We are thrilled to welcome Brianna Pyka to the ChinaSource team! Brianna joined us last November and is serving as the ChinaSource Fund Development Manager. She leverages twelve years of marketing and development expertise to foster meaningful connections between ChinaSource friends and kingdom-building initiatives. Her professional journey is deeply intertwined with her personal faith story, creating a unique perspective on the transformative power of God’s work through strategic partnerships.
Brianna’s academic foundation includes a bachelor’s degree in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of St. Thomas and an MBA from Concordia University, St. Paul. This educational background, combined with her years of experience, has equipped her with the skills to help bridge the gap between passionate donors and non-profit organizations making a lasting impact in their communities and beyond.
A Profound Faith Journey
Brianna’s personal faith journey took a profound turn in 1999 when her family welcomed two brothers from Rwanda who had been orphaned during the genocide. Witnessing God’s faithfulness and protection in their lives—both physically and mentally—deeply impacted her understanding of divine providence and strengthened her commitment to kingdom work. Their story serves as a constant reminder of God’s ability to bring hope and healing in the midst of unimaginable circumstances.
This firsthand experience of seeing God’s transformative work in Brianna’s family has informed her approach to development ministry. She understands that behind every partnership and donation lies the potential for life-changing impact, much like the transformation she witnessed in her own family. Her role at ChinaSource allows her to facilitate these connections, helping donors see the tangible results of their generosity in advancing God’s kingdom.
Building Lasting Relationships
Today Brianna resides in Minnesota with her husband and twin boys. Her family life continues to shape her professional perspective, reinforcing her understanding of the importance of building lasting relationships and creating meaningful impact. Through her work at ChinaSource, she combines her professional expertise, personal faith journey, and passion for kingdom-building initiatives to help create partnerships that extend beyond traditional philanthropy—partnerships that reflect God’s heart for transformation and renewal.
Brianna’s unique blend of professional acumen, personal faith experience, and family background enables her to serve as an effective bridge between financial partners and ministry opportunities, helping to advance ChinaSource’s mission of serving the global church through collaborative relationships. Please pray for God’s blessing on Brianna, her family, and ministry calling. Please also pray for ChinaSource that in every collaborative and partnering relationship, including fund development, we would be an edifying and friendship blessing to those with whom we serve.
Kerry Schottelkorb
President
Ways to Pray
Praise
- Praise the Lord with us for our new Fund Development Manager, Brianna Pyka.
- Thank the Lord for the Winter ChinaSource Quarterly—Journey Back to China and our guest editors David Byron, and Sean Cheng, and every contributor who has revisited the topic of Chinese returnee ministry, Winter 2024, December 18, 2024.
- Praise God who is being glorified in China by his people who are addressing social issues, providing social services that complement government policies, while practically applying his word. Please see Extending Blessings: Leveraging Proper Channels for Impact by JI Yajie, Jan 10, 2025.
Prayer
- Please pray that God would bless Brianna Pyka in her new role with ChinaSource.
- Please pray for comfort and provision for the victims of recent disasters, including those affected by the earthquake in Tibet, the wildfires in California, and other tragedies around the world.
- Please pray that young people around the world will hear and respond to Christ’s personal call to his service. See A Son’s Gratitude: Bridging Faith and Culture, by Andrew McNeil, January 6, 2025.
- Please pray for Christ’s church in China to be led by the Holy Spirit, engaging Gen Z with the gospel and biblical application; reaching their hearts and minds. See Meeting Gen Z where They Are—An Insider’s Perspective, January 7, 2025.
- Please pray for China’s Body of Christ to be renewed and refreshed through the ministry of worship and other team building opportunities, by “stepping out” to new opportunities. See Continuing Partnership Beyond the Golden Age: Stepping Out, by Z.S. Wu, January 3, 2025.
From the 2024 Winter Issue of ChinaSource Quarterly
- May the Lord open our hearts so that returnees are welcomed, loved, taught about Jesus, and discipled by those who believe.
- Ask that God will use those in ministry to have a meaningful impact in the lives of Chinese returnees, and through them, in the church in China.
- Pray that the church in China see the great potential in returnees, rather than regarding them as burdensome.
- Pray that God will soften our hearts, that we as Christians, no matter our nationality or political leanings, never perceive Chinese students and immigrants in our midst as simply potential spies.
News and Notes
ChinaSource Quarterly, 2024 Winter Issue
Journey Back to China, guest editors David Byron and Sean Cheng
We are delighted to bring you a new look at the state of returnee ministry. In her ChinaSource Perspective, Joann Pittman lists four major points that stuck out to her, which gives a great overview of what’s inside:
- There are approximately 1 million Chinese studying abroad… Sean Cheng notes that the returnee rate is now approximately 700,000 per year… If even 5 percent of returnees are believers, that means there are possibly 10,000 Christian returnees each year. If that’s not a ministry opportunity I don’t know what is!
- The past four years have seen significant changes in the landscape of returnee ministry… The ever-tightening political environment and crackdowns on civil society and religious practice mean that returnees must contend with more intense scrutiny than before. Leaving behind a Western political environment that may view them with suspicion, they also face suspicion at home of being spies for the West… Support during this increasingly challenging transition is both more important, yet more difficult than ever before.
- There are lessons to be learned from the Biblical stories of Jacob and Onesimus (the runaway slave of Philemon) about returning from a sojourn. Jacob struggled with his identity as a sojourner since he was fleeing his brother. But God was using the sojourn to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant… In Paul’s letter to Philemon, we read Paul’s admonition for Philemon and his church to receive this young believer Onesimus upon his return… Returnees need to be discipled to put their hope in God, not in their identities as either Christian or returnee, and churches in China must be called and prepared to receive them.
- While we tend to think that the era of students and scholars from China studying abroad is a recent development… it actually has a long history, dating back to the 1880s. Learning about these early returnees and their contributions to the development of Chinese society offer us important insights as we disciple returnees.
Download “Journey Back to China,” the latest issue of ChinaSource Quarterly to learn about returnee ministry, the challenges returnees are facing, ways to support returnees, and ways returnees can prepare to return home well.
ChinaSource Opportunity: Vice President of Operations
ChinaSource is growing! We are looking for a Vice President of Operations. Please visit our Opportunities page to get more details about the position and see how to apply.
ChinaSource Team News
- On February 5, Joann will lead an online book club discussion for Educational Resources and Referrals – China (ERRChina). The book is Blood Letters, by Dr Lian Xi. Register to join the discussion.
- On February 3, Joann will be teaching a 3-session “short course” for Anselm House in Minneapolis, MN. The title of the course is: “The Church in China: Beyond the Headlines.” Details and registration can be found here.
In Case You Missed It
A selection of recently published items:
- Ministering Cross-Culturally: A 150 Percent Person, ChinaSource Blog, December 20.
- Challenges and Opportunities for the Pulpit in China’s Urban House Churches (CCV), ChinaSource Blog, December 23.
- Pray for China in 2025, ChinaSource Blog, December 24.
- A Year of Unity and Anticipation, ChinaSource Blog, December 27.
- A Story Well Lived, ChinaSource Blog, December 30.
- Readers’ Choice: Most-Read Posts of 2024, ChinaSource Blog, December 31.
- Continuing Partnership Beyond the Golden Age: Stepping Out, ChinaSource Blog, January 3.
- A Son’s Gratitude, ChinaSource Blog, January 6.
- Meeting Gen Z where They Are—An Insider’s Perspective (CCV), ChinaSource Blog, January 7.
- Extending Blessings, ChinaSource Blog, January 10.
- How God’s Word Spreads in China and Beyond, ChinaSource Blog, January 13.
- Living to Be Forgotten, ChinaSource Blog, January 14.
Image credit: Eka P. Amdela via Unsplash
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