In the Oct. issue of China Soul, prayer topics that address the development of China’s society are listed. They urged the believers to continue to express their support and concern. Hoping to revive the churches with vitality and hope, these prayer topics includes the following relevant issues: pray that the gospel ministries in the cities can catch people like catching fish; pray that the marriage problems of female believers who are single can be properly addressed; pray that the orphans of the Sichuan earthquake disaster can be comforted by God; pray for more teachers of Christians in colleges and universities.

Pray that the ministry staffs in the city can catch men like catching fish

According to a China-based Christian forum, as the cities in China open up and develop, the ministries also become larger. Christians enjoy more freedom to share their faith with others, proselytizing on public transportation has become a common practice. While taking hold of every opportunity to evangelize, some believers would pass small gospel booklets and flyers to passengers sitting beside them. In some cities, most passengers are college students or recent graduates who have just began to move their way into the society.

These evangelists or church staffs said that most of those who they come in contact with reveal an anxious and tired look on their face. Yet, when the workers handed the evangelistic materials to them, their faces would bright up as if they are suddenly filled with an unspeakable expectation. Moments like these inspires the workers. Most people have an open attitude and accept the information when handed to them.

While the seed of the gospel is being planted through passing out materials on public transportation, some believers would even spread the gospel while taking taxis or rental vehicles. The majority of the drivers are open and willing to explore faith, and some accept the gospel immediately. Although some do not understand and cannot accept it, but China’s society has changed drastically, where the church is more able to expand and reveal the power of the gospel. This is the clear manifestation of God’s great mercy.

Please give prayers of thanksgiving and pray for the evangelistic work in mainland. At the same time that the church is spreading the gospel, the effectiveness of proclaiming the gospel needs to be refined, new believers need training and workers need to be equipped, so they can ride the tide to massive proclaim the gospel to farther places and build a firm foundation of the church and expand God’s kingdom. Please pray for the faithful ministers who are standing in the frontline, pray that the Holy Spirit can greatly fill them up, so they can catch men like catching fish, saving more souls for the Lord.

Pray that the marriage questions of the female believers who are still single can be properly addressed with the biblical truth.

Regarding the problem of marriage for female single believers in mainland, a group of sisters revealed their sense of hopelessness and directionless. The Bible teaches that faith cannot be mixed with faithless; the church workers tell them that they should get married to a believer, yet the brothers in the church are very few in number and majority of them are married. While some sisters are in their 30s, they families would force them to find anyone to get married, which brings pain to them. Furthermore, some sisters get married because they get anxious; however, they would end up getting persecuted by their husbands for their faith. In this case, it is better not to get married. They request prayers for people like them and pray that the Lord can protect their hearts so they may look at the Lord wholeheartedly, shared a female believer from the central part of China.

In the mainland churches, many female believers who are still single have difficulties finding the right mate. Please pray that the Lord can strengthen their hearts so they can be convinced that the good things are not beyond God; teach them to patiently wait and serve God and look at God’s grace only; while they are still single, they should diligently equip their spiritual lives and always be glad because of the Lord; pray that the Lord can help ministerial staffs to understand how to counsel females believers who are still single, suggesting biblical advise in response to their questions of marriage and leading them before the Lord to receive instructions.

To be cont'd...

[Editor's note: reporter Ruth Wong contributed to this report.]