From the ChinaSource Board Chairman
Last September, I shared with you the progress of ChinaSource over the past 20 years under Brent Fulton’s leadership, and our vision to continue engaging with the Chinese church and the global church in the coming years. At that time, we were in the midst of a search for Brent’s successor, initiated by Brent’s desire for a change in his responsibilities and role.
With deep appreciation to Brent for his steady, visionary leadership of ChinaSource, the board granted him a ten-month sabbatical, his first in twenty years. Brent and his wife Jasmine are now four months into this period of spiritual renewal, reflection, and deepening. We look forward to working with Brent to define his future role with ChinaSource at the end of his sabbatical.
I am grateful to our readers and supporters who joined with us in praying for the board and the search process. The board recognized from the outset that this search could only be completed under the leadership of the Holy Spirit as we sought our Lord’s direction in bringing us to the right candidate (or him bringing the right candidate to us!).
The Lord has indeed been faithful. On behalf of the ChinaSource board and team, I am pleased to announce that as of March 1, 2019, the new president of ChinaSource will be Kerry Schottelkorb.
Kerry comes to us with a wealth of experience in ministry and a deep passion for the church in China. Over the past 33 years, Kerry has been involved in ministry across China as a founding pastor of Evangelical Community Church in Hong Kong, as Vice-President of Advancement for English Language Institute in China and as the North American Director of Christian Action Asia. In these positions Kerry has cultivated a keen love for China and Chinese ministry and developed a broad and diverse set of relationships across the US and Asia.
We are excited to welcome Kerry on board as he helps us expand and deepen our relationships across Asia and North America, and increase our capacity to help the global church work together with the church in China.
China continues at the forefront of global commerce, diplomacy, and mission. Even as the church in China undergoes a season of “winter,” the church is also poised to join the global church in making the Lord known.
Please join us in thanking God for his leadership in this season. We trust that “He who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6) and that ChinaSource will continue to be faithful to the vision and mission he has entrusted to us.
We covet your prayers for us in this season of transition. Thank you for journeying with us, in our vision, our heart for the church in China, and our passion to serve the kingdom of God.
Blessings,
Victor Hou
Board Chairman
Our board chairman has officially welcomed our new president Kerry Schottelkorb. We thank God for leading Kerry to take up this important role for our ministry.
Our mission is to be a trusted platform facilitating the flow of critical knowledge and leading-edge research among the Christian communities inside China and around the world. Part of our transition has been to work with more outside authors. In the last month we have had two weeks where all of the daily blog content came from guest contributors. In our monthly content review meeting we gave thanks to God for our new contributors. This is an exciting step forward for us.
With Kerry coming on board as the new president on March 1 we have been actively working on transition planning. In March we will have a two-day board meeting in Hong Kong where Kerry will have his first opportunity to work with the ChinaSource board. Later in the month there will be a three-day staff team meeting in the Seattle area where we will work on the details of our 2019-2020 plans.
In recent months we have been brainstorming and considering our next phase of growth and development where we want to go deeper and broader with the church in China and with our readers around the world. This will require us to reconfigure our internal systems in many ways to help us better serve our various audiences. This will also require us to broaden and deepen our networks in China.
As we shared these plans we had several organizations and individuals express interest in knowing more. In the past three months we have been excited to receive two separate two-year grants from interested friends of our ministry to help support these developments. We thank God for his provision.
While we have the team in Seattle, we will also be holding a public ChinaSource Connect event on the evening of March 21. If you have friends in the Seattle area who are interested in China, please invite them to come. (Details below)
Thank you for your interest, prayer, and support as we engage more deeply with the church in China. We trust our efforts will result in greater impact for our brothers and sisters in China and for all who serve there.
He is faithful,
ChinaSource Team
Opportunities to Serve
| Donor Relations Manager (part-time) |
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| IT/Salesforce Project Manager (volunteer or part-time) |
In 2019 we have several projects to upgrade our Salesforce CRM system. A project manager is needed to oversee these projects. |
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Contract researcher |
We are considering doing a survey of those who have left China and need additional help with survey design, survey analysis, and final report preparation. |
To inquire, please contact admin@chinasource.org.
News and Notes
ChinaSource Connect in Seattle, USA
Are you in Seattle in March? 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: Thursday, March 21, 2019
Time: 6:00pm dinner; 7:00pm program
Venue: North Creek Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall
Address: 621 164th Street SE, Mill Creek, WA, 98012
Dinner will be provided; please RSVP here by March 7, 2019 so we can prepare food accordingly.
ChinaSource Team News
- On February 5 Joann Pittman was a guest on Faith Radio speaking on “The State of the Church in China.”
- Joann Pittman participated in the Midwest Conference on Missionary Care (MC2) on February 15 and 16, leading a panel on assessing and managing risk.
- An article by Joann Pittman, "Learning to Be an Acceptable Outsider," was published in the Winter 2019 issue of US-China Review.
Ways to Pray
- Give thanks for God’s provision of a new leader for ChinaSource. Pray for a smooth transition for Kerry Schottelkorb, as he steps into his new role and a busy season of travel.
- Pray for the ChinaSource board as they meet in Hong Kong in March.
- Pray that the ChinaSource Connect event will be a blessing to many in the Seattle area who attend.
- Pray for ongoing discussions with potential volunteers and staff to add to our team in 2019.
- Pray for wisdom in discussions we are having about the best ways to understand church growth opportunities and challenges in the current environment.
In Case You Missed It
A selection of recent articles:
- Spanning the Gap for Returnees, ChinaSource Blog, February 20
- A New Year, a New Building, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), February 19
- Deciding to Adopt a Child with Special Needs, ChinaSource Blog, February 18
- Re-Thinking Technology's Impact, ChinaSource Blog, February 15
- Care for Those Who Remain in China, ChinaSource Blog, February 13
- What to Take Home for the New Year, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), February 12
- Uncovering a Hidden Need in China: One Expat Family’s Adoption Story, ChinaSource Blog, February 11
- 3 Questions: China’s New Tax Law, ChinaSource Blog, February 8
- When the Gates Close and the Church Is Called to Care, ChinaSource Blog, February 6
- A Village Transformed by Christ, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), February 5
- Happy Chinese New Year! (and a film review), ChinaSource Blog, February 4
- Sociological Analysis and Theological Reflection on China’s Migrant Workers: A Book Review, ChinaSource Blog, February 1
- Crisis Plans and Communication Challenges: Support from Sending Organizations, ChinaSource Blog, January 30
- Clarifying the Boundary between Church and State, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), January 29
- My Journey to Professionalism in Teaching, ChinaSource Blog, January 28
- The Birth of ISM in China: Is This God’s Timing? ChinaSource Blog, January 25
- The Impact of Leaving on the Kids, ChinaSource Blog, January 23
- The Kingship of Christ, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), January 22
- A Conversation among Reviewers: A Book Review, ChinaSource Blog, January 21
- Shanghai! ChinaSource Blog, January 18
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