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Chinese preachers spurred on to continue Bible mission in the face of virus pandemic

Author: Bible Society, 27 March 2020

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Your kind support has enabled preachers like Mu Weixu, a Dai ethnic minority preacher, to continue ministering in rural areas in China amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Photo credit: Church in China/ UBS China Partnership

Mu Weixu, a 33-year-old preacher who lives in a mountainous area of Yunnan province, faces many challenges. And that was before the coronavirus outbreak.

How easy would it be for you to say ‘Yes, Lord Jesus, I am willing to serve you!’ if you were a poor preacher living in a rural area, who would have to give up your farming income to go out and preach the gospel?

When Covid-19 started spreading, the mountains preachers like Mu had to climb to continue their God-given missions suddenly got much bigger.

Yunnan province might be 2,000 km away from Wuhan city, the epicentre of the coronavirus, but the nationwide suspension of all church meetings means that these preachers can’t receive any financial support from their congregations. Moreover, part-time work options were not possible for them during the period of travel restrictions and the lockdown in China. These kind of problems can lead to rural preachers abandoning their much-needed ministries in order to survive. 

Your gracious gifts helped preachers like Mu in Yunnan last year, which is when the coronavirus first broke. Right now your generous giving is helping provide financial support to 50 preachers in Hubei province, where the virus first emerged, to ensure that they remain in the ministry. Your generosity is also benefiting 50 particularly needy church members in Hubei who have been infected by the virus.  

Preachers in Yunnan and Hubei are instrumental in helping Christians engage with the Scriptures in the rural regions where they work. 

We greatly appreciate your amazing support as it not only enables them to survive on a basic level, but also uplifts the preachers spiritually and emotionally. Knowing that people like you on the other side of the world are giving them gifts and praying for them makes a huge difference, giving them strength and courage as they continue their God-given mission. 

Door of opportunity

More pastors will be helped through your generous giving which will enable them to take advantage of the door of opportunity that has opened before them.

There are hundreds of millions of rural migrant workers in China who grow up in the rural areas but make a living in the cities. Usually they will go back to their hometown during Chinese New Year but this year they were trapped at home due to the virus. And now because of the economic downturn or simply out of fear, they have not returned to the cities.

As well as helping them continue to minister to their affected congregations, you are enabling preachers like Wu in Hubei and Yunnan to reach out to these migrant workers and share God’s word.

Mu admits that he has faced the temptation to seek a better paid job in the city so that he could meet his family’s physical needs, particularly when he became a new father last year and his elderly parents’ health started to fail.

But thanks to your continuing support, pastors in rural areas of China have been given new hope.

‘I am thankful for your support, for now I can visit more brothers and sisters, and travel far to preach God’s word,’ said Wu, who wanted to share his gratitude. ‘What’s more, the needs of our baby can be taken care of now. This has strengthened my faith to know that God will always provide for me as I serve him faithfully!’

We thank you for your continued support of Bible work in China, which includes helping pastors who preach the Scriptures remain in their ministry.

Please pray that God will give the pastors strength and courage during these especially difficult times. Pray that people affected by the virus in China and worldwide will seek out the Lord. Also pray that the faith of Christians around the world will overcome fear and that they will continue to reach out selflessly during this crisis.

*Travel restrictions due to coronavirus were easing in Hubei as of 24 March.

Please visit our China prayer tree for prayer guidance or to post a prayer yourself.

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