Prayer Request 11/26 - 12/2

TuesdayChina overtook India as the top gold importing and gold jewelry country. The insatiable appetite does not include gold sold in Hong Kong, which is favored by Mainland tourists and enjoyed an increase of 28% this year. Believers are buying houses, cars and gold too, but many churches are seeing decline in attendances in weekday services and no visible increase in church’s offering. We pray for a passion for God, hunger for His Word and thirst for spiritual renewal for all churches.
Wednesday
Many Christians have an overly optimistic view of church growth in China which even borders on wishful thinking. Some have claimed that the number of Christians in China will reach 200 million by 2020 which is an utterly irresponsible projection. We praise God for the miraculous growth of the church in China and we pray that they will not lose sight of the vision and passion of evangelism. We ask that the fire of the Holy Spirit will continue to burn strongly throughout the churches in China.
Thursday
The booming period of church growth in China has passed and during the past decade it has slowed down significantly. The future growth of the church there is also projected to be slow as well. Christians remain a minority group in China and many people there have never even heard of Jesus. In many regions of western China it is very difficult to find Christian churches and there are even fewer believers than in other areas. Even in the cities there churches are small, weak, and barely surviving. We pray for a revival of believers and the renewal of their passion to share Christ.
Friday
Since the economic reform there, China has become urbanized and so has the strategy for evangelism. Chinese pastors used to each cover several meeting points and were not familiar with their members. Now, more churches have their own pastors who do not have to travel around. Let us pray for the churches that do not have a pastor and ask the Lord to give them mature believers who are humble and willing to serve so they can care for and feed God’s sheep. We also pray that believers will not dump all the work of caring for others on their pastors.
Saturday
As the use of the Internet has become more prevalent, believers in China can obtain and compare online sermons. This is a trend in the churches there as believers become more educated and intellectual. We pray especially that pastors in China will be bold, wise, and make good application of God’s Word. We also ask the Lord to give believers humility and teachable hearts.
Sunday
Many pastors in mainland China get their training in Hong Kong or Singapore. However, they tend to become “more preaching and less action” like pastors abroad. It is also difficult to apply what they learn in terms of church revival so they create much tension when they return to China. All the training conducted in the past decades has indeed benefited many pastors and helped to improve their Biblical knowledge. We pray for quality students, godliness, and integrity for all of the pastors. May the Lord of the harvest grant us mercy and give His sheep many faithful shepherds.
Monday
The house church movement in mainland China is moving toward being more open. There is more dialogue and sharing of information between the house churches and the Three-self churches so that there is more understanding between the leaders. We pray there will be more exchange among the believers of all churches. We pray for those who worship in the open churches but attend fellowships in the house churches. We ask the Lord for churches that will be more accepting of each other rather than critical or even forbid members to participate in the functions of the other group.

星期二
中國目前已超過印度，成為全球最大黃金首飾市場。這還不包括香港的黃金首飾和投資需求。在中國遊客的推動下，香港今年的黃金首飾需求增長28%。但是教會週間聚會人數卻是下滑，奉獻沒有明顯增加。求主再次挑旺我們愛祂的火熱，更渴慕神的話語和更敏銳於感受聖靈在我們心中的催逼。
星期三
不少人對中國教會未來的趨勢過於樂觀，有人更估計2020年，中國會有2億基督徒。雖然中國在各方面上都一直在轉變，但是宗教的全面開放似乎實現的機率仍微小。我們為神在中國教會裡的工作感恩，求主常提醒我們不要滿足現狀，而失去傳福音的異象及熱忱。願復興的火繼續在中國教會中燃燒。
星期四
過去十年，中國教會的發展顯著減慢，似乎最蓬勃時期已經過去，有人預計未來發展也將趨於緩慢。中國教會在社會仍是少數派，到處走走便知有些人連「耶穌」這名字也未曾聽過。許多地區裡(尤其西部)，教會寥無幾，信主的人少而又少，城鎮的教會也軟弱無力地存活著。求主幫助我們，在這末世主快臨的日子前，能靠主殷勤不懈怠，忠心為真理打美好的仗。
星期五
中國自改革開放以來，促進各地城市化發展，教會傳福音的策略也有顯著改變。以前內地牧者是走訪不同的點，牧師跟會友不太相熟；現時內地教會也漸漸出現有駐堂牧師。但仍未普及。我們為沒有駐堂牧者的教會禱告，求主幫助弟兄姊妹彼此謙卑，配搭服事，一起來照管群羊。求主也提醒信徒，不要因為有了駐堂牧者，就理所當然地把所有事奉關懷的善工都推給牧者負責。
星期六
未來十年中國教會趨勢，基督教將(包括家庭教會)走向公開化、不再隱藏；而網絡資訊發達，會眾得以多方比對，對牧師講道的期望也提高，整體中國教會都正走向高知識化。我們特別為牧者在講台上的供應禱告，求主將當講的話賜給他們，給他們權柄和能力，將真理表明出來。又求主賜下智慧，幫助牧者把真理連結上實際生活，而不是一些抽象難行的規條。我們也為信徒有謙卑、受教的心禱告。
星期日
好些中國教會的教牧同工會到香港、新加坡等不同地方進修，這原是很好的真理造就平台，但卻有學習了『多說少做』的危機。教授者說了一大堆神學理論，卻又未必很能造就人，回去後反成了信仰的張力。近年的培訓的確幫助了不少傳道人，也在知識的傳授有很多成就。我們要為傳道人的屬靈生命禱告，求主時刻操練祂的工人，在祂面前有一顆敬畏、正直及忠誠的心，在生活中活出美好典範。
星期一
家庭教會正走向公開化。以前各不相干的家庭和三自教會之間，開始出現互通。現時資訊發達，雙方能互相得知對方資料，也能透過其他地區的場合彼此認識，令雙方教牧領袖間有更多深入了解，關係能更進一步。求主賜給信徒彼此間有更多交通的機會，我們特別為不少既參加三自教會主日聚會，又在家庭教會參加小組的信徒的禱告，願神賜給教會間多有接納而不是批評和攻擊，或禁止會友參與別教會的活動。