RCMI Newsletter January 2022
Hong Kong, My Home - Revival Chinese Ministries International (RCMI) Happy New Year!
In this new year, may Jehovah-Jireh provide all you need and make you victorious and fruitful in it!
May Jehovah-Shalom bless your home, fill it with joy,
and grant you all health! Happy New Year!
Jesus' True Way supersedes times and eras: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
Dear Friends of RCMI, Pastors, Brothers and Sisters,
May the peace of God be with you! During Jesus' time, some people sided with Caesar, some opposed him, and some, as they stood before Caesar and before God, for the life of them couldn't see which way to turn.
"Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" In this encounter, Jesus showed there is a divide between things of the flesh and spiritual things. Regarding the natural world, we are to obey the government, but in spiritual things we submit to God's rulership and hold onto what we believe -- no earthly authority has the ability to strip us of our faith.
Hong Kong is RCMI's home. The National Security Law cannot change the fact that "Hong Kong is my home"; and also, God's call does not change. We are willing to obey authority, especially the authority of love, and to be loyal to God's call on our lives.
Hong Kong, My Home 2022 01 Fuk Lam Church and Revival Christian Church - Jesus at Temple Street Musical Evangelism
Therefore I'd like to share the following Scripture as an encouragement to all of us:
"So, dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Cor 15:58)
Hong Kong is my home, Revival Christian Church Rhema Pastor Bill Lee’s letter
Dear Friends of RCMI, Pastors, Brothers and Sisters,
Even though Hong Kong is a very small place, from 2019 up until the present, these two years or so, we in Hong Kong and you -- individuals and churches all over the world -- together have been experiencing the 'new climate' of a different era.
The youth of Revival Christian Church Rhema experience transforming Hong Kong
Here's what we in Hong Kong have been going through since 2019:
- Social unrest in 2019 in Hong Kong split the community. The local citizenry became deeply divided, even among believers and within churches, which also led to the loss of many believers from the church. The unrest even affected traffic, so that at the time, some small groups in our church began trying conducting meetings online.
- At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 broke out, and then multiple times the government placed limits on meetings, forbidding meetings of more than four people. The only thing churches (including ours) could do was comply with orders -- stop and start, stop and start in-person worship meetings -- or else switch to live online worship and cell group meetings. Only in April 2021 did our church resume in-person worship meetings, which have continued until now ... but even now there's a limit on the number of people.
- Since July 2020 when Hong Kong enacted the national security law, there's been a wave of emigrations from Hong Kong which has been wide in both scope and effect. Believers from many local churches including ours have moved away from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong, My Home -- Tseung Kwan O RCC Church -- Visiting Homes in the Community
Hong Kong, My Home -- Tseung Kwan O RCC Church -- Holding a Neighborhood Christmas Party
Hong Kong, My Home -- Tseung Kwan O RCC Church -- Young People's Activity
The effects are to be seen everywhere now, and this has deeply affected those of us who pastor churches and develop ministries. It seems that the days of stability, when we could figure and plan ahead, are gone and will not return. I think that these last two years, all of us have been feeling and experiencing the same thing: whether we are talking about daily life, or ministry: things are more difficult than before.
Therefore I'd like to share the following Scripture as an encouragement to all of us:
"So, dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Cor 15:58)
Living in this era, we are influenced by a very wide environment. But although I'm just one little person, and our church isn't very big, I believe we shouldn't only pay attention to the development of our church and our ministry, and we must not only focus on what is reportable about our abilities, facilities, and financial resources. Rather, we should lift up our eyes, pay attention to the age we're living in, and seek the word of the Lord for this generation, as the prophet Isaiah said:
"The LORD has given me the tongue of one who has been taught, that I may know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary: he wakens morning by morning, he wakens my ear to hear as one who has been taught." (Isaiah 50:4)
Proclaim the message, point the way that will give weary souls the strength and direction they need in this chaotic, hopeless generation!
With warm regards,
Revival Chinese Ministries International (Hong Kong), Chief Financial Officer
Revival Christian Church Rhema (Hong Kong), Senior Pastor Bill Lee
