The Lantern

A Bridge for Christians in China and the World


Fulfilling ChinaSource’s purpose of being an effective bridge between Christians in China and the global church requires building deeper relationships on both sides. Here we introduce a few key ways in which our team seeks to do this.

Brent Fulton
President

“China” is a small word but it brings to mind a diversity of cultures, languages, history, economic groups, church experiences, generations, and worldviews. Adding to its complexity is the rapid, constant change that takes place in China today. At ChinaSource, we take this diversity and rapid change and seek to make it accessible and understandable for Christians around the world. Our new vision and mission takes us deeper into the role of building bridges between Christians in China and those throughout the global church.

Our new vision is:

China's Christians engaging the society inside and outside of China as they contribute to and influence the global church conversation for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.

For our part in realizing this new vision, our new mission and purpose is:

ChinaSource is a trusted platform facilitating the flow of critical knowledge and leading-edge research among the Christian communities inside China and around the world and engaging them in collaborating to serve the Chinese church and society.

We are building the bridges that our mission requires and that those we serve value and depend on.

One avenue for implementing the new mission is to increase the number of external contributors that are providing critical knowledge about the church and ministry in China. The summer issue of ChinaSource Quarterly on denominationalism is one example of that with mainland Chinese guest editors and contributors. We have also published blog posts on working with returnees prepared by a ministry based in Hong Kong focusing on working with Chinese international students.

Another avenue arose out of our recent team meeting where we decided to create a new category of volunteers—ChinaSource Associates. We will be partnering more broadly and deeply with experienced China-ministry practitioners. We hope they will be able to share their knowledge, expertise, and passion more broadly within the global Christian community. This will broaden the range of content we can provide and also provide a broader base of input to help us stay balanced and objective in our coverage of China events and trends.

At a recent conference on China church growth research facilitated by ChinaSource, a number of the participants were Chinese academics, pastors, and leaders. The initiative coming out of the conference is being led by a group of Chinese participants with ChinaSource playing a facilitating role in connecting them with international organizations and resources.

We have been asking ourselves questions such as, “If we want to understand the situation of the church in China, how do we go about that?”  The answer to that simple question is that we need to be talking to more Chinese Christian leaders and building relationships that will lead to a deeper level of engagement. Being a bridge between the church in China and the global church requires ChinaSource to play an active role in translating the concepts, providing context, and getting relevant information to those who need it for their own ministry planning.

In September our staff team will meet together in Hong Kong. On the evening of September 28 we will also hold our next ChinaSource Connect event in Hong Kong.  If you or your friends are interested in attending, details are included below and registration is available here.

We appreciate your interest, prayer, and support as we seek to expand our trusted platform and build effective bridges to the church in China. We hope our efforts result in greater impact for all those involved with the church in China.

He is faithful,
Your friends at ChinaSource

News and Notes

ChinaSource Connect in Hong Kong

Are you in Hong Kong in September? Join us for ChinaSource Connect where the ChinaSource team will give an update on the church in China, how we’re staying involved, and ways that you can partner with us in serving with China.

If you know of friends or other organizations involved in or even just curious about Christianity in China, please invite them as well.

Date: Friday, September 28, 2018
Time: 6:30-7:30pm dinner, 7:30-9:00pm program
Venue: Island Evangelical Community Church (Island ECC), 633 King’s Road, 10/F, Quarry Bay

Dinner will be provided; please RSVP here by September 21, 2018 so we can prepare food accordingly.

Staff News

  • In recent weeks Brent Fulton has contributed an article titled "A Divine Tapestry" for the Missio Nexus publication Anthology and also contributed a chapter on foreign Christians serving in China’s cities for the forthcoming book, Reaching China.
  • On August 2 Joann Pittman was interviewed by Bill Arnold on Faith Radio. You can listen to the interview here.

Ways to Pray

  • Pray for the ChinaSource team as we roll out new initiatives for expanding connections in China.
  • Pray for those working with Chinese students as they plan and prepare for new students arriving next month.
  • Pray for those serving in China as many are renewing contracts and visas.

In Case You Missed It

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ChinaSource Team

ChinaSource Team

Written, translated, or edited by members of the ChinaSource staff.          View Full Bio


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