For Chinese Believers, the Cost of Following Christ is Worth Obeying His Call

AIMS News: Posted 5/1/2004

Choose this day whom you will serve. For Jia Li, the decision had never been tougher. She had lived with her two children in mainland China until she was arrested for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus or her children. The authorities made it clear; the choice was hers. But Jia Li knew what her answer would be. The police sentenced her to 24 years in prison and sent her children to live in a government orphanage.

Many of the 70 million believers in the Chinese Underground Church face separation from their families, imprisonment and even death. "The underlying threat of punishment for disobedience runs deep in the Chinese culture," said "Philip," AIMS Team Strategy Coordinator. Leaders of the major movements take an even greater risk to get the training and materials they need to equip their churches and missionaries. Most have spent years in prison for sharing the Gospel with other Chinese.

"You could not have arrived at a worse time."

When the AIMS team landed in Beijing in February, they learned that persecution in China had increased. Believers across several underground church movements had been arrested and imprisoned. Groups who had planned to be trained had disappeared into hiding. Many were scared to meet, even in secure, safe places.

In spite of the increased persecution, the team trained 260 leaders, missionaries and seminary students. Dr. Foltz and a team trained 120 top leaders, who represented over ten million believers in one movement. Others divided into smaller teams to train groups in various cities throughout China.

Security remained a primary concern. During one training session, a student felt in his spirit that they were not safe. Philip, who had been training the group for twelve hours, suggested they take a break. Within two minutes, every student evacuated the room and did not return. The next day, the hotel management questioned Philip's team.
Yet, costs such as these have made Chinese believers even more passionate. While in China, Philip met with some of the students he trained last August. They reported that three of the missionaries in the training session last year are now planting churches among unreached people groups in China.

"Students from our trainings are already getting excited and gaining momentum for missions," said Philip. "This movement has been a one-hundred-year dream for the church in China. Many have lost their lives for it."

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