Desiring God Ministries - tons of free videos, downloads, books, and sermons by John Piper Going Worldwide - learn more about our ministry to China's unreached people groups
Corazon de Dios - share this evangelistic site with a Spanish speaking friend
Living Waters - the best tracts in the world and other evangelism resources
Wretched Radio - the best Christian program ever, with Todd Friel
Way of the Master - Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron teach you about Biblical evangelism
After only having read the first couple chapters of this book, I went ahead and purchased 6 more copies that I will be giving away to friends who are ministering among Muslims! I've since almost finished the book (only 1 1/2 chaps to go) and I have not been disappointed. Its really not a long book, but packed with Gospel-saturated, God-glorifying wisdom on how to point Muslims to Jesus Christ!
I answered a few questions earlier today via e-mail about the
status of the ministry taking place among the Hui Muslim
nationality in China.
I don't consider myself an expert on the Hui, but we have
spent considerable time over the last 8 or so years living in
and among them. My son was even born in a city dominated
by Hui Muslim culture.
The Hui (or, Hui Hui, as they have sometimes been called)
number more than 10 million in China and are the largest
(by population) Muslim people group in the nation.
Here are the questions I was asked, followed by my answers:
1. What is the current status of the church among the Hui?
Is it accurate to say that there no established works among them, underground or otherwise?
--- I would agree with that. Definitely nothing strongly
"established". but there are many scattered believers and small,
loosely organized fellowships of new believers in various places.
2. How many known believers are among the Hui to your knowledge?
--- A friend of mine, who is much more of an expert on the Hui than
me, said that the Hui church was estimated to have 50 believers around
the year 2000 and that has grown to maybe as many as 5000 today (out
of 11 or so million).
3. What is your strategy in reaching the Hui, if you feel comfortable sharing?
--- I wouldn't say that I have a special strategy just for the Hui,
but our focus is primarily on sharing and explaining the
Gospel to more rural, lower-working class Hui, and teaching
the Bible to those who do show interest or become believers.
I have another friend who feels like he's called to reach the
Hui in the cities and in the marketplace. I just feel like the
rural people are more open to talk and there are more
opportunities to talk freely in those settings than in cities.
4. What challenges are there in ministry among the Hui?
--- I can't think of anything that wouldn't also be true among other Muslims or people groups with a strong non-Christian religious background. For new believers, there's a lot of bad pressure from families and societies. A lot of people are friendly with you and like you until their friends and family start becoming Christians, and then you'll be seen as an enemy of sorts.
5. What other strategies do you think can be employed to reach the Hui?
--- The most unique thing I know of right now is a project to reach out to the growing number of Hui who are using the internet. Some friends are using targeted websites and online ads to point Hui to online bibles and evangelistic sites and forums. They are having quite a bit of success.
6. What do you think about the effectiveness of a Westerner engaging the Hui in ministry compared to a Han Chinese Christian doing the same?
--- There are great advantages, and some disadvantages. For instance, although Westerners carry some baggage in the eyes of Muslims related to the distant past, Han Chinese are seen as more recent enemies in land and cultural wars that have been fought. They don't mingle much, and definitely don't eat in each others homes. However, as Westerners, we are constantly invited into Hui homes and have even convinced Hui to come over and eat with us.
The disadvantages relate mostly to cultural and linguistic differences. Han Chinese in general share much of the same broader culture with the Hui, and speak at least a form of the same language... making communication less of a barrier. That being said, a Han believer from certain places in eastern China might not be able to speak to a rural Hui farmer from certain pockets of western China any better than someone fresh over from America! The dialects can be that different!
7. Are there opportunities for Han Chinese Christians to minister to Hui?
--- Yes! Opportunities abound for Western or Han missionaries to engage the way in countless ways. The Hui are rich and poor, and live in countless cities and contexts. The sky is the limit on what can and should be done to reach them!
Thank you so much for your prayers and continued support! We'll soon be returning home to China for the longest term we've ever served, and we need all the help we can get during these final months. If you've committed to support our ministry, please don't wait any longer to begin, so that our departure is not delayed.
God is good and has sustained us in so many ways through this extremely busy season, although my wife and I both agree that the time we spend traveling, sharing, and ministering here in America seems more physically and emotionally draining than our missionary work in rural western China!
Recently, I've been sharing in many churches about 5 effective ways to pray for missionaries. I'm going to share these with you now, along with specific details related to our personal situation:
Open Doors - Pray that God would open up the door for us to live in the specific place He would have for us to return in western China this summer. The situation for foreigners in China is unstable right now, so we need God to move on our behalf!
***Please also pray that God would continue opening the doors of specific churches and the hearts of pastors and believers who would faithfully support us and send us on our way!
Boldness - This request is primarily for me as I prepare to return to our work in China for 3 1/2 weeks in May. God has given me boldness and passion to speak to many churches here in America about the unreached of western China, now may He also grant boldness to continue proclaiming the Gospel to the lost Muslims and Tibetans!
Protection - I've said this many times before, the most dangerous thing physically about ministering in China is just being out and about on the public highways. Pray for traveling mercies as I crisscross thousands of miles of northwest China in May! (and also for our family as we continue traveling here in America through the Spring)
Wisdom - We have some major decisions to make in the near future, such as:
1) Where exactly will we make our new home? (our things are all in storage)
2) How will we convince the authorities to give us a residence permit? (a yearly challenge)
3) How do we organize our lives so as to spend as much time as possible among the unreached?
Refreshment - Pray that we would be refreshed daily as we wash ourselves with the Word of God and commune with Him in prayer! And please, please feel free to send us a word of encouragement anytime, or speak with us and hug our necks whenever you see us. We are all part of His Body, and work together in His Kingdom, no matter how far we might be separated physically!
Thank you again for your love, prayers, support, sacrifice, kindness, helpfulness and more!
I probably wouldn't have noticed this particular message were it not for an e-mail I received that evening (actually, New Year's morning in China) from one of John Piper's co-workers saying that Pastor John had just read one of my blog posts in a sermon he was preaching
(I had no idea how or why Pastor John would read one of my blog posts in his sermon until I actually listened to the sermon. The article that I had penned a few weeks prior did help to emphasize some key points that Piper has tried to promote for years.)
Please watch or listen to this sermon and be blessed by John Piper's Biblical clarity and conviction in sharing this much-needed message!
I've been warned that I'm going to be preaching this morning just after the pastor announces the newly selected church name to the congregation. He told me so that I would "be prepared" just in case some of the people became upset with the change of the long-held name. (Evidently the business meeting which decided on the change was under-attended.)
It got me to thinking about the huge differences between the visible church here in America and in China. Here are a few, in no particular order:
1) In America, we take church names for granted. Individual church names and church signs are almost non-existent throughout the communist nation. Even the official government-sanctioned churches in the largest cities of eastern China are only able to promote the church's name in big gold letters on the facade of their building. Church signs, as we know them here in America, would be considered illegal propaganda throughout China.
2) While many American churches dispute bitterly over bulding programs and location changes, most churches in China have no "permanent" location at all, but meet in homes or other temporary locations whenever it is safe. Those few churches that are permitted to exist in the public sphere (mostly in large cities or pockets of eastern China) have little authority to move their locations on a whim, but must stay on the property that was allotted to them by the local government.
3) Church steeples in America are seemingly as abundant as the minarets of Saudi Arabia (or the Muslim enclaves of western China where we live). In China, it is extremely rare to spot a church steeple, cross, or any outward sign of Christianity. Often, when one is visible, it is just a museum or the remains of a Catholic or Orthodox church from years gone by. A missionary friend once told me that you could jump on a motorcycle and ride for twelve days straight into the heart of western China and never spot one visible sign of Christianity.
Once when traveling in a remote, mountainous region of west-central China, we had heard that a fairly large church did exist, and that it had a surprisingly large building and visible presence in the heart of that particular town. As we drove down one of the main streets toward what we assumed was the city center, we were thrilled to glimpse a red cross jutting up into the sky many blocks away (albeit nearly obscured by countless power lines and street lamps)!
When is the last time you rejoiced at the sight of a church steeple?
When did you last thank God for your church's building, property, and even its name?
And have you ever wondered how Chinese churches grow so fast without any of these things?
Whenever the visible church gathers together for worship, there will almost always be two types of people in the crowd; the true worshipers of Jesus, and the non-worshipers.
True worshipers praise the Lord joyfully and with great gratitude, knowing that all of the condemnation they deserved as sinners was poured out on Jesus, and that they have been washed with the infinitely precious blood of the spotless Lamb of God. These believers do not worship out of habit or ritual in order to gain favor with god (such as superstitious Buddhists or Catholics might do), but out of love for Jesus.
True worship delights in Christ and desires to see Him exalted above everything on the earth. This kind of worship brings people low and humbles them, while simultaneously filling them with joy as they experience just a foretaste of what it’s like to be eternally united to Him!
If what I’ve just described seems foreign to you, then maybe you are one of the second type of person who may be found in a worship service.
Non-worshipers are those who attend worship physically, but do not engage spiritually. They might clap their hands or mouth the words to the songs, but their heart is not in it. I know everyone has seasons in life when they fail to engage in worship as they should, but that's not what I'm referring to here. I am describing those who have no spiritual life whatsoever. Instead of Christ being King of Kings in their hearts, the cares of the world and of the “self” are master. Jesus is not treasured in the heart of this kind of person. The world and flesh are treasured instead.
I write from experience, because this is how I personally spent much of my teenage years. I grew up in church, but spent many years in the pew as an enemy of God in my mind. But God opened my eyes. Instead of striking me down for the blasphemy of daring to ascribe to God in song words and attributes that I did not believe or even understand, He had mercy on me and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes one night to see the simple, glaring fact that although I was physically in the church, I did not know the Lord of the Church. I was convicted. I cried out to God sincerely for the very first time. My eyes were opened. His Word came alive and the Gospel became precious to me, and true worship began to flow from a grateful heart.
I pray that all non-worshipers in our churches today would awake to see the glory of God in Jesus Christ, repent of their idolatry, and begin an eternity of knowing, loving, and glorifying the Blessed Savior!
Just for a moment, try to imagine thousands of small villages, scattered throughout valleys, covering hillsides, and dotting ridgetops for as far as you can see every direction. Some are full of Muslims and feature a prominent mosque towering above the houses and the trees. Others are home to Tibetan Buddhist people and colorful prayer flags wave and flap in the wind on poles jutting up from every rooftop. Even more villages are home to ancestor-worshiping Chinese peasants, and the most prominent feature in the village is a bright red flag with yellow stars flying high above the local school house: the perpetual sign of the ever-present Chinese Communist Party.
None of the afore-mentioned villages look exactly alike, yet all have one thing in common: they do not celebrate Christmas. The lack of holiday festivity is not because they are "grinches" who hate to have fun, nor due to poverty or an inability to buy proper gifts for the children. The principal reason they do not celebrate Christmas is because they know nothing about true Christianity and the person of Jesus Christ!
The vast majority of the people in northwest China have never heard anything true about Jesus (just as most of us couldn't speak coherently for more than thirty seconds about any of the other major religions of the world). That is why we are giving our lives for the sake of the Gospel in this unreached place, that they might not just "have Christmas" but know and love and worship the Christ whose birth we celebrate!
We are so blessed to get to enjoy this Christmas here in America with our family! However, our hearts really do ache to return home to China as soon as possible to continue sharing the Gospel with so many of our friends and neighbors who do not know Jesus!
To those who are supporting us with your prayers and finances we thank you so very much. Please join us in giving God glory for the "indescribable" gift of His Son this Christmas, and pray that the Lord speed up our return* to China in the coming new year!
Merry Christmas! Benjamin, Deysi, Gabriel, Ariel, & Abriana West
*We need as many of you as possible to join our team of regular supporters (senders!). You can use the following link to set up a regular monthly gift to our ministry:
I can't believe its already December! Before 2012 hits, let me ask you to please consider us in your year end giving. The Lord has always provided for all of our needs, but He has always used our family and friends in Christ (and the occasional stranger) to do it. You can make a one time donation or set up a regular monthly gift on this page: http://www.iphc.org/directory/ben-and-deysi-west
But most of all, please, please, please continue to pray for us....
But most of all, please, please, please continue to pray for us....
But most of all, please, please, please continue to pray for us....
But most of all, please, please, please continue to pray for us....
Here's another quick update on what's happening with our ministry and how you can pray:
1) My wife is currently in China on a short 10 day trip with some friends from Knoxville, Tennessee. They are back in the area that we consider our home in China, visiting friends new and old, sharing the Gospel, and praying for the unreached people there. My wife wrote me today and said that she feels she is "falling in love with China like she never has before". After being away for nearly 5 months, this is definitely an answer to our prayers!
Please pray for my wife and this small team, that the Lord would give them opportunities to proclaim the Gospel and break their hearts once again for the people of northwest China!
2) Our good friends and teammates, Jose and Eloisa (and their two young boys Daniel & Samuel), have just departed their home in northwest China to journey back to Mexico for a few months. The primary goal of their trip is for Jose to get his teaching credentials so that he can teach Spanish in the future at Chinese universities. They will be traveling for upwards of a week and passing through Russia, Spain, and even Morocco (where Eloisa ministered previously) on their journey home to central Mexico.
Pray for traveling mercies and divine appointments as Jose and Eloisa travel with their two boys (2 and under!) back to Mexico throughout the next couple weeks!
3) As I mentioned in last month's prayer requests,
"In December, 20 people from all over North America will carry literally TONS of Bibles and tracts into China and then spend 3 weeks crisscrossing the country distributing Christian literature, sharing the Gospel one-on-one, and praying for the unreached. All in all, they will visit nearly 70 distinct locations and distribute tens of thousands of Bibles and tracts."
Well, this team is departing for China momentarily! I'm sitting at the team leader's home in Virginia right now (1:45 am) and expecting him to wake up any moment to head to the airport (along with three of his kids who are going along. (He just came out of his room!).
Please pray for all the logistics involved, and for each of these people (wisdom, protection, boldness, love for God and passion for His glory), and for the countless thousands who will hear and/or read the Gospel for the first time in the coming days as a result of their labors!
Thank you so much for thinking of us! Let me close out this update with a [thought on prayer](http://www.puritanfellowship.com/2008/07/james-hudson-taylor-powerful-quotes-on.html) by the famous missionary to China, [Hudson Taylor](http://www.ccel.org/t/taylor_jh/):
> _"Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power."_
Here's a quick update on what's happening with our ministry and how you can pray:
1) My family and I just concluded a 9+ week, 65 day, 29 state, 12,000 mile road trip that took us to the Rocky Mountains, the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes, New England, New York, the Carolinas, and the Deep South. Opportunities abounded on this trip to share about what God is doing in China! We also made new friends, met old ones, and spent time with many of our loved ones. Praise God for keeping us safe (and sane) on such a long trip with our three little ones in tow.
Please pray that the Lord would provide the rest of our needed support so we can return to China soon!
2) While we were traveling, we had a large team visit our target region in northwest China. I made schedules for the teams and kept in contact with them as they spent weeks ministering among Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists in some of the most unreached areas of the planet! All in all, the four teams (25+ people!) spent time in dozens of remote, needy locations and left us with many new contacts.
Pray for Jose and Eloisa as they begin the work of following up with these people!
3) We are getting ready to host the largest Bible-smuggling and tract-distributing team in the history of our ministry! In December, 20 people from all over North America will carry literally TONS of Bibles and tracts into China and then spend 3 weeks crisscrossing the country distributing Christian literature, sharing the Gospel one-on-one, and praying for the unreached. All in all, they will visit nearly 70 distinct locations and distribute tens of thousands of Bibles and tracts.
Please pray for me (as I prepare their itineraries), for each of these people (wisdom, protection, boldness), and for the countless thousands who will hear/read the Gospel for the first time as a result of their labors!
Here's a code for Free Shipping for those who purchase any shirt from our China "Don't Waste Your Life"online t-shirt store from October 29th – 30th, 2011.
Use the coupon code WITCHINGHOUR when checking out.*
These t-shirts are especially suited to those who will be traveling to China.
They are sure to encourage many curious Chinese people to approach you and ask
what it means exactly not to "waste your life"!
Someone recently wrote me sharing the following concern:
"I'm amazed at how you've gotten away with having a blog about being a missionary in China!
Your cover is pretty thin."
I think this was supposed to be a warning of some sort, but the concerns that this gentlemen
have about my blog are generally unfounded. Here is what I wrote in response:
"No worries! If you look closely, you won't find anything on the blog that gives away our
precise location and especially nothing talking about WHEN or WHERE we will be on any
given day. Our names are also aliases and there are other safeguards as well. We've never
had any trouble except with ourselves... the biggest problem for missionaries in "closed"
countries is the fear of man and a desire for security that tends to drown out boldness. So
pray that we would "boldly proclaim" the Gospel, as John, Jesus, Stephen, Paul and
others did!"
status of the ministry taking place among the Hui Muslim
nationality in China.
I don't consider myself an expert on the Hui, but we have
spent considerable time over the last 8 or so years living in
and among them. My son was even born in a city dominated
by Hui Muslim culture.
The Hui (or, Hui Hui, as they have sometimes been called)
number more than 10 million in China and are the largest
(by population) Muslim people group in the nation.
Here are the questions I was asked, followed by my answers:
1. What is the current status of the church among the Hui?
Is it accurate to say that there no established works among them, underground or otherwise?
--- I would agree with that. Definitely nothing strongly
"established". but there are many scattered believers and small,
loosely organized fellowships of new believers in various places.
2. How many known believers are among the Hui to your knowledge?
--- A friend of mine, who is much more of an expert on the Hui than
me, said that the Hui church was estimated to have 50 believers around
the year 2000 and that has grown to maybe as many as 5000 today (out
of 11 or so million).
I've been warned that I'm going to be preaching this morning just after the pastor announces the newly selected church name to the congregation. He told me so that I would "be prepared" just in case some of the people became upset with the change of the long-held name. (Evidently the business meeting which decided on the change was under-attended.)
3) Church steeples in America are seemingly as abundant as the minarets of Saudi Arabia (or the Muslim enclaves of western China where we live). In China, it is extremely rare to spot a church steeple, cross, or any outward sign of Christianity. Often, when one is visible, it is just a museum or the remains of a Catholic or Orthodox church from years gone by. A missionary friend once told me that you could jump on a motorcycle and ride for twelve days straight into the heart of western China and never spot one visible sign of Christianity. 
