Joy and Thanksgiving: A Mighty Combination
Whenever thanksgiving or praise are mentioned in Scripture, joy is not far behind. For example, Psalm 71:23 says, “My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.” In this Thanksgiving season all of us at ChinaSource want to express our thanks to you, our dear friends and co-laborers in the gospel. For all the trials of 2022, it has been our great joy and privilege to partner with you for Christ’s glory and in service alongside the Chinese church.
This month we welcome Peter Arneson, ChinaSource Director of Advancement, to this space. In January 2023, Peter will complete his second year of service with ChinaSource. We are very grateful the Lord sent him our way and for his passion for Jesus, commitment to excellence, and the fulfillment of our Lord’s great commission.
Kerry Schottelkorb
President
Thanking God for You!
Thank you for partnering with us to serve together alongside the church in China for gospel advancement among the Chinese people. With the Lord’s guidance and your stewardship, ChinaSource is able to engage in vital ministry around the world through information exchange, partnership facilitation, and prayer! As our founder, Dr. Brent Fulton, recently said:
Building upon decades of relationships within China and globally, speaking with a prophetic voice, and pointing the way to practical opportunities for partnership, ChinaSource today stands in the gap, bringing together Chinese and non-Chinese Christians in the spirit of Christ to demonstrate faithfulness and unity to a world in desperate need of the eternal hope that only he can offer.
Our current and ongoing projects include:
- Facilitating a network of Christian pastoral and member care specialists who are providing spiritual formation and direction for mainland Chinese missionary leaders and their field teams.
- Meeting monthly with 20 Chinese diaspora pastors and leaders to pray and plan an English-language prayer conference and to develop new prayer networks.
- Prayerfully planning with an emerging network of 142 China ministry leaders who represent 80 organizations and strategizing new ways of working together in China’s more restrictive environment.
- Regularly convening a trusted group of 15 international and mainland Chinese ministry leaders and scholars to explore and address relevant themes through ChinaSource publications.
- Serving behind the scenes with churches, sending agencies, and training organizations that request help with strategic thinking to address the monumental changes within the China ministry environment.
Year End Opportunity: Don’t Miss the Match!
By December 31 ChinaSource hopes to raise US$250,000 for ministry funding. As a primarily digital organization, donations don’t pay for a building or keep the lights on. Instead, funds we receive are used to:
- Provide for the ministry expertise that makes ChinaSource such a valuable partner.
- Manage the content creation process of the information you read on our website.
- Connect partners for in-person consultation, collaboration, and training when appropriate.
- Pay for the technological delivery and communication tools needed to facilitate our work.
To help us reach our US$250,000 funding goal, close friends of ChinaSource came to us and offered to match all gifts up to US$50,000, hoping to encourage other like-minded individuals who care for gospel advancement in China! This is an incredible blessing and effectively doubles all giving through December 31—up to US$50,000. If you would like to make a matched gift today, please click this link.
In the coming weeks, our annual report will be published on the website and many of you will receive an annual appeal letter in your mailbox or inbox. I hope you can take some time with the Holy Spirit and ponder them both prayerfully. As you do, in this season of Thanksgiving, please join us in celebrating God’s kingdom work through ChinaSource this past year!
Peter Arneson
Director of Advancement
Ways to Pray
- Thank the Father for the incredible partners who steward their time, giftings, and finances with ChinaSource, making this ministry possible.
- Join us in thanksgiving for the many transformational projects the Lord has placed in our care and ask for his hand of guidance and blessing to be on them.
- We are asking in faith that another friend or friends may be stirred of heart to provide another US$50,000 in matching promises.
- Continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will encounter students and intellectuals in powerful and unique ways. To be encouraged in this prayer, please read Chinese Church Voices, “Lost on a Mountain, Found by God.”
News and Notes
Online Event
Virtual ChinaSource Connect
Thursday, Dec 1, 2022/ 1pm–2:15pm (CST) via Zoom
Join us for our year-end virtual ChinaSource Connect to hear an update on the current situation for the church in China as well as recent developments within ChinaSource. We will conclude the event by providing break-out rooms for further discussion, fellowship, and prayer.
Feel free to submit questions in advance to events@chinasource.org.
ChinaSource Team News
- Joann Pittman gave a virtual China briefing for a partner organization on November 12.
- On November 10, Joann recorded an interview for the Missions Talk Podcast, hosted by our friends at One Eight Catalyst. We’ll share a link as soon as the podcast is published.
- Joann taught a class on language and culture learning at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mounds View, MN, also on November 10.
- On November 3, Brent Fulton did a post-20th Party Congress briefing for the Asia-based staff of an international organization that assists persecuted believers worldwide.
In Case You Missed It
A selection of recently published items:
- Where to Work in the Diaspora?, ChinaSource Blog, November 14.
- Blessing Asia, ChinaSource Blog, November 11.
- An Aesthetic Dance: When the Poet Haizi Meets with Jesus, ChinaSource Blog, November 09.
- Why Denominations?, ChinaSource Blog, November 07.
- The 20th Party Congress: A Roundup, ChinaSource Blog, November 04.
- Lost on a Mountain, Found by God, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), November 02.
- A Necessary Task, ChinaSource Blog, October 31.
- A Lived Theology Approach to “Seeing” the Chinese Church, ChinaSource Blog, October 28.
- Will History Repeat Itself?, ChinaSource Blog, October 26.
- An Interview with Mike Frith, Founder and Director of OSCAR, ChinaSource Blog, October 24.
- 5 Theological Truths and Church-State Relations (2), ChinaSource Blog, October 21.
Image credit: Wu Yi@takeshi2 via UnSplash.
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