According to estimations, in 1949, there were 750,000 Protestants and 2.7 million Catholics in China. The communist government then expelled all missionaries and attempted to suppress Christianity, and everything went dark to outsiders. As China opened back up in 1978, there were rumors of 60 million Christians in China. Current studies indicate there are more than 130 million Christians in China. This is the fastest growth of the church in human history.
Several years ago, I was asked to pray as part of a course BGU taught in China. I prayed that God would relieve the Chinese church of its persecution. As my words were translated, a Chinese pastor started hitting me on the arm and shoulder. He hit hard and spoke sternly in Chinese. I stopped praying. My translator said he was saying, “Take it back.” So I prayed that God would continue to allow the Chinese church to be persecuted but give them the faith to thrive in the midst of it. When that was translated there was a loud chorus of agreement and thanksgiving.
I felt like a spiritual wimp among spiritual giants.
I live in the USA where there is freedom to worship including cultural rewards for being a Christian. Yet, for those of us who have lived here for several decades, we know our culture is moving astonishingly fast away from a Christian perspective. We are called to be stewards and to do what we can to demonstrate the love of Christ to curb this descent. Yet we don’t seem to be effective at this point. We know God is sovereign over all, and he can reverse this trend with a revival in an instant. We pray for this but up until now, it doesn’t appear to be His will.
The USA is entering a four-day period called “Thanksgiving” this weekend. It has a long history. It originated from the first colonists thanking God in a feast during the fall of 1621. It became an intermittent holiday starting in 1789 and became an annual national holiday in 1863.
We have much to thank God for. Do we dare to thank God for what we are losing so quickly? Why would we do that? Because we know He loves us. Perhaps what we are losing pales compared to what He intends us to gain.
BGU is thankful for our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and many friends who provide financial support, prayer, and leadership for the BGU family. Please join us in thanking God for His amazing provision for all of us through a year-end donation that will help so many around the world engage God’s work in places of persecution and peace, and in areas of growth and decline in the church.
Dr. Brad Smith
Chancellor