#BestoftheBestFriday: John Chau; Global Day of Prayer for China TODAY (free social media graphic)

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JOHN CHAU: MORE ABOUT WHAT WE KNOW

After our post on John Chau, we wanted to continue to update you as missions to unreached people groups captures headlines around the world. The New York Times offers more information on John Chau, recently killed in his attempt to evangelize India’s Sentinelese–and we also found this interview with Mary Ho, director of Chau’s sending organization, to be very helpful with some of the facts. Christianity Today also interviews two missiologists on whether Chau’s death will help or hurt missions in India.

today: global day of prayer for china and its persecuted church

Download this free social media graphic by clicking the image.

The Chinese government arrested over 100 members of Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China beginning Sunday, December 9. To our knowledge, arrests continue at the time of this post.

Since the arrests, no one has heart from Pastor Wang Yi, senior pastor of Early Rain, and his wife, Jiang Rong. Foreseeing this circumstance, Pastor Wang Yi wrote this declaration, translated and published here in English should he be detained for more than 48 hours.

Authorities have already sent forty-five of those arrested to re-education camps. Our friends in China are asking for a global day of prayer for China today. Earlier this week, WORLD magazine reported,

Police detained elder Li Yingqiang at 2 a.m. on Tuesday and continued to hunt down members who had gone into hiding. Two other elders were released but remain under house arrest. A few hours before being found, Li handwrote a letter to Early Rain describing the church’s contingency plan. He noted that the church would never join the government-sanctioned Three-Self Church, would not alter its statement of faith, and would, if possible, try to return to its building for corporate worship rather than meet in small groups. He ended the letter:

Beloved brothers and sisters, I am writing this letter in hiding. May you all be filled with joy in the gospel of Christ. May you welcome, filled with hope, the even heavier cross and more difficult lives that lie ahead of you. Christ is Lord. Grace is King. Bear the cross. Keep the faith.’ This is the vision Early Rain Covenant Church received from the Lord. May we all obtain it, cherish it, put it into practice, and live it out!

Please, friends, Pray for China and its persecuted church today. If you would like, download this “Pray for China” graphic here to include on social media.

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Go. Serve. Love

After seven years on staff with Cru, Janel and her husband packed up their family of six to--yup, Go. Serve. Love in Uganda with Engineering Ministries International (EMI). EMI focuses on poverty relief and development, providing structural design and construction management for Christian organizations in the developing world. After 5.5 years there in East Africa, Janel and her family recently schlepped back to the U.S., where they keep working on behalf of the poor. She writes and loves on her family from Colorado. You can find more of her ideas for practical spirituality and loving each other at AGenerousGrace.com.