China Soul Ministry has always been very concerned with the church and society in China, especially when China has experienced the damages from the earthquake, price inflations, which adversely affected the church. Addressing these issues, China Soul set their Sept.’s prayer topics to “Keep Watch on the Society, Help the Church”, urging the believers to continue to pray for the post-earthquake reconstruction efforts, steep rise in the divorce rates, and price inflations.
The following are the prayer topics listed by China Soul:
Pray that the Christian entrepreneurs in mainland China can contribute to the Sichuan post-earthquake reconstruction efforts
A month after the Sichuan earthquake, June 12, a group of entrepreneurs in Chengdu gathered together to explore how to participate in the disaster-relief reconstruction and to reflect on their life experiences and work, recognizing their weaknesses, becoming humble, rebuilding the heart of love and responsibility, in order to dedicate a source of strength towards the reconstruction in the disaster area. They all believe that whatever a nation lost through disaster will be repay through the nation’s advancements, and they together suggested a corporate agreement, which includes the following:
1. All the Chinese corporations participating in the reconstruction must be sincere, without asking for repayment or asking for self-benefits;
2. Chinese Corporation should be “Corporations of Light”, from now without stealing tax or leaving out taxes, without making false accounts, without committing fraud;
3. All Chinese entrepreneurs should provide generously for the employees, leading them with love, being a servant leader, without self-boasting;
4. Chinese entrepreneurs should cherish and love the family, kindly treating the family members, especially the spouse, promising to not have any extra-marital sexual relationships;
5. Chinese entrepreneurs should carry more social-responsibilities in not only producing wealth for the society, but also help promote social cohesion. It is to first make the family harmonious, and then let the corporations harmonious, and then the society will naturally become harmonious. Beginning from disaster reconstruction, they should allow the Chinese citizens to experience their love and their hands.
This agreement allows us to see that some of the Christian entrepreneurs are taking on more social-responsibilities and their influence towards those in the same field is on the rise. In the needs of reconstruction effort, they are contributing funds and supporting different reconstruction items. The Christian entrepreneurs seeks to manage under the “Lamb Culture”, which emphasizes on dedication, sacrifice, responsibility, obedience, softness, kindness, justice and good characters, in order to win over the “Wolf Culture” that are widely spread in the society.
Pray for the Christian entrepreneurs in mainland China, pray that the Lord can grant them determination, endurance, faith, love, carry out justice, merciful, have a humble heart to walk with God, produce many fruits, glorify the Lord’s name. Especially, pray that the Lord can use their resources and influence to make contributions on the Sichuan post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.
Pray for the ever-increasing marriage complications in mainland China
In 2007, China has more than 14 million divorced couples, which is an increase of 18.6% from 2006. Since the economic reformation in the late 70s, the rate of divorce has increased by four times. The rise in 2007 is only a part of the long-term increasing trend. Some attribute the incessantly increasing rate of divorce to the self-centeredness of the only child symptom in this new generation, where they don’t know how to maintain a marriage; On the other hand, some also believes that couples find it easy to get divorce because the divorce procedure has been simplified. Since 2003, the application for divorce can be processed within a day without the consent of both parties of those getting divorced and by the citizen’s committee. As the society advances, traditional social and family values are faced with challenges, where concepts are being established. What once to be tolerable in the past is no longer acceptable today, which caused many of today’s married couples to walk on the path of separation.
Please pray for the marriage situation in China as it worsens each day. The advanced a city is the higher the divorce rate. A wealth lifestyle has many contradictions, which lacks in spiritual life and is difficult to main a healthy marriage relationship. Presently, this trend is affecting the churches, which poses as a great challenge to the believers. Ministers are learning marriage counseling, equipping the believers to build a harmonious marriage and family. Please pray for these believers in mainland to live a life of purity, to escape from temptations, and to win more than enough with the Lord.
Pray that the churches in mainland can face the economic pressures brought by price inflation
According to a statistics report released by National Bureau Statistics of China on Aug. 12, the recession continued for three consecutive months as shown on China’s July consumer price index (CPI), compared with a 6.3% rise during the same period last year and with June’s recession by 7.1%. The food prices, in particular, rose the highest; oil manufactured products, water products, and poultry products were the most seriously affected. Although the product price continues to drop for three consecutive months, but the ratio of the citizen’s everyday spending versus the price inflation of products did not become lighter, which makes their lives very difficult, according to China state media Xinhua web. In the midst of inflation, the living salaries for many ministers and coworkers in the cities and villages decreased, which makes the original difficult life to become even more difficult. Many of the churches in mainland do not have high self-supporting ability, so the work to provide for the coworkers and to develop the ministries becomes much more difficult. However, because of the economic developments, many Christian businessmen were able to have more business opportunities, and they are also more willing to support the development of the churches.
Please pray that the churches in mainland can receive the protection from the Lord, where they would be able to face the economic pressures brought by the inflation. Because of the economic developments in the cities in the eastern mainland, the churches experienced God’s abundant providence. After the Sichuan earthquake, we saw the full contribution of the churches along the eastern coast, helping with the post-earthquake reconstruction efforts, which is a wonderful testimony. Pray that the churches with economic power can help the poor churches, so those who are abundant can help fill up the insufficient, implementing the spirit of cooperation between the members of Christ.
Concurrently, China Soul invites more participants to join the end-of-the month prayer meeting “Walking into China’s Society” to pray for next month’s continuous outpouring of concern for the development of China’s society and for some important matters, in order that the churches’ developments can be filled with life and hope.
