Our last trip to Asia confirmed our conviction that friendship must stand at the center of effective ministry among Chinese.

Although I have frequently pointed out the necessity of using their mother tongue to communicate the Gospel to Chinese, there are times when English can be used with great effect. In particular, the role of English-speaking churches deserves greater attention than we sometimes give.

A few months ago, we discussed ways in which ministry among Chinese worldwide must reflect the twin realities of China’s rapid rise and America’s precipitous decline. Now let us think a bit about another aspect of the fast-changing situation facing Chinese Christians and all who would serve them.

In this month’s letter, let me introduce the academic outreach of Global China Center.

I use this letter and the one next month to tell you what Dori and I are doing, starting with the church-based China Institute.

Missionaries and evangelists have often ignored prohibitions against preaching the Gospel, preferring suffering to guilty silence.

The presence of students from China presents Christians in the West with a marvelous opportunity to reach the future leaders of that great nation, “influencers” who will set the pace for a changing society and culture.

As you know, we seek to reach educated Chinese around the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We do so in two ways: By direct ministry to Chinese, and by mobilizing others to do the same more effectively. For more than twenty years, we have used the written word as one key tool, with encouraging results.

Starting with the Book of Acts, Christians have a heritage in the lives of disciples of Christ who have set before us examples of faithfulness and love. The Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity has developed into a rich repository of brief accounts of both foreign missionaries and Chinese believers over the past several hundred years. 

As we all know, Chinese intellectuals play a role in their society that is far out of proportion to their numbers. Partly because of the Confucian tradition of the scholar-official, those with advanced education are often called upon to give advice to the government on policy issues.