Prayer Request 5/26 - 6/1

TuesdayChina's education system, which offers nine years of compulsory schooling and admits students to colleges strictly through exam scores, is often hailed abroad as a paradigm for educational equity. China has also quadrupled its college graduates in the past decade. Vast majority of churches in China are unable to meet the basic spiritual need of their youth. We plead with the Lord to change this, so churches will not lose this generation of young people.
Wednesday
Chinese students' consistently performed excellently in all international standardized tests. But it is also a system that discriminates against its poorer citizens, thwarting social mobility at every step with bureaucratic and financial barriers. Many Chinese churches seem busy but lack young people on a closer look. Parents leave their children at home because no suitable programs for them. We pray for churches really would not be stumbling blocks for the little ones Jesus love, and seriously care about their second generation.
Thursday
A huge gap in educational opportunities between students from rural areas and those from cities is one of the main culprits. Some 60 million students in rural schools are “left-behind” children, cared for by their grandparents as their parents seek work in faraway cities. Coworkers in rural churches often lack understanding of youth and treating them instead like children, which drove them away. We pray the Lord be gracious to all the coworkers, so they have the resources and training to minister effectively the young people.
Friday
While many of their urban students attend schools equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and well- trained teachers, rural students often huddle in decrepit school buildings and struggle to grasp advanced subjects such as English and chemistry amid a dearth of qualified instructors. For many churches in China, none of the children will ever be present when they become teens. We pray for quickening of the Spirit on church leaders so they would not despise the young people, but have the vision that young people very much a part of His Body.
Saturday
For migrant children who follow their parents to cities, the opportunity for a decent education is similarly limited. The hukou system — residency status that ties access to subsidized social services to one's hometown — denies rural children the right to enter urban public schools. We pray for the youth ministry in China, the Lord raise up church leaders who have vision and boldness, to wake up churches to care about spiritual health of young ones in church. We too pray that churches respect and value those who minister to the young ones.
Sunday
Many migrant children are relegated to private schools that charge higher tuition and offer subpar education. Recent reforms are mostly limited to smaller cities. Most migrants have no choice but to send their children back to their rural hometowns. All parents expect the best for their children. We pray for believers who are not able to afford the best education for their children or those whose children are not the best students. The Lord comfort them, knowing God is faithful and good to those who love Him.
Monday
China requires the vast majority of students to take the national college entrance examination in their home province, and elite universities allocate higher admission quotas to first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai. We pray specifically for those young Christians who struggle academically, for their faith and trust in God, and overcoming the “inferior and less blessed” attitude Chinese churches often wrongly assigned to them.

星期二
中國的教育制度是九年義務教育，且將考試分數作為唯一標準來選拔大學生，在國外常常被褒獎為教育機會均等分配的典範。過去十年大學畢業生人數也增加了四倍。絕大多數的中國教會基本上無法照顧到年輕人靈性上的基本需要，錯失了建立教會新一代的良機。我們為中國的青少年事工代禱，求主改變這現狀，能把屬靈的生命承續下去。
星期三
中國學生在國際上的標準考試中成績卓越。但在現實上，中國教育制度卻有著欺貧凌弱，以官僚阻撓和收入門檻拖累著社會下層力爭上游的步伐等現象。許多教會也是表面上興旺，但細察其中的年輕人卻寥寥無幾，信徒把孩子留在家裡，因教會沒有提供給第二代的節目。求主恩待這些教會，能嚴肅關注第二代靈命的需求，不使主所愛的小子跌倒。
星期四
學生的教育機會和經費及各類資源的分配，城鄉之間存有極大鴻溝 。其根源之一是在農村有著6000萬“留守”兒童，他們由爺爺奶奶帶大，父母去了遙遠的城市打工。農村教會同工對青少年的心理了解不多，誤把他們當小孩般教導，使得青少年不願參加教會。求主恩待所有教牧同工，為他們預備合宜的資源與教材，也有人幫助裝備他們更有效地牧養年輕一代。
星期五
當青少年在城市的許多同齡人在設備一流的校園裡讀書，接受科班出身老師的輔導時，農村孩子們卻還都蜷縮在破敗的教室裡，缺少合格的英語、化學専業的老師。許多中國教會，兒童主日學事工根本無法過渡到青少年事工。求主催逼教會領袖，有長遠的眼光， 不輕視年輕人，而是視作同為主基督身子的肢體來關顧。
星期六
跟隨父母來到城市，所謂的農民工子弟，也無法得到等同當地學生的良好教育機會。因為戶口制度將他們獲得公共社會服務的權利與他們的出生地綁定，農民工子弟被擋在了城市公立學校的門外。我們為中國青少年事工代禱，求主興起有異象,有魄力的教會領袖，並喚醒眾教會對信徒第二代靈命的關懷，也能敬重、肯定那些參與青少年事工同工的忠心擺上。
星期日
很多民工子弟只能選擇教育質量較差，收費更高的私校就讀。最近的戶口改革多針對一些小城市。很多人別無選擇，只能將孩子送回農村老家。 望子成龍，望女成鳳乃是天下父母的心願。我們為信徒家長沒有經濟條件給子女上最好的學校，或是孩子學習不佳的禱告，求主安慰他們，讓他們深深知道，神是信實美善，絕不虧待愛祂的人。
星期一
中國要求絕大多數的學生在家鄉參加高考，而頂尖的大學又將更多的錄取名額分配給了北京、上海這些一線城市。我們特別為那些成績並不是很好的年輕基督徒來禱告，求主加添他們的信心，一心依靠神，也能克服教會信徒間常有“好成績就是上帝的祝福”等偏誤的觀念。