The Lantern

He Came and He’s Returning!


Warm Advent greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! We come to the end of what has been a very turbulent year for so many, joining with the Chinese and global body of Christ in worshiping Immanuel, our redeemer.

As we await Christmas Day to celebrate Christ’s arrival, we also are awaiting his certain return. The ChinaSource team wants to take this opportunity to wish you a blessed time of Advent renewal, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in him! We thank God for the privilege of serving with you for his glory.

Welcome Char and Dan!

We also thank God for the newest members of the ChinaSource team! 

On November 18, Charlene Kennicutt began working full time with ChinaSource in the areas of operations and finance. Char’s husband Dan is also volunteering twenty hours a week and will be helping us enhance our financial and operational systems.

I have asked Char to share a bit about their background so you can begin to get acquainted.

In November, I joined the ChinaSource team to work in the area of finance and operations. Along with my husband Dan, we are looking forward to contributing to ChinaSource’s ministry in service to the Chinese world.

In 1986 I went to Taiwan as a single cross-cultural worker with OMF, where I met Dan in Chinese language school. We spent four years there, Dan served as the OMF Business Manager and together we worked with the local church.

From there we moved to Singapore where we served at OMF’s international headquarters for six years.  During that time I was raising our daughters, Gwen and Beth, during the early years of their lives; while Dan managed several large financial and administrative projects.

In 1996 we moved to Denver, and over the next two decades I worked in administrative roles at OMF’s US office, while Dan worked in Denver-area finance and management positions.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to return to using our gifts and experience focused on serving the church in China with ChinaSource.

As you can see, we are very blessed that the Lord led Char and Dan to us! Please be praying for them both as they adjust to their new roles with us.

Encouraging Update from the Fultons!


You Are Special by Max Lucado in Burmese.

Recently the Lord opened a unique door of opportunity for Brent and Jasmine Fulton to serve at-risk children in Jasmine’s home country of Myanmar (Burma). Through connections made in China several years ago, they became acquainted with a Bible-centered curriculum based on Max Lucado’s illustrated storybook, You Are Special. Now they are introducing the book and this curriculum to Myanmar. Working with local partners, their goal is to equip children’s workers in Yangon and beyond to both model and teach the truth of what it means to be secure in our identity in Christ. Their prayer is that the confidence of knowing they are unique, important in God’s eyes, and created for a purpose will help the children to build a strong spiritual foundation for the future. If you would like to know more about this new ministry and how you can be involved, please send an email to HPMyanmar@psmail.net.

Kerry Schottelkorb
President

News and Notes

ChinaSource Quarterly, 2019 Winter Issue

A Song in the Night: Chinese Christian Art as Sower, Sustainer, and Disseminator of a Faith Immured, guest edited by BJ Arthur

In her editorial, BJ Arthur wrote:

This issue of the China Source Quarterly offers an opportunity to understand some . . . rich, creative Chinese minds, as well as the impact of one . . .  social reform[s] taking place in Chinese contemporary society—the explosion of Christian belief.

"Chinese Contemporary Art and Christianity" by Clover Zhou and John Camden offers insight into the complex relationship between three cultural heritages: Chinese ancient and revolutionary history, contemporary art, and Christianity. "The Spirit in Fire and Wind: An Opportunity for Silent Artists to Converse" describes a unique opportunity at Purdue University for Chinese artists to gather and share their work with one another, with reviewers, and with the general public. Daryl Ireland provides fascinating insight into the early use of art and propaganda by the Religious Tract Society in "Spreading the Gospel with Christian Propaganda Posters." XU Song-Zan reveals his passion for praise music in "Singing from Underground to the World: Listening to the Music of Contemporary Chinese Christianity." On a more somber note, "When Will Messiah Return . . . to Beijing?" reviews the history of the public performance of the Messiah oratorio in China and the illustrious career of conductor Su Wenxing. These are discussed in light of the current government’s prohibition of the performance of Messiah in any public venue.

Regarding Fan Xuede’s Soul and Beauty, the reviewer, Ah Qian, notes Fan’s tribute to his teacher and the work of the Holy Spirit in artistic creation: “With his paint brushes blessed by the Holy Spirit, Teacher Yang ‘seeks and displays godly nature in humanity.’”[2] Available in this issue’s Resource Corner, In God We Trust: Contemporary Chinese Christian Art is an information-packed pamphlet, which introduces and analyzes the work of fourteen prominent Christian artists who participated in an art show at New York’s Bard College in 2011. . . .

God is choosing to use contemporary, Chinese Christian artists to further his work of growing his church in China. May they and their nation be blessed for his glory.

Other News from ChinaSource

  • On November 21, Joann Pittman and Kerry Schottelkorb led a Missio Nexus webinar titled “Chinese Christianity in an Increasingly Hostile Environment.” If you are a member of Missio Nexus, you can access the webinar here
  • Kerry Schottelkorb spoke at the House of Christ Church in Newark, California on December 8.

Ways to Praise God and Pray

From the ChinaSource Team

  • Rejoice with us in gift of our savior, Jesus.
  • Pray for our brothers and sisters in China as they celebrate the birth of Jesus and share the good news with family and friends even as they face increased pressures.
  • Give thanks for God’s faithful provision for ChinaSource through this past year. 
  • Thank God for our new team members Char and Dan Kennicutt and pray for them as they adjust to their new roles and to the challenges of working on a virtual team.
  • Pray for Brent and Jasmine Fulton as they introduce Max Lucado’s illustrated storybook, You Are Special and the accompanying curriculum to Myanmar. May the workers who interact with children who would benefit from this material have access to it and be trained to use it effectively.

From the ChinaSource Quarterly

  • Pray for Chinese Christian artists as they use their gifts to present Christian concepts in their works in a country that often has not valued them and given them freedom of expression.
  • Thank God for the hymns and spiritual songs written by Chinese that express their faith and have been a source of encouragement as well as an expression of joy in the Lord.
  • Pray for Chinese Christian song writers as they use their abilities to carefully craft music and lyrics that will reach the secular world with biblical concepts.
  • Pray that as times become increasingly difficult, artists will have freedom to creatively express their faith through their works of art.
  • Pray that the church will accept artists and their works, valuing them as another way of expressing the gospel and God’s work throughout creation and in lives.

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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