The Church in China: Where Knowledge Is King
by Randall Murphree
May 13, 2005
(AgapePress) - For many in the West, China is a montage of snapshots. The Great Wall crawling 4,000 miles across the nation's northern border. Villages of hand-made mud bricks and thatch roofs where people live in poverty. Distinctive architecture of the Orient. Factories where cheap labor cranks out goods that blanket the world. Christians who suffer persecution at worst, or live in fear at best.Every one of those pictures is accurate, but 21st-century reality adds some significantly updated images to the big picture. Certainly, China will continue to have major worldwide impact through its sheer numbers, and through its commercial traffic to the rest of the world.
One young American family, associated with Global Outreach (GO), has lived in China for ten years, calling a couple of different cities home at different times. The mother -- "Candace" -- home schools their children and her husband -- "Thomas" -- teaches English and cultural studies at a university.
Thomas takes pride in driving American visitors into his city on new four-lane highways and taking them to his sixth-floor walk-up apartment in a beautiful new complex. From there he takes them to the campus where he teaches. Both the city and the university campus reveal a startling amount of new construction.
In his department at the university, Thomas asks his guests to introduce themselves to an auditorium filled with college seniors. The students respond with enthusiasm, applause and a rush to the front of the room when class is dismissed. They welcome Americans and are eager to practice their English.
Village Schools
China recognizes the value of education, evidenced by its universities and its students' attitudes. And Thomas covers the education waterfront, from urban college to remote village. He and an American friend spend a lot of time with the Hope Schools Project. They are involved on two levels, first securing U.S. contributions to build schools in remote villages. For a gift of $10,000, the Chinese government will match the funds and build the school.
Learn more about Hope Schools
"We forward money from groups back home and personally oversee the building progress of the schools," Thomas said. "We visit and develop relationships, and join in opening ceremonies and then come [visit the schools] for any reason. It provides an acceptable way to get into these areas."
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A deteriorating village school could one day be replaced by a Hope School, with Christian influence and contributions from believers (Copyright 2005, Randall Murphree) |
Thomas's work in education assures that his family is welcome in the community because he is making a positive contribution. Subsequently, they develop relationships that allow them to begin sharing stories of American customs -- for example, stories of Easter and Christmas traditions or church weddings. And that opens the door for them to reveal a lot about their faith.The Hope Schools Project offers believers a way to have an impact on China's children. Thomas said even small contributions can be used to purchase school supplies, clothing, or much-needed school equipment. Furthermore, if the gift goes through Global Outreach,100 percent of every dollar given goes to the project. Global stateside covers administrative costs and office expenses for all of their personnel on the field.
"Every dollar given for Hope Schools will go to China for Hope Schools," confirmed Wes White, executive director of GO.
Many churches and ministries in the U.S. sponsor construction, teaching or medical teams to Central and South American. Thomas said such groups are welcome in China as well. One team this year was scheduled to visit Hope Schools and present a pantomime drama about avoiding drugs.
China and the church in that vast nation both provide a picture of contrasts. There are, indeed, places where believers face persecution. Ministries such as Voice of The Martyrs (VOM) work tirelessly to alleviate suffering of believers in China and other nations.
On the other hand, Thomas and Candace live and work and practice their faith in relative freedom. China's contrasts are reflected in ministries like VOM and GO as each one fills its calling. They also make it evident that the Western church, if it really cares, can find many and varied ways to help build up the Body of Christ in China.
Read Part 1 in this series
Read Part 2 in this series
Read Part 3 in this series
Randall Murphree, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. For more on Voice of the Martyrs / P. O. Box 54, Caney, KS 67333 / 918-337-8015. For more on Global Outreach / P.O. Box 1, Tupelo, MS 38802 / 662-842-4615.
