Thank you for praying for our fellow believers in China who are experiencing increased hostility from their government. We have remained in regular communication with our ministry partners in China, conducting Biblical counseling and providing advice through technology called WeChat, which is like twitter in US.

Our “city” group planned to plant a church in 2018, but the tightened government control made them unable to find a meeting place. This March, they officially launched it. It is their first church plant, in the midst of heightened persecution from government! A core group from the “mother” church launched a new location in another part of the city, which has population of 30 million! This has been two years in prayer and planning, and we are super excited to see the Lord moving!! In addition, this is a testimony of God’s faithfulness and their unwavering faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Four of the men we trained are leading this plant. So please pray for them to continue to trust the Lord and lead the newly planted church according to what the Lord taught and showed in the Bible. Praise the Lord for their moving ahead given the current environment toward Christianity in China.

Please also pray for the “mother” church to continue to grow in faith, in laborers and workers, and in numbers of believers. They have already asked us to train more men for them.

Oddly, to our thinking, the “countryside” portion of our work is attracting more government attention. They are laying low and have broken into small cells to fly under the radar. So please pray that they will remain faithful to the Lord while they are scattered.

We are hoping to be able to make a trip over the summer, but the situation still does not allow us to do so. The Chinese government has encouraged local people to report any “suspected” foreigners for 5000-10,000 RMB (Chinese yuan). This can be very troublesome for us, especially for Mr. Jones and, as a result, for the local believers.

We are praying, exploring the feasibility, and seeking confirmation for other ways to serve Chinese believers. Please pray with us as we seek the Lord’s guidance in this area. As always, we appreciate your continued support and prayers.