Participants: John & Angela Lomacang (Host), Robert & Audrey Folkenberg
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY016025A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello and welcome to 3ABN. 01:10 Thank you so much for tuning in. 01:11 My name is John Lomacang, I'm with my lovely wife. 01:14 Angela. 01:15 And we're both glad to be here today. 01:17 And we've tried our best to match, 01:19 if it has worked then give us a thumbs up, 01:21 if not don't write us a letter, we really tried our best. 01:25 But we have a program for you today, 01:28 I could affectionately call the program, 01:30 I hope this what made in China. 01:32 You'll find out what that means in just a moment 01:35 but you don't want to turn away from the program. 01:37 We have two wonderful guests 01:39 that you will meet in just a few minutes 01:41 and, Honey, 01:42 it's amazing that programs like this remind us 01:44 that the work is going on all around the world. 01:48 And when the Bible says, 01:49 "From one blood has come all nations," 01:51 you'll find out how true that is today. 01:54 On behalf of 3ABN, thank you for your prayers 01:56 and also your financial support of this network 01:58 that continues going and growing 02:00 as we prepare for the coming 02:02 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 02:05 And we're gonna dive in a moment 02:06 and just meet our guests 02:08 but to make the best use of our time, 02:10 we have some music to lead into our program today. 02:14 Good friend of ours Rosemary Malkiewycz 02:16 is going to be singing a song 02:18 entitled "Jesus In Your Heart." 02:32 If I could have one wish 02:36 I know just what I'd like to find 02:42 If I could have one dream 02:45 Come true before my eyes 02:52 More than a pot of gold 02:56 More than a pathway to the stars 03:02 More than anything I know 03:07 I want Jesus in your heart 03:21 If I could paint a picture in my mind 03:27 Of what I'd like to see 03:31 If I could take you once 03:34 Inside my deepest dream 03:41 More than a treasures glow 03:46 More than a comet traveling far 03:51 More than anything I know 03:56 I want Jesus in your heart 04:06 He's more than all the world can give 04:11 When He truly comes 04:13 To live in your heart 04:21 Why do you try to search for more 04:26 When He's what you're looking for 04:31 In your heart 04:35 So if I could have one wish 04:38 I know just what I'd like to find 04:45 And if I could have one dream 04:49 Come true before my eyes 04:55 More than a pot of gold 05:00 More than a pathway to the stars 05:05 More than anything I know 05:10 I want Jesus 05:15 I pray you'll find Jesus 05:21 I want Jesus in your heart 05:45 Thank you so much for that song, Rosemary, 05:47 "Jesus in your heart" 05:48 and without Jesus in our hearts, 05:51 the work that He has called us to do 05:52 would be very impossible. 05:55 Virtually impossible because, 05:56 really as Christ works in us 05:58 both to will and to do of His good pleasure. 06:00 Well, let's meet our guest at this time 06:03 and they are no strangers to our 3ABN family. 06:05 First of all I have to say, Elder Robert Folkenberg, Jr. 06:09 That's right. 06:10 And you said affectionately wanting to be known as Bob. 06:14 Well, that's what they call me. 06:16 If I meet people who I knew as a kid 06:18 they call me Bobby. 06:21 Well, good to have you here again. 06:22 It's good to be here. 06:23 You are no stranger to our family 06:25 but there is someone watching this program today 06:27 who is saying, 06:28 "Who's Bob?" So tell us who you are? 06:31 Where you're from and what you do right now? 06:32 Then we'll meet that lovely lady to your right. 06:34 Well, yes. My name is Bob, 06:36 and the Lord has called us both recently 06:39 to serve in the Chinese Union, 06:41 to serve as president of the Chinese Union 06:44 overseeing the kingdom growth in that part of the world. 06:48 Before that we served 06:49 in different parts of the United States, 06:52 worked with ShareHim. 06:54 My dad and I were here multiple times 06:56 talking about that evangelistic lay initiative 06:59 and also in Upper Colombia as president. 07:02 But, now we're back in China, we've served there-- 07:06 now we're working on our 13th year working in China, 07:10 and we love the Chinese people, we love China 07:12 and I have a feeling, 07:14 in fact, I know there's going to be 07:15 of large China town in heaven. 07:17 Wow. Wow. 07:19 Wonderful, good to have you here. 07:21 And what about Audrey, your beautiful wife. 07:23 Tell us about yourself. 07:25 Well, I'm married to Bob, obviously. 07:28 How many years now? 07:29 Well, 27. Going on 28. 07:31 Wow! Congratulations. 07:33 And it's been an adventure. 07:34 Like Bob mentioned we've been back in China for three years 07:38 and it's an honor to serve the Chinese people. 07:42 Wow, but you are-- 07:43 just give us a little bit of your background 07:45 because you come from, in fact, I use the word thoroughbred. 07:48 Your dad was North America General Conference President 07:53 and a stately man. 07:57 For those of you watching the program, 07:58 I'm sitting down that's actually to my benefit 08:01 because, how tall are you about 6.9? 08:03 6'6". 6'6". 08:04 6'6"? Yes. 08:06 Oh, I must be shrinking, right, 08:07 if I'm closer to you then. 08:09 But a stately gentleman, your dad was also 08:11 very much involved in the work around the world. 08:13 A heart for evangelism 08:15 and I think the work that you both are involved 08:17 now as evangelism 08:19 but in a unique part of the world, China. 08:22 You know, if I thought about sending someone to China, 08:24 I would probably choose a Chinese. 08:27 But tell us your connection with China? 08:29 Well, I think the Lord has a sense of humor. 08:33 Audrey and I have often said, "You know why are we there?" 08:36 And He has His reasons. 08:38 But I certainly do not fit in. 08:40 I do not look Chinese 08:41 and I tower above most of my Chinese friends. 08:45 But, you know, He selects who He wants to do, 08:48 what He wants done. 08:50 And Audrey and I 08:51 many years ago said to the Lord, 08:54 "We are willing to go anywhere You want to send us." 08:56 And I remember, Audrey, 08:58 we really felt a pull to the Middle East, 09:02 but we got a phone call from the General Conference 09:05 saying, "Well, what about China." 09:06 And we said, 09:08 "Well, why not if God is calling us there." 09:10 I grew up speaking Spanish. 09:12 And so, I thought maybe the Lord would use us 09:14 in that kind of language group. 09:18 But I can just tell you right now for certain 09:20 there is no connection between Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. 09:23 No. Wow. 09:25 So, that we've been serving over there 09:27 like I said for 13 years. 09:29 And, yes, there are Chinese 09:31 but sometimes the Lord calls us or call people 09:35 to go and do certain things 09:37 and, and that's what we're doing. 09:40 Now, you're from a small family, 09:43 large family of your parents? 09:46 Right. How many siblings? 09:47 Well, my sister and I. 09:50 My sister lives in Florida and it's just the two of us 09:52 and we are glad to have three kids ourselves 09:56 who grew up in China 09:58 and one of them was made in China. 10:01 Maybe that's our tour. 10:04 That's right. No comment? 10:05 And you have to buy an extra Christmas gift now. 10:07 That's right, exactly. 10:08 Not that this program is during Christmas. 10:10 And your sons are in ministry also? 10:11 Yes. 10:13 Our oldest boy is pastoring 10:14 in British Columbia and in Kelowna 10:17 and our second boy is graduating 10:20 from theology program, gonna be married two days later 10:23 and gonna start working in the Oregon Conference. 10:25 So we're very blessed, 10:27 they've heard the call of the Lord too 10:28 and we always tell them, "Just go where the Lord leads." 10:33 Now, having to, having to move sorry, Hon, 10:35 having to move from the Upper Northwest 10:39 to go overseas, 10:42 did you disconnect how completely 10:44 did you disconnect from America? 10:46 Well, we have never disconnected 10:48 because our children are still in North America. 10:51 Real Estate. Yes, yes. 10:52 Well, we, we wanted the freedom to come back and forth 10:56 and be a part of our kids' lives 10:58 as often as a possible. 10:59 So we didn't really hang on to anything. 11:01 We're just over there and enjoying serving 11:05 and footloose some fancy-free for the most part 11:09 but our daughter is a freshman in college as well. 11:13 So we come back and spend time with her as we can. 11:17 But we have, we have no real estate so to speak of, 11:21 our home is in heaven 11:23 and we're perfectly happy with that. 11:25 And we keep telling our kids that, 11:26 "Hey, you know, we get to live with one of them 11:28 later on may be." 11:30 They used to think that was funny 11:31 now, they're starting to get little worried. 11:34 Like she say, "We have no real estate like us." 11:36 That's right. 11:37 We say, "We're living in tents." 11:39 So one is past tent, one is present tent. 11:41 Oh, I like that. That's a good one, I like it. 11:45 But fitting in this, in this culture now 11:48 because for us when we think of-- 11:51 if we got calls to go to China, we would instantly be nervous, 11:55 because we can't communicate, 11:56 but I understand you had a prior connection with China, 12:00 talk about that? 12:01 Well, when we first went over, we made a commitment 12:04 as much as possible to learn the language. 12:07 And of course, at that time my wife was primarily serving 12:12 and ministering to our family, we have three kids. 12:15 So she was not as involved in 12:18 out in the community or in the Chinese work. 12:21 So her Chinese didn't have the opportunity 12:23 to blossom as much, now it's really blossoming. 12:26 But, yeah, we both speak Mandarin Chinese. 12:29 You know, when you're there, 12:30 you're working with Chinese people, 12:32 when you go into China, you're preaching in Chinese, 12:35 you're talking in Chinese, you're meeting people, 12:37 government officials whatever it is in Chinese. 12:40 And, you know, I would, I would say that 12:43 wherever God calls you, don't be, 12:46 do not be intimidated by these barriers. 12:51 In other words, people say, "Well, I can't go do this 12:53 because, hey, you know, we just bought a house 12:55 or we just have this. 12:56 What do we do with this? What we do with that?" 12:58 Listen, you know, this world is not our home. 13:00 And "Oh, I don't speak Chinese." 13:02 Well, you know, 13:05 He will give you the ability to communicate. 13:08 And I have, had it happened multiple times 13:11 and I finish preaching and I say, 13:13 "Audrey, that really was not me 13:15 because my Chinese level is not that high." 13:18 But I was able to communicate at a much higher level. 13:21 That's I believe 13:22 the Holy Spirit working through us. 13:24 Why don't you give us a Chinese greeting? 13:29 That means basically, "Hello." 13:31 And but I could say to our viewers. 13:48 Wow! 13:49 What did you say? Break it down. 13:51 Basically I was saying, 13:53 "Thank you for watching this program. 13:55 And I pray the Holy Spirit will touch your heart 13:57 and that you will always pray for China." 13:59 Wow! Wow! That's amazing. 14:01 You did that well. 14:03 Well, actually you don't, I might have been ordering, 14:05 you know, stir fry, you all don't know. 14:07 I don't even know what you just said. 14:09 No, I-- 14:10 He did it, he did it right. 14:12 She could vouch for me. 14:14 Now, before we go into our video roll, 14:15 we want to kind of get into some of the, 14:17 some of the population and some of the statistics 14:20 because, we know that, 14:21 we talk about the work in America, 14:23 the work in China. 14:25 Just talk about that 14:26 what actually is happening there 14:27 as far as population and workers and-- 14:30 Well, China of course 14:32 has one to every six people in the world 14:34 living in its country 14:36 and the population is 1.4 plus billion. 14:40 Billion. And so it's a huge place. 14:42 In fact, one way that I try to put it 14:44 in perspective for people is that, 14:46 there is one city called Chongqing, China. 14:50 And in that one city, 14:51 there are more people living in that city 14:54 than any state in the United States 14:58 except for the state of California. 15:00 So California is the only state that has a population 15:03 greater than that one city. 15:05 So it's a huge place. 15:07 In fact, as a Seventh-day Adventist Church, 15:10 we've identified China is that region 15:13 with the most un-reach people for Jesus. 15:16 There are more people in that one country 15:19 than any country combined of that don't know Jesus. 15:22 Now, is there a limit on children? 15:24 There used to be but they have identified that 15:28 having only one child really, really causes problems 15:31 with the culture, the dynamics. 15:34 You know, everybody only, 15:36 there are no cousins, no aunts or uncles. 15:38 So the, the government has loosened up on that 15:41 and now they can have more than one child. 15:44 They can have. 15:46 And also the whole retirement, they're aging, all of a sudden 15:48 you have one child taking care of two parents 15:52 and sometimes four depending on the situation. 15:54 Right, in the Chinese culture its, it's a beautiful thing 15:57 that the children take care of the parents 15:59 and the grandparents. 16:01 So suddenly, like Bob said, 16:02 you have one child who married one child, 16:05 and they have parents and grandparents 16:07 on both sides to take care of. 16:09 And it's caused a lot of, 16:11 a lot of difficulties in the culture. 16:14 And in fact, even with the labor, 16:16 there aren't as many people 16:18 to do the labor that's needed to be done. 16:19 But there are nursing homes, are they? 16:21 That is not the way although. 16:23 It's starting-- It's starting to happen. 16:25 Yeah. The west is leaking in. 16:27 Well, and the money, money, 16:30 money is taking over so what's happening is 16:31 what used to be a very family focus society, 16:35 now, you're finding more and more, 16:37 everybody in the family has to work. 16:39 And sadly most of the people who live in rural China 16:43 are leaving their kids with the grandparents 16:46 and traveling to the big cities in order to find work. 16:48 And so you have a lot of abandoned kids in China. 16:51 I mean, it's, it's a beautiful thing 16:53 to have grandparents obviously taking care of kids 16:56 but it's a real problem in China 16:58 where you will have children. 17:00 Actually, it's called "left behind children" 17:02 where the parents go into the cities 17:04 and they might not even come home 17:07 except for once a year if that 17:08 so these little children are growing up 17:10 without their parents 17:11 and often the grandparents can't provide 17:14 the love and the nurturing that's needed. 17:17 And it's a, it's a big challenge 17:18 right now in China. 17:19 And, in fact, we have been able to get involved 17:22 in attending to some of these kids 17:25 that have been left behind. 17:27 One of our, our goals right now in China 17:30 is to as much as possible 17:33 encourage the local Chinese churches 17:36 to look around them in the communities 17:37 in these cities and plant new churches. 17:40 Because China is becoming more and more secular, 17:43 materialistic, mammon, money is taking over. 17:48 So, it's becoming more and more difficult 17:50 to reach out with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 17:53 So we're doing church planting and as Audrey mentioned 17:55 one of the teams that we've sent out 17:57 that has been sent out to do church planting 18:00 identified this need in the community. 18:02 Here all these young kids 18:04 left at home sometimes by themselves. 18:06 So this pioneer team, church planting team 18:09 went and started working 18:10 and bringing these kids together 18:12 and doing afternoon activities with them, 18:14 taking care of them, cooking with them. 18:17 Helping them with their laundry, 18:18 with their homework. 18:20 And then on Sabbath 18:21 bringing them together for Bible stories 18:23 and then what happens is the parent starts 18:25 they will thank you for taking care of our kids. 18:28 And they're using that as an evangelistic tool 18:30 to start a new church in this community. 18:33 So with the challenges 18:34 and there's some positive sides. 18:35 You know, we think of China 18:37 we say, well, as one person once said, 18:39 "If you take away all the things in your house 18:40 that are made in China, what would you have left? 18:42 Exactly. 18:44 But even though 18:45 it's a communist form of government, 18:47 there are a lot of positive things 18:48 that are happening in China. 18:50 Talk about some of those things? 18:51 Well, the fact is that the government of China 18:53 has raised last statistic I saw was 18:58 over 300 million people out of poverty 19:02 in the last 30 or so years. 19:03 Tremendous development and hats off to that. 19:08 In China there is, in Chinese there is a saying, 19:11 we call it crisis in Chinese 19:13 it's two characters Weiji and it's-- 19:17 the word crisis 19:18 comes from two different characters together 19:22 and the one character is danger 19:25 and the other character is opportunity. 19:28 And so, crisis is a danger but it's also an opportunity. 19:33 So while at the same time you have these, 19:36 these left behind children that Audrey was talking about, 19:39 we have an opportunity 19:41 to meet those needs like Jesus did. 19:43 Meet the needs, mingle with them, 19:46 care for them until they say, "Well, why are you doing this?" 19:49 And then point them to Jesus. 19:51 So, though the society is changing drastically, 19:54 it also provides opportunity for us 19:55 to meet those needs. 19:57 Wow. 19:58 I wanted to add to that the literacy rate 20:00 is very high in China and that is something 20:02 that we can give credit to the government 20:05 for doing its part to make sure that 20:07 everybody gets a chance to learn. 20:09 So that that's a very positive thing 20:11 and the infrastructure is fantastic. 20:13 Amazing, yeah. 20:14 Compared to when we first moved to China 20 years ago, 20:18 it's a different world 20:20 because we lived in China first, 20:22 the first time around for nine years. 20:24 And so, it's been very interesting to compare 20:26 that China with today's China. 20:29 Now, people think we hear names in Asia 20:31 like China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, demographically 20:35 or I mean, I should say, 20:37 not demographically but location wise, 20:39 how are they-- how are they different? 20:41 Yeah, well, they're all part of the Greater China, 20:43 we worked, okay. 20:45 Taiwan is considered as part of China. 20:49 Of course, from 1949, 20:51 there's been some political differences 20:53 but everybody acknowledges it they're all part of China. 20:55 Hong Kong is part of China 20:57 since 1997 went back from the British. 21:00 And that's the Greater China. 21:01 But when you look at the population 21:03 that's where that word demographic comes in. 21:06 You know, that one Taiwan has 23 million people. 21:09 Okay, so it doesn't even have as much as that one city. 21:12 Hong Kong has seven million people 21:14 but the Greater China, 21:16 I'm talking about the country of China 21:17 has 1.4 billion people. 21:21 Yeah, Taiwan is an island off the east coast of China. 21:24 Okay. 21:25 And then Hong Kong is a little area 21:27 just south east of China. 21:29 Have you've been to Hong Kong before? 21:31 It's a little peninsula, 21:33 an island right off the southern part of China, 21:37 that's were our union offices are based and, 21:40 and we live there but our offices are just maybe, 21:44 you know, eight or nine miles 21:45 from the border with the mainland China. 21:47 How many employees? 21:49 In our office we have about 40. 21:51 Really, that many? Forty. 21:53 We have a very active media, 21:55 we have the Chinese Hope TV going there, 21:58 we have 3ABN I mean, Adventist World Radio. 22:04 Okay. 22:05 We're developing programs for Adventist World Radio 22:08 that comes out of Guam. 22:10 And then, is also the programs are put on podcast. 22:13 We have 11 million downloads a day. 22:16 A day. A day. 22:18 What? 22:19 Yes, 11 million downloads a day 22:21 from our radio programmings, yeah. 22:23 That's amazing. You gave us a hint. 22:25 Maybe we should have 3ABN Chinese. 22:28 Hey, listen. 22:29 Let's talk we need every vehicle 22:33 and method we can to reach Chinese people 22:37 with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 22:38 So, let's make a date. 22:40 We've got to find a way to have 3ABN Chinese. 22:43 And the reality is we have no idea 22:46 who is watching and listening to what in China. 22:49 And so, we just see these as means of planting seeds. 22:52 That's right. 22:53 And who knows, I mean internet evangelism. 22:56 radio, TV, all of these things. 22:58 I mean everybody in China has a Smartphone, 23:02 and they're downloading these apps. 23:03 So we are just trying to put it out there 23:06 and let God make the difference. 23:08 Just to give you an example, 23:09 one of the things the Union has done 23:11 in the last years is to-- 23:13 over the last 10 years they've been translating 23:15 the 10 volume Bible commentary series into Chinese. 23:19 I mean, it's a pretty big project. 23:21 And we're thankful for some of our retired pastors 23:23 that have dedicated themselves. 23:25 But instead of taking 23:26 that investment of time and money and simply say, 23:29 well, we're gonna print it, okay, 23:32 which would have been very expensive, 23:34 we made the decision to put it for free 23:37 and we made an app and we put it on the internet. 23:40 A free download app and people can use 23:43 all of the Bible commentary. 23:45 Within one year we had 51,000 downloads of that app 23:50 and are using that. 23:52 So, the numbers are always exponential 23:56 when you, when you get to China and... 23:58 Now, you have a video roll. Yes. 24:01 That's kind of give us an overview of the work 24:03 and the things that are happening in China, 24:04 lead us into that quickly? 24:06 Surely. 24:07 This video is basically gonna take you 24:08 on a bit of a history of how the work started in China 24:11 by a Layman Abram La Rue in 1888. 24:15 It's gonna kind of share with you 24:18 the work as it progressed through the pre-communist time 24:22 and then what happened after that 24:24 especially during the cultural revolution. 24:26 And then, it's gonna talk about what has happened since then. 24:29 And I think it's gonna give us, 24:30 you know, five, six minutes a good overview 24:33 of where we are and where we came from. 24:35 Okay, well let's go to the videotape. 24:36 Okay. 24:46 When we say "To grow God's Kingdom" 24:48 we mean to expand the plan of salvation 24:51 among millions of Chinese 24:53 living in the Great China region. 24:56 The Adventist ministry in China began with 24:59 lay missionary Abram La Rue 127 years ago in 1888. 25:05 The first official missionary, 25:07 J.N. Anderson was sent to China in 1902. 25:12 In 1906, Guo Ziying became 25:14 the first ordained Chinese Adventist minister. 25:17 Later on Pastor Hong Zijie, 25:20 a Baptist minister joined the Adventist ministry. 25:24 For half a century Adventist leaders and members 25:28 lived through difficult historical periods, 25:30 withstanding countless regime changes, 25:33 political unrest and brutal military conflicts 25:36 including the Japanese invasion and the civil war. 25:40 Despite the unstable social environment, 25:43 by 1950 the China Division 25:46 along with its seven union conferences, 25:48 were supervising 276 churches and 21,000 members. 25:54 It also operated many schools, 25:57 ranging from elementary level to college level, 26:00 13 hospitals and Signs of 26:02 the Times Publishing Association. 26:05 With the backdrop of the ongoing Korean War, 26:08 the Adventist church went through the Accusation Movement 26:11 during which many ordinary citizens 26:13 were wrongfully accused of being foreign spies. 26:17 In 1951, the communist government 26:20 confiscated all churches entities. 26:23 In 1958, China entered a period called 26:26 "The Great Leap Forward." 26:28 Christian churches were annexed 26:30 in order to eliminate denominations. 26:32 Starting in 1966, the Cultural Revolution 26:36 which lasted ten years, 26:37 inflicted another round of destruction 26:40 to all religions. 26:42 Bibles were torched in public, 26:44 churches were converted to factories, 26:46 schools and daycare centers. 26:49 Many Christian ministers and organizational staff 26:52 were sent to labor camps for "re-education." 26:55 Some were thrown in jail. 26:57 It was the darkest chapter 26:59 in the Christian history in China. 27:02 Even during the most difficult times, 27:04 the Lord was with His faithful followers. 27:07 Many Adventists suffered for their faith. 27:10 But their perseverance kept the Church alive. 27:14 When China entered a new era, 27:16 the Christian churches sprang 27:18 like bamboo-shoots across the country. 27:21 Today, in 2015 the membership of 27:24 the Chinese Adventist Church reached 410,000. 27:29 The number of churches and meeting places 27:31 is between four and five thousand. 27:34 More than three million books of Spirit of Prophecy 27:37 have been printed and distributed. 27:40 From 1958 to 1966, 27:43 The Adventist church have gone through a great test. 27:46 In Shanghai, 27:47 where the China Division office was located, 27:50 more than 20 ministers, elders and deacons, 27:53 ministry directors and lay persons, 27:55 were sent to lay the camps for "re-education." 27:58 None of them betrayed their faith. 28:00 They went straight back 28:02 to the business of growing God's kingdom 28:04 when they were released. 28:05 Years later, 28:07 they were exonerated by the Chinese government. 28:09 You may have heard of some of them 28:11 such as David Lin, 28:14 Zheng Zhaorong, Yang Dawei, 28:21 Jiao Hongzhi, and Robert Wong. 28:27 There were many dedicated Adventists 28:30 living in other places as well. 28:32 We remember those who became martyrs 28:34 for the kingdom including Sun Qinfu. 28:39 Currently, there are several cities 28:41 and regions in China 28:43 which boast of having more than 1,000 Adventists 28:46 worshiping on any given Sabbath. 28:49 The cities of Wuxi, Wenzhou, Shenyang, Xi'an 28:54 and the regions around Dagushan, Gongzhuling, 28:59 northern Guangdong Province are prominent locations. 29:03 The churches at these locations started small. 29:06 Their development testifies to God's glory and power. 29:10 All the church leaders led with good examples 29:13 of true dedication and sacrifice. 29:15 The congregations responded with faithful witnessing. 29:19 From a few to several thousand, 29:22 they steadily grow God's kingdom. 29:25 "But that on the good ground are they, 29:28 which in an honest and good heart, 29:30 having heard the word, 29:31 keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." 29:35 Jesus rightfully describes how His Kingdom grows. 29:40 From the era of East Asia Association 29:42 to today's Chinese Union Mission, 29:45 every outreach method, literature evangelism, 29:48 radio broadcasting, disciple training, 29:51 internet and TV ministries, correspondence Bible schools, 29:56 Griggs University Asia, exchanges and visits, 30:00 have been used to sow the seeds and to nurture the hearts. 30:04 With our own eyes we see that 30:06 the seeds have grown and born fruit in China! 30:24 This is a very interesting video 30:25 that we just saw about China, 30:27 the history, the past, the present 30:29 and also a reflection on the direction of the future. 30:32 Kind of recap in a nutshell because, 30:34 you know, you see that church, 30:36 one of the things that we talked about 30:37 as we were watching, this is how the church grew 30:40 when it went in a time of difficulty. 30:44 We use a phrase underground so to speak. 30:47 The way, the way I would recap 30:48 this video is that it took one man 30:51 whose name was Abram La Rue who by faith went to China. 30:55 In fact, he had applied to the General Conference 30:58 of Seventh-day Adventist to be a missionary to China 31:01 and they said, "Sorry you're too old." 31:04 But long story short, he ended up in China 31:07 and he actually died in Hong Kong 31:10 and he's buried right near to where we live. 31:14 But he started to work and things grew 31:18 and through difficult times, the church grew all the more. 31:22 In fact, our church had to go underground for many years 31:25 and then in the '70s and in the early '80s 31:29 the church started to blossom again 31:31 and we went from a membership of 20,000 as the video stated 31:35 when it went underground to over 200,000 31:37 and now a membership of over 400,000 in China. 31:41 So, I think this video says to me that God has a plan. 31:45 He's in charge, 31:46 and no matter what happens, He will grow his church. 31:49 Amen. That's right. 31:50 Amen. 31:51 There's an article, article you showed me, 31:53 I want you to talk about this briefly 31:54 when we were sitting down eating some Indian food. 31:56 Oh, yeah. 31:57 We were eating Indian food and we looked at 31:59 the Adventist Review Magazine, 32:01 and we saw this beautiful hospital. 32:03 Yes. In China, was it Hong Kong? 32:06 Well, it's in Hong Kong actually, yeah. 32:08 We praise the Lord. 32:10 In Hong Kong, we have two hospitals that 32:13 we call it Hong Kong Adventist Hospital. 32:15 One is on the island, and then the other one is 32:17 in a community called Tsuen Wan. 32:19 These were started by Dr. Harry Miller, 32:22 what were they called the China doctor, 32:23 our early, one of our pioneers in China. 32:27 And when he, they had to leave China. 32:29 He started many Chinese hospitals. 32:32 But then when they had to leave China, 32:33 they came to Hong Kong 32:35 and started these two hospitals. 32:36 For Tsuen Wan hospital is built in 1964, 32:39 100 beds or so and it had literally outgrown itself 32:44 way many years ago but-- 32:45 Now, when Bob says, Tsuen Wan Hospital, 32:48 that's a hospital in a certain area 32:50 of Hong Kong called Tsuen Wan. 32:51 Like the neighborhood... 32:53 Yeah, a community there. 32:54 Community but we had, 32:56 we were always full, we had a waiting list. 32:59 Maybe we just needed to grow that hospital. 33:01 But God provided a period of about seven years. 33:05 When the Hong Kong government opened the doors 33:07 for mainland Chinese mothers to come to Hong Kong 33:11 if they wanted to, to have their babies 33:14 and many Chinese want to come to Hong Kong 33:17 to give birth to their children because-- 33:19 They feel it's safer. Yeah. 33:20 And they can get also resident cards 33:22 from Hong Kong. 33:23 Well, the hospitals in Hong Kong were inundated 33:26 and so were our two hospitals. 33:28 And that allowed us to have tremendous income 33:31 during those seven years. 33:33 The leadership at the time set aside money. 33:36 And as you saw and I think 33:37 we have some pictures of that new hospital. 33:39 We just were able to bring, 33:43 have our grand opening in November 33:45 and we are slowly but surely moving. 33:47 We've gone from 100 beds, 33:49 when it's fully utilized will have 450 beds. 33:52 It's a 25 story building state-of-the-art 33:57 and the God provided the funds for us to do. 33:59 There's the older hospital 34:00 that four or five stories building in front 34:04 and behind it is that new 25 stories hospital. 34:08 And what's exciting it is that 34:09 it's the only private hospital in that area of Hong Kong. 34:13 And it's so overtly Christian too, 34:16 that it will make an impact on the community there. 34:19 But we call it a miracle hospital. 34:20 It is totally and right when you walk in the lobby, 34:24 it's very clear this Adventist, we have our chapel right there. 34:27 And on the first floor we have our, 34:30 an entire church that meets in the hospital. 34:32 We call it the "Mountain View Church." 34:34 Just this last week, I got a note from, 34:36 from our chaplain saying 34:38 that one of the families who they were visiting with 34:41 came brought their sick person in 34:43 went to church on Sabbath 34:45 in our hospital church, we call it. 34:48 We often have hospital churches, 34:49 but I'm talking about in the hospital, 34:51 we have our church. 34:53 You know, what's nice about that is, 34:54 you can't take evangelism to the community 34:56 but they could come to you. 34:57 That's right. 34:58 And a medical, 35:00 we talk about health is an entering wedge, 35:03 the health message and so here you are, 35:05 it's amazing that you could have a hospital right there 35:07 and which you said it's obvious 35:09 that it's a Christian institution. 35:10 And the government 35:12 because of the great benefits to society 35:14 they're not really saying, we need to shut this down. 35:15 Oh, no, no, in Hong Kong we have that openness 35:18 to be able to do that. 35:19 And the challenges were across the border in mainland China, 35:23 but Hong Kong, we praise the Lord, 35:25 the government is very supportive of what we're doing. 35:28 Yeah, even though Hong Kong was returned 35:30 by the British to mainland China in 1997, 35:34 it's still its own little system 35:38 as far as government rule. 35:39 So there are lot of freedoms in, 35:42 in Hong Kong that you might not have in mainland China. 35:44 Tell us about the youth there, the youth in China? 35:47 Well, listen. 35:48 It is amazing, when you get together with young people, 35:52 in September I went and did a training and I would say, 35:57 probably of leadership in one particular region. 36:00 And I would say, probably 36:01 at least 50 to 60 percent of all the leaders 36:04 we would call young adults or young married. 36:08 They're leading the church. 36:09 Now at the same time one of the challenges in China 36:12 is that you have this aging of society. 36:16 And so many of our church members are elderly-- 36:19 sometimes especially in the rural churches, 36:22 all the youth have left and have gone to the cities. 36:26 And this is a challenge that we're facing there. 36:29 So, how you, so how are you-- 36:31 let me use the word here loosely evangelizing 36:33 because you have on Hong Kong side no hindrance, 36:37 but then you have in mainland China. 36:40 Based on obviously the religion, 36:42 what is the predominant religion? 36:45 In China, it's Buddhism. Okay. 36:47 But honestly that is only a name, 36:50 it's atheism. 36:52 It's atheism and materialism and humanism, 36:55 most Chinese people do not believe in God. 36:58 So, the Great Wall of China would be God is missing. 37:02 You know, there is a barrier between even mentioning 37:05 His name and how, how that came, 37:07 we talked about some of that history 37:08 that this society-- 37:09 I mean, when we think about here in America, 37:11 everything is made in China, 37:13 it's electronic, it's very secular, 37:15 it's very progressive, it's very on the edge. 37:17 Lot of our devices that are sold in America 37:20 are some portion of it is manufactured in China. 37:23 So it's a city that, you know, this modernization, 37:27 this secular mind is just constantly going. 37:30 It seems like 24 hours a day with the factories 37:32 and the productions that go on there 37:34 so God is kind of pushed out 37:36 with all this materialism and secularism. 37:38 Well, and how do we reach the people of China? 37:42 There are, we try every way, you know, 37:44 there's the media 37:46 and we try training our leadership there. 37:48 One thing that is probably our most exciting initiative 37:52 is helping to send teams of two into Chinese people 37:55 and to un-reached areas of China. 37:58 We have provinces in China, the equivalent of states 38:01 that have no Seventh-day Adventist. 38:03 We have people all across China 38:05 that have never even heard the name of Jesus. 38:08 So one thing that we are doing is actively involved 38:11 in helping to support pioneer teams 38:14 going into un-reached areas of China. 38:16 And right now we have over, 38:18 well, just the 200 teams now in areas of China 38:22 and they go in and they know nobody. 38:25 And their goal is to plant a church. 38:28 And so, we get reports and a lot of exciting stories 38:31 from the frontlines 38:32 on what these pioneer teams are doing. 38:35 Well, just in line with 38:36 what you talk about the health message, 38:38 we got a report and Audrey communicates 38:41 and gets these reports on a quarterly basis. 38:44 She shared with me a story about in Inner Mongolia. 38:47 This is a huge province with very few Adventists 38:51 and very few Christians. 38:53 And a lot of superstitions. 38:54 A lot of superstitions in that area. 38:56 Is Mongolia further north? Yes, the north. 38:58 It's the northern part and they call that 38:59 Inner Mongolia is the part that's in China. 39:02 But, we had a team there and, 39:05 you know, what method they used 39:07 is health ministry to do church planting. 39:10 They would just literally go to the hospital 39:12 and begin visiting patients. 39:14 And they met a lady there who in the, 39:17 you know, in years past had come to know Jesus 39:20 through some other denominations 39:23 but had moved back to Inner Mongolia 39:25 and therefore got disconnected from any Christian group. 39:28 And here comes these two pioneer teams, 39:30 young people to visit them 39:32 and care for her and to pray with her. 39:35 And they start studying the Bible together. 39:36 When she comes out of the hospital, 39:38 they invite her to come to this new little house church. 39:40 By then there was 39:41 30 some people worshipping there. 39:44 And she has come face to face with the present truth, 39:49 comes face to face with the fact 39:50 that Jesus is coming soon. 39:52 She accepts the message and is baptized, 39:54 now is a faithful member of this little house church 39:57 in an un-entered area 39:58 because these two pioneer teams went 40:01 and basically just visited hospitals. 40:03 Yeah, I just received report recently this past week 40:07 of a pioneer team that was trying to connect. 40:10 How do they connect with their community? 40:12 So they set up a table and they started providing 40:14 free blood pressure checks for people. 40:17 And while people were sitting there, 40:18 they made it a point to ask them about their lives. 40:22 And this report from this team says, 40:24 everybody has a problem, there's something going on 40:28 that's hurting in everybody's heart. 40:30 And as the people would come 40:31 and get their blood pressure is taken, 40:33 this pioneer team would begin to facilitate 40:37 those individuals opening up and before you know it, 40:40 they were praying with the people 40:41 that were coming, introducing them to Jesus, 40:44 inviting them to come to church, 40:46 to their, to their house church. 40:48 Prayer is powerful and prayer ministry 40:51 that's what something that you're doing or? 40:53 Yes, I've been involved with prayer ministries 40:56 and honestly it can be overwhelming 41:00 when you look at the numbers. 41:01 And there are a lot of unique challenges in China 41:04 because the, the lack of "traditional organization" 41:09 that we see in our churches, the checks and balances. 41:13 Anyway, it can be overwhelming just, 41:15 just like everywhere. 41:16 But we have seen a great impact on the difference 41:20 that is made when people, people pray. 41:22 Amen. 41:23 And so, prayer is something we all know about 41:25 but I mean, even in my life personally, 41:27 it's one of those things that I don't necessarily do 41:31 as often as I should, that's always a, 41:34 a challenge and something beautiful to make it more real. 41:38 So that is something that we've been doing 41:39 in the Union office as well as across China is 41:43 trying to make prayer a more real part, 41:47 more vibrant part of life. 41:50 And to challenge our members 41:52 as Audrey goes in those seminars, 41:53 as we go around and visit with different groups in China. 41:56 To say, listen what you're facing is not possible. 42:00 It is a God sized task. 42:03 We need to pray more. 42:04 We need to be united in prayer. 42:06 And, John, 42:07 I really would ask your viewers to please pray for China. 42:12 As we come together I believe and pray for China 42:16 in a focus conservative way 42:18 and I don't know how this whole back story works. 42:21 I'm not sure exactly 42:23 how the levers of this great controversy work 42:26 but we know that when we pray, 42:28 God has that ability or that permission 42:32 to move where He couldn't if we were not prying. 42:35 Now, when you talk about 42:37 something else here the pioneer teams, 42:38 I want to go back to that for really quick brief moment. 42:42 Because that is in fact the arm of the church being extended 42:47 and there is a way that that could be enhanced, 42:49 talk about, talk about that because, 42:51 even though we know that, you know, 42:53 in Hong Kong you talk about the money is coming in 42:55 through all the exponential growth of babies, 43:00 the birth of babies, 43:02 but how are these pioneer teams being supported 43:05 and how can we get involved in that particular area? 43:08 Well, that is one fantastic way. 43:10 We invite people to get involved is to help support 43:14 pioneer teams in un-reached areas of China. 43:17 Now, any small or large amount makes a difference 43:20 but what we tend to ask for is that $3,000 a year 43:25 and that breaks down to what is $125 a month. 43:29 And it allows people to go into un-reached areas of China. 43:34 It helps to support their livelihood, 43:36 where they stay 43:37 and but one thing I want to add that 43:40 in addition to the monetary need is 43:43 we need more than anything, prayers for these pioneers 43:46 because they do get very, very discouraged. 43:48 And to have people praying for them 43:51 makes a huge difference. 43:52 There's a little saying that I like to use, 43:55 and that is that, "Money puts rice in the bowl, 43:59 but prayer puts life in the soul." 44:01 Amen. 44:02 And so, just like Jesus when He did that, 44:05 the miracle of breaking the fish and the bread 44:08 and fed thousands of people, 44:10 that's what we feel prayer does. 44:12 And China has been this, 44:14 this romanticized mystical thing 44:17 behind a bamboo curtain for all these years. 44:20 But we want people now to think of China 44:22 as a place where they can make a difference. 44:24 That's right. 44:25 Where they can be a part 44:27 of what happens in China by their prayers. 44:29 Just from their living room, 44:31 from their devotional times praying 44:32 and as Audrey mentioned financially 44:34 when folks donate through, you know, 44:37 the website that you'll see on the screen 44:40 and through our partners there at OCI that $125 is per-person 44:45 there's two in each team every month 44:47 and we've had churches come together 44:50 and support a team. 44:51 But even if you just ten dollars 44:54 hopefully putted through this, 44:56 anything helps us send more teams. 44:59 And it's not us sending, 45:00 it's the local church across China saying, 45:04 "We can reach that city over there, 45:06 we can reach that city." 45:07 And we come alongside them and say, "Amen. 45:09 What can we do to help 45:11 and we provide what finances we can." 45:13 But right now, we have 200 teams 45:16 but we need 1,000 teams. 45:18 But now is the time to church plant in China 45:22 because given the growth of the economy, 45:25 the devil is entrenching himself more 45:29 and right now we need to move forward. 45:33 I hear a question coming. 45:34 Oh, no, no, no. I'm-- 45:36 we are gonna be praying for China also. 45:38 Yes. 45:39 It's so important but the people do need to give. 45:42 Well, it supports. 45:44 I just want to tell you this one story real quick. 45:45 Sure. 45:47 It's a pioneer team that moved into 45:48 an un-reached area of China and before, you know, 45:51 they had people meeting with them every Sabbath, 45:54 maybe around 20 people or so 45:55 and in the middle of their Sabbath service 45:58 a lady came in and said, "Is Jesus here? Is Jesus here?" 46:01 And she started just yelling and screaming things 46:04 that were indiscernible 46:05 and she fell to the ground right there in the church 46:09 and these two pioneer teams thought, 46:11 "Oh, yes. 46:13 The church that sent us said if anything like this happens, 46:15 we should gather around and sing and pray." 46:20 So these two young pioneers grab the members around said, 46:23 "Hey, let's sing and pray over this person 46:26 who was yelling and screaming and riding on the floor. 46:30 And they sang and they prayed and there was no response 46:34 and the members were so discouraged. 46:35 They are like "What happened? 46:37 You told us that we should sing and pray 46:38 and we would see a change?" 46:40 Yeah. 46:41 And the two pioneers looked at each other 46:43 and through their eyes they determined that 46:46 they would pray and they would sing 46:48 until there was a change. 46:50 So they did 46:51 and they saw this person mellow out, 46:55 come to their senses and the person stood and said, 46:59 "You know, ever since I was small, 47:01 I have been possessed by demons. 47:04 But somebody told me 47:05 that if I could go into a church 47:08 that there I would be liberated." 47:10 That person came into that church today, 47:12 "Is Jesus here? Is Jesus here?" 47:14 And the devil was struggling 47:15 to keep a hold of that person soul, 47:17 prayer and singing 47:19 and the leadership of this pioneer team 47:21 brought this person freedom 47:23 that they never would have realized. 47:24 That person began to have Bible studies, 47:27 has found Jesus and then baptized. 47:29 Amen. 47:30 That's an exciting story. That's so exciting. 47:32 When you think of the fact that-- 47:33 The church. Yeah. 47:34 Coming in looking for Christ 47:36 and there is that controversy going on right there 47:37 at that very spot, keep praying. 47:40 Well, somebody had an acronym PUSH, 47:42 Pray Until Something Happens. Yes, I like that. I like it. 47:45 You know, and I saw that 47:46 we grew up kind of with that, with that acronym. 47:50 But what I want to do for our viewing 47:52 and listening audience 47:53 because my wife works for 3ABN radio, 47:55 I want to give them an opportunity 47:56 to get the address, 47:57 so that you can invite Bob and Audrey to come 48:02 and maybe share in your church and your community 48:04 and also find out ways 48:06 to become more actively involved in initiative 48:08 such as supporting the pioneer teams. 48:11 Here is the information that you would need. 48:16 If you like to know more about this ministry 48:18 or how you support it, 48:19 you can do so by writing to Chinese Union 48:23 C/O Outpost Centers International, 48:26 5132 Layton Lane, Apison, Tennessee 37302. 48:31 That's Chinese Union 48:33 C/O Outpost Centers International, 48:36 5132 Layton Lane, Apison, Tennessee 37302. 48:43 You can also visit them online at kgrowth.org, 48:47 that's the letter kgrowth.org. 48:52 Contact them today, 48:54 they would love to hear from you. 49:01 As you know our program is not done yet but, 49:03 Bob and Audrey, 49:05 if you were to think about the things 49:06 that are happening in China 49:08 you're gonna be going back there not to-- 49:11 Just few days. Just a few days. 49:13 When you land being the stature of a man in China, 49:17 how have you founded a blessing to be unique 49:21 in a very established society 49:24 and what I mean by that is how do you blend in? 49:26 Yeah. 49:27 You know what, the language. 49:29 When you open your mouth and you speak in Mandarin, 49:31 you speak their language, it's amazing. 49:34 You go from being a mile apart to a foot apart. 49:37 People say you care, you talk in my language 49:40 and that's why I think Jesus came here. 49:43 He could have sent messengers and He did through His prophets 49:45 but when He came personally 49:48 I think that incarnational ministry is critical. 49:51 Not only in what we are doing in China 49:53 but what we do in everything 49:55 that we do in all the ministry that we do. 49:57 Wow. Wow. 49:59 And when you think about the work 50:01 how it's progressing because here in America we, 50:04 you know, from Sabbath to Sabbath 50:06 and week to week in our evangelism 50:07 we say "We are praying for Jesus to return" 50:12 but then we hear reports like this 50:13 where there are people that don't even know His name 50:16 and it almost becomes like, 50:17 "Okay, not yet, Lord, there are some people 50:19 that need to know You in China." 50:22 You live with that daily reality 50:24 and you are eating the cake one bite at a time. 50:27 How does that drive you on a day by day basis 50:29 when you look at nonmembers compared 50:31 to the 1.4 billion people that you have to deal with? 50:36 Well, it can be, 50:38 it can be overwhelming once again 50:40 because the church growth rate, 50:43 the spread of Christianity has actually slowed down in China. 50:46 Why? Because what people want is money. 50:50 They want to succeed. 50:51 They want to get that education. 50:54 They want to be comfortable. 50:56 They have seen now the options that are out there. 50:59 So more than ever, 51:00 we need supernatural things in China 51:03 that can happen only through the outpouring 51:05 of the Holy Spirit and through prayer. 51:07 Because just like us here, just like in the United States, 51:10 it's easy to become settled, to become satisfied 51:14 and turn our relationship with Jesus into something 51:19 that happens just once a week if we have time for that. 51:21 That's right. 51:23 So when I think of summarizing what China needs is 51:25 that our people have a sense of a message 51:29 that they need to share urgently 51:31 that people in China have a greater need 51:34 than just to put money in their pocket 51:35 and of course that 51:37 the Holy Spirit is rained down in a mighty way 51:39 so that these things can happen. 51:41 And that's why we emphasize prayer. 51:42 This is a God sized task. That's right. 51:45 No initiative or, yes, we praise the Lord, 51:47 this last year we had the highest growth rate 51:49 we've had in 10 years. 51:50 So the church is growing, the Lord is working 51:53 but how we will finish 51:55 the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 51:57 God is-- 51:58 Our Book of Acts says over and over again 52:00 "Showing, manifesting, confirming the word of truth 52:05 through signs and wonders" 52:06 and that's gonna happen, my friend, 52:08 and it's gonna be a rapid movement. 52:09 And right now we are sowing seeds, 52:11 we are doing what we can but please pray for China. 52:13 Wow, you know, this program is moving faster 52:16 than we would like it to. 52:18 We are gonna just take a short newsbreak time here 52:20 and come back with a few closing thoughts 52:23 to wrap up this very innovative and God sized program. |
Revised 2016-05-02