Prayer Request 6/3 --6/9

Tuesday
The earthquake in China also affected Gansu, but the province received little media and rescue attention. Many of the victims in this area are ethnic Tibetans. June 1 is Chinese Children's Day and there are tens of thousands of children without families, homes or schools there. My eyes are red from crying, my stomach is in knots, and I feel sick all over. My people are being wiped out, and children lie helpless in the streets of the city. (Lam 2:11) Let us pray for the 30-plus churches there, for the Christian effort to start long-term children's ministries to help the children in the earthquake regions.

Wednesday
Since the colleges in China began admitting a more widely diverse group of students in 1999, education there has changed from elite to mass education. As a result, a college diploma is no longer a ticket to a job. In fact, some educators have pointed out that the quality of students in college has dropped. Many students get their very first exposure to the gospel on college campuses and after two or three years of discipleship there, they leave the student fellowship. Unfortunately many are lost due to lack of follow-up. Let us pray for the growth of new believers as they graduate this year.

Thursday
As a country, China has had the greatest number of foreign missionaries come to her. However, there are only one thousand Chinese missionaries worldwide and the majority of them are from Singapore and Hong Kong. There are nine thousand Chinese churches outside of Mainland China which means there is only one missionary for each nine churches and every year the number of new missionaries is comparable to the number of those leaving the fields. We uplift these one thousand missionaries and commit their needs, their ministries, and their families into the hand of God.

Friday
More than half of the believers in the house churches in China express concern for the poor spiritual state in their congregations. There is a pressing need for improvement in the quality of those who work in the churches. The cost of living has skyrocketed recently and many who labor for the Lord must also find a full-time job to supplement their income, thus having less time for sermon preparation and other aspects of ministry. Let us pray for the spiritual health of these shepherds and that they will be faithful to their calling.

Saturday
In recent years there have been more evangelistic meetings overall in the house churches than before but the passion for believers to share the gospel has diminished in general. More church workers have been trained but for the most part they lack the time and desire to evangelize. Let us pray for a passion to share the gospel in all of the churches. May the Spirit of the Lord remove their sense of contentment and idleness and stir up many to care for the lost.

Sunday
Many pastors of rural churches have gone into the cities for various reasons but few of them are willing to minister to the "ming gong" (those who came to cities to work). Cities are attracting both the shepherds and sheep from the villages in droves but the shepherds end up not doing their ministry and the sheep are not receiving the help they need. Rural believers are not able to fit into churches in the cities. They feel inadequate along with being too busy or disconnected. We pray for all them who have not found a church in the city or have drifted away from fellowship.

Monday
Seventy percent of the house churches in Beijing have an attendance of 40 to 85 people. Packing fifty people into an average size apartment is not only physically uncomfortable but it also takes away the incentive for outreach and growth. Newcomers are also less likely to feel welcome. We commit the Beijing churches into the hand of God, especially during the upcoming Olympics. May they sense the call to be light and salt in their communities.

星期二
此次中國震災殃及甘肅省，藏民為主要受災者，然而災情鮮獲媒體及救援當局重視。六一是中國的兒童節，成千上萬的兒童正承受著家破人亡，無家可歸，無學可上的苦難。「我眼中流淚，以致失明；我的心腸擾亂，肝膽塗地，都因我眾民遭毀滅，又因孩童和吃奶的在城內街上發昏。(耶哀2:11) 」 讓我們特別記念甘肅省內三十多間教會，尤其是基督教團體在災區展開的長期兒童事工，能有效地支援當地受災兒童。

星期三
從1999年大學開始擴招至今，中國大學教育已從「精英教育」轉變到大眾化的「通識教育」。大學文憑因此不再是「就業保單」了。一些教育家更坦言大學生素質已經下降。許多大學生在學院裏首次接觸福音，經過兩三年的信仰栽培之後就離開。在缺乏繼續跟進的情況下流失了許多人。讓我們為將在今年畢業的初信徒的靈命成長禱告。

星期四
中國是全世界最多外國宣教士事奉的國家，然而全球44萬名宣教士中，只有一千位華裔宣教士，其中大部分來自新加坡和香港。全球的海外華人教會約有9千間，即九間華人教會纔有一位華人宣教士，而新加入的宣教士與離開宣教場的人數幾乎相等。讓我們切切為現有這一千名華裔宣教士禱告，求神掌管供應他們心靈和物質上一切所需，祝福他們的事工以及他們的家庭。讓他們時刻與神同行、同工。

星期五
據一份調查顯示，超過半數的中國信徒表示在教會屬靈光景不好。提高傳道和教會同工的素質，是當務之急。生活費飆升，使得許多同工不得不另外覓職以填補收入的不足，造成傳道人沒有充分時間準備信息或照顧教會其他事工。讓我們為這些同工的需要禱告外，也求神建立他們的靈命，忠心於神的呼召，憑信心經歷神的恩典。

星期六
近年來，在家庭教會的福音性聚會增加了，但信徒向外分享福音的熱忱卻減退了。更多傳道人接受了培訓，卻少有時間和意願「起而行」去關懷探訪及傳福音。求主大大挑旺祂的教會，讓聖靈振興信徒沉睡自足的心靈，能為周遭廣大的失喪者感到紮心難過，而願意付出時間精力關心他們。

星期日
中國的城市裡，來自農村的傳道人正在增加，但真正願意服事民工的牧人卻不見增加；五光十色的都會，不但吸引農村教會裏的「羊」，也同樣吸引牧人。以致許多牧人不再牧羊，大批羊群無人照管。通常農村來的信徒自覺不足和忙碌，甚至孤立，很難融入城市教會。我們求主把他們帶到合適的教會，也預備更多城市教會能夠有愛心接待和照顧這些主內的兄弟姐妹們。

星期一
北京當地的教會，人數在40-85人的約佔70%左右。聚會時往往是50餘人擠在小小的普通處所，不但不舒服，更降低了傳福音的內在驅力，也減少了對慕道友的吸引力，妨礙教會的拓展。2008北京奧運在即，求主特別引領北京教會的眾信徒，能更敏銳回應神對他們的選召，在家中、社區及職場把握時機，為主作鹽發光。