September 2023 RCMI Newsletter

The Holy Spirit and Unity in China’s Church - Our responsibility is to pray for the leaders of our nation. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Almost daily we hear or read news items that portray China and the Chinese Communist Party in a negative light. We hear about possible war in the Taiwan Straits, suppression of Uighur minorities, China’s theft of intellectual property, hackers, TikTok, support of Vladimir Putin, economic coercion through the Belt-Road initiative, the lose of many freedoms in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after the enactment of National Security Laws, and of course persecution of Christian believers.

Nobody can deny that relationships between the USA and China are about the lowest in fifty years and even the Prime Minister of the U.K. had quite negative things to say about China at the recently held G7 summit in Hiroshima. “China bashing” among Western politicians is now a key to getting votes.

However, for us Christians who live and work in China, Hong Kong and Macau, most of the negative critique is vastly exaggerated. Yes, there are some problems and issues in all the above-mentioned areas. We as Christians are not ignorant of this, and our responsibility is to pray for the leaders of our nation. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

our responsibility is to pray for the leaders of our nation.

We are committed to love China

We are committed to love and bless China, and truly believe we will see a China that is more open, prosperous and will be a blessing to all nations. We are not going anywhere, and our vision is still to bring the Gospel and His blessing to the 1.3 billion “unreached peoples in our nation.”

The truth is quite different from what you hear in the media. After years of Covid-19 restrictions, China is once again opening up, the economy is rapidly improving, and China is developing good relationships with many nations. This all is very important to the “Gospel Silk Road” vision of the Christian church to take the Gospel to the nations and back to Jerusalem.

Hong Kong is very safe, stable and secure after the enactment of the National Security Laws, and we sill have all the religious freedoms as before under ‘One Country, Two Systems’. President Xi Jinping recently said this will last beyond the original cut-off date of 2047, for another 50 or 100 years or more.

Some may think we are naïve, but we are praying and believing for restoration of good relationships between China and West and even greater ‘open doors’ than what China experienced back in Deng Xiao-ping’s Open Door policy of the 1980’s.

I am optimistic, as through the work of the Holy Spirit we are seeing after decades of division among Chinese Christians, true unity come to the church. The Christian Church in China, which has up to 100 million believers will certainly impact the whole nation.

This is also true in Hong Kong, where there are several hundred thousand believers, many who are filled with the Holy Spirit. The vast majority of Hong Kong churches are either Full Gospel or at least open to the Full Gospel message.

Pray for the leaders in China fill with the Holy Spirit

There is one body, and one Spirit

The New Testament church, as well as the churches throughout history to this very day, was prone to divisions and splits. Some of these were unavoidable as some divisions were over major Biblical doctrinal positions, thus we have the Protestant reformation.

However most splits and church divisions are over personalities, race and language, economic status and simple matters as minor as church meeting practices. These splits have done great damage to the cause of Christ and evangelism.

The Apostle Paul realized this was a great challenge to the cause of Christ, thus he wrote in Ephesians, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;” Eph. 4:3-4

In Philippians 2 Paul speaks of the fellowship of the Spirit, and urges the church to be “like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord of one mind.” (Ph. 2:1-2)

There is one body, and one Spirit

Unity and Revival:

Since the total opening of China a months ago (after the Covid-19 restrictions), daily many mainland Christians come to Hong Kong to visit me, ask for prayer, attend Christian training conferences in Hong Kong or to attend our weekly worship services.

As they request, we provide them with Bibles and good teaching materials like “The Shepherd’s Staff” to take back to the mainland. Some of them even bring offerings from their home church to donate to our ministry.

Recently I was asked to speak at such a conference of a few hundred leaders who were from both the house churches and official Three-Self churches. They asked me to speak on the Holy Spirit and to pray with them all to be baptized in the Spirit.

Among them were large numbers of young people, Spirit filled men and women of God, who are spreading the Gospel, worship and praise through the official churches.

RCMI provide Chinese leaders with Bibles and good teaching materials like “The Shepherd’s Staff” to take back to the mainland

Billy Wilson, the head of Oral Roberts University, with a group of Spirit-filled Hong Kong leaders recently visited government officials and Three-Self church leaders in Nanyang, Henan. This is where me and other house church leaders met with persecution back in the 1990’s.

The head of this well-known Pentecostal Christian University was asked to speak in the official church in which he shared about the Holy Spirit, and the government invited this Spirit-filled university to return to China to work with the Chinese church.

China is once again opening up, and though individual house church preachers do face some restrictions, I believe through the work of the Holy Spirit, unity and revival will come to our nation.

I want to thank all of you who have prayed for and supported RCMI over the past several decades. Though your support countless millions of Bibles have been delivered to China thorough the efforts of countless thousands of “Bible couriers.’

Now we are able through your support to provide the funds to Christian leaders in rural areas to purchase Bibles through official channels such as bookstores under Three-Self churches or the Amity Press.

The respected Spirit-filled Chinese scholar Dr. Yancheng Liang (梁燕城) recently visited the Amity printing press in Nanjing, which prints the Chinese Bibles. He was told they have already printed 200 million Bibles.

There is no truth to the anti-China rumor that China would print a ‘Communist version’ of the Bible and change the contents. If they did, who would read it? Even today most Chinese Christians only read the Union Version of 1919, which they believe to be a true and accurate translation.

RCMI purchase Bibles through official channels such as bookstores under Three-Self churches or the Amity Press.

Our vision is that everyone in China who desires a Bible, can eventually have one.

Our vision is that everyone in China who desires a Bible, can eventually have one. Thus, we work with the official church (under the government) and house churches to aim for that goal. Your support for this is extremely helpful and very important.

We also know that obeying the Great Commission involves making disciples. Thus, we still have our Bible School which is on-line in China and on-site in Hong Kong. We also weekly conduct training sessions with Chinese leaders using Zoom, which is not blocked in China.

Leaders also are trained and Chinese believers receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit through our yearly Revival Chinese Training Conference. Many have been conducted in Hong Kong, Paris, Frankfurt, Liverpool U.K. (November 2022) and in Malaysia, June 2023.

Revival Chinese Training Conference in Malaysia, June 2023

RCMI provide Chinese leaders with Bibles and good teaching materials like “The Shepherd’s Staff” to take back to the mainland

Chinese and Westerners come from various denominational and local church backgrounds. Through anointed worship, teaching and preaching, God’s Spirit is poured out in a mighty way. The participants then receive Bibles and solid teaching materials to take back to China or whatever nation they are from.

This unity in the Holy Spirit is the key to obtaining great victories for the Kingdom of God. China will be blessed and be a blessing to the nations.

Our motto is, “Missions for China, China for Missions”

Pastor Dennis Balcombe, Sep 2023