Meetings: Pray for the preparation of August Bible Camp and August Discipleship Training, and that the hearts of brothers and sisters who will attend these meetings be prepared.
- August and September Short Mission: For the training and preparation of the short mission team members, and the Church and Fellowship in the Midwest will team up with the short- term mission teams to win more souls for the Lord.
- For co-workers:
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- Mrs. Ko: Thank the Lord for His grace granted physical strength to serve in the May and June camps, and ask the Lord to continue strengthen Mrs. Ko for future ministry.
- Sister Cindy Chiang: Facing many administrative work and meetings at CWC, pray that the Lord grant her wisdom and knowledge so that her ministry and decisions at the Center be in accordance to God’s will and pleasing to the Lord. From May to September, she will be very busy. Pray that the Lord will sustain, protect, and bless her with good health, strength and joyful spirit in serving God.
- Brother Qinglong Liang: Pray that the Lord will give him obedient heart serving at the church and families according to God’s will. Pray that the Lord will give wisdom to his wife and the ability to raise children according to God’s will. May the Lord guide him in the power of the Holy Spirit to expand the Kingdom of God in CWC and Midwest.
- Pastor Charles Huang: Pray for the student ministry in Champaign, Illinois that the Lord use Pastor Charles to build up the spiritual lives of the students. Pray that Pastor Huang shepherd the church with the word of God with wisdom. Also pray for his three children that they are blessed by the Lord with school work and spiritual growth.
- American coworker Scott Jerome: Becci, Scott’s wife, is waiting for the approval from the insurance for MRI on shoulder. Pray also for their “Celebrate Recovery Ministry” at their church and the youth camp the children will attend in the summer.
- Remembering other bodies:
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- Pastor Harold Shull: Now retired and his wife has cancer, pray that the Lord heal her.
- Pastor Danny Li (Pastor Ko’s nephew): Pray for her Mom who has cancer to be healed, comfort assurance to the family. Pray that the doctors have wisdom to provide proper treatment.
- Please Pray for the CWC monthly financial need (general fund, building fund, training fund, etc.) asking the Lord to manifest His abundant provision and allow more brothers and sisters to experience the blessings of offering.
- For CWC: Pray that the Lord will bring more co-workers to the CWC ministry for the furtherance of the gospel ministry in the Midwest.
Emmanuel
In the Lord,
Sister Cindy Chiang