Building on a Legacy of Friendship

Last month, August 6–8, it was my privilege to attend the 28th International Conference of the US-China Catholic Association (USCCA). The theme of the conference was “China, Christianity, and the Dialogue of Civilizations.”

Myron Youngman, founder and director of The Kaifa Group, and a close friend of ChinaSource, was invited to give the opening keynote address entitled “The Protestant Experience in Post-Mao China.”

Our founder and catalyst Dr. Brent Fulton and Joann Pittman, ChinaSource’s vice president of partnership and China engagement, were honored at the Ricci award banquet as this year’s co-recipients of The Matteo Ricci Award for Service of God and China. The USCCA gives the award to persons who exemplify Matteo Ricci’s devotion to friendship across cultures, living faith, and service to the people of China.

• 

• 

Tom McGuire, chairman of the USCCA board of directors offered the following remarks at the presentation ceremony:

Joann and Brent, throughout your many years of listening and learning from and in the context of Chinese culture, you have been a wonderful example to us. You have thought about it, written about it, but most of all, through ChinaSource, you have been able to publish articles that have engaged all of us in the process of understanding, hoping to build those bridges of friendship among us and among others.

When I think of inculturation, I think about Jesus Christ as our most important model. Jesus was born into one culture for all cultures.

Back in the 16th century, Matteo Ricci recognized that to incorporate the gospel in Chinese culture it had to be grounded in friendship. He was a man who appreciated friendship and engaged with the Chinese people in terms of friendship.

Tom quoted from Ricci’s “Essay on Friendship.”

. . . The Lord on high commanded that there be friendship in order that we might render aid to one another. If this way were eradicated from the world, humankind would certainly disintegrate into ruin.

We are living in a season of discord and division. All the more reason that we be resolute learners, listeners, and friends wherever and however possible. 

We are grateful for our friendship with the executive director of the USCCA, Fr. Michael Agliardo, and his team. An ongoing expression of our friendship is the joint speaker series on the “Role of Christianity in the Cultural Dialogue Between China and the West,” co-sponsored by the USCCA, the China Academic Consortium headed by Martha Chan, and ChinaSource. We hope you’ll join us on November 14 (November 15 if you are in Asia) for the next lecture, “Chinese Christians and the Path to Liberal Modernity in China.”

Congratulations Glenn and Narci!

We want to congratulate Glenn and Narci Herr who recently celebrated forty years since they first went to Hong Kong in Christ’s service. Narci is our content manager who oversees all the material that comes out on the ChinaSource site each week. She and Glenn have been serving with ChinaSource since 2012.

Kerry Schottelkorb
President

News and Notes

ChinaSource Quarterly, 2021 Autumn Issue

Building Bridges of Friendship and Introducing Jesus: Ministry among Liuxuesheng (留学生), guest editor, Joann Pittman.

This issue of ChinaSource Quarterly focuses on the importance of outreach to Chinese students studying abroad, the Chinese liuxuesheng. Included is a brief history of Chinese students who have studied abroad as early as the 1840s, a look at China’s Gen Z, a discussion about what is happening with those who have made faith commitments during their student days, and an account of a new student ministry started during COVID-19. We also touch upon the thousands of foreign students studying in China, and of the difficulties and opportunities of reaching those students. And, finally, a review of a book by one of the contributors, as well as mention of two great resources from Intervarsity International Student Ministry.

To read this timely issue of the ChinaSource Quarterly go to “Building Bridges of Friendship and Introducing Jesus.“

ChinaSource Opportunity: Assistant Content Manager

ChinaSource is looking for a passionate and dedicated Assistant Content Manager to join our team. This role primarily supports the Content Manager to ensure the accurate, timely, and relevant production of content on our website. For more information see the job posting.

ChinaSource Team News

• Kerry Schottelkorb spoke at the Home of Christ Church in Newark, CA (HOC6) on Sunday, August 29.
• Brent Fulton peer-reviewed an article for theInternational Journal for Religious Freedom (IJRF) on categorizing cases of Christian persecution in China.

Ways to Pray

From the ChinaSource Team

• We continue in praise for the many called and gifted contributors who thoughtfully, prayerfully, and faithfully offer their insights and writings to the ChinaSource platform. We’re very thankful for this team effort.
• The autumn issue of the ChinaSource Quarterly is now out, and we praise the Lord for the encouraging and insightful articles in this issue entitled: “Building Bridges of Friendship and Introducing Jesus: Ministry among Liuxuesheng (留学生).”
• Thank God with us for the many favorable and uplifting responses we received to the Strategic Planning Update ChinaSource sent out last week.
• Pray with us as we search for a part-time assistant content manager to work closely with our content manager, Narci Herr. Pray that God will guide us to his choice, in a timely way, for this important position on the ChinaSource team.
• Pray for China’s pastors as they seek to address issues of loneliness and isolation. For details and specifics on how to pray, see our friends at China Partnership’s September 6 post: “Isolation and Loneliness: We Know It’s Unhealthy.”

From the 2021 Autumn Issue of ChinaSource Quarterly

• Pray for workers serving with returnees both overseas and in China as they face many changes due to COVID-19 and must adapt programs to continue to help students returning to China from overseas.
• Pray for Christian students returning to China after overseas studies as the people and programs designed to assist them have changed due to COVID-19. Pray they will find the support to strengthen them in their walk with Christ.
•  Pray for ideas, wisdom, and energy for people ministering, through a variety of programs to Chinese students who are studying in various countries.
• Pray for Chinese students studying in the US and other countries as they acclimate to Western society and are introduced to Jesus Christ through campus ministries.
• Pray for Chinese believers to notice, pray for, and courageously welcome international students in China—even with cultural and legal barriers—and to incorporate international student ministries into the mission of the local church.
• Pray for Christian international students in China to love their friends with the gospel, to be responsive to Bible teaching, discipleship, and training inside China, especially through international churches.
• Pray that in God’s time China’s borders will open again to international students, and the Chinese and international churches there will receive them with the practical love of Jesus and the liberating news of the gospel of grace.

Thank you for your friendship, partnership, and prayers!

In Case You Missed It

A selection of recently published items:

• Christian Spirituality in China’s Walled Garden, ChinaSource Blog, September 15.
• Caring for Orphans: An Interview (1), ChinaSource Blog (CCV), September 14.
• Recording and Resources—Learning About China, ChinaSource Blog, September 13.
• The COVID-Era Preflight Checklist, ChinaSource Blog, September 10.
• Connecting with Chinese International Students: A Book Review, ChinaSource Blog, September 08.
• A Historic Church in Fujian Province Restored, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), September 07.
• From the Middle East to the Middle Kingdom (4): Forced Integration (AD 1368–1644), ChinaSource Blog, September 06.
• Welcoming the Liuxuesheng, ChinaSource Blog, September 03.
• A Book for Understanding China’s Registered Church, ChinaSource Blog, September 01.
• The Path of Christian Literature in China, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), August 31.
• The Pilgrim Principle: Remembering Andrew Walls, ChinaSource Blog, August 30.
• Andrew Finlay Walls (1928-2021), ChinaSource Blog, August 27.
• Reaching Those Who Aren’t Interested, ChinaSource Blog, August 25
• A Young Man’s Testimony: My Enemy, My Father, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), August 24.
• From the Middle East to the Middle Kingdom (3): Mass Migration under the Khan (AD1271–1367), ChinaSource Blog, August 23.
• Encountering the Legacy of James O. Fraser in Unexpected Places, ChinaSource Blog, August 20.

Subscribe to receive new content by email.

Editor’s note: This article was edited on September 16, 2021 to correct a misspelled name.

Are you enjoying a cup of good coffee or fragrant tea while reading the latest ChinaSource post? Consider donating the cost of that “cuppa” to support our content so we can continue to serve you with the latest on Christianity in China.

Donate