2011
ISSUE
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《未得之地》
From the General Director Hebrew history tells us that God’s chosen people have been scattered among the nations since the Old Testament time. A significant part of their history is about the Diaspora, the dispersion of the Jewish people from their original homeland into foreign areas. The Apostle Paul grew up in a Jewish diaspora family in the New Testament era, and his missionary work also began by reaching out to the Jewish diaspora community. Today, people all over the world are taking part in an unprecedented global migration, and a large number of them are not forced to leave their home country, they do so to find opportunities to pursue a better life. More and more people groups are spreading all over the world and millions of people are constantly on the move. This growing trend has created new mission frontiers where the traditional method of sending missionaries to isolated geographical locations cannot be applied without necessary adjustments. Last October, during the Third Lausanne Congress on Global Evangelization, mission organizations and church leaders worldwide raised the awareness about the importance and urgency of finding effective strategies to reach out to the Diaspora of a given nation. In Europe, we are finding more and more Chinese people who leave China by choice to come here to study, work, and settle down. They are the Chinese Diaspora that the Mission of COCM has been reaching out to over the past 60 years.
INSIDE Evangelising ~ The observations of mainland Chinese students ~Maggie Siu ~Morning Mao ~Feng Liu ~Debbie
In recent years, we have seen a rapid increase in the number of overseas Chinese students coming to Europe. Currently this is the group within the Chinese Diaspora that we have the most extensive contact through our ministry. These young people set sail across the ocean with hopes, dreams and an open mind. They carry no baggage from the past and are free to explore new things in Europe. Therefore they tend to be more receptive to the Gospel than others in the overseas Chinese community. Furthermore, this generation of “after 80s” and even “after 90s” young people will be the future pillar and vital force of China. If a significant number among them are coming to Christ, they might become the movers and shakers to influence society wherever they go. Many churches and mission organizations in Europe, and especially in the UK, have seized the moment to focus on evangelizing the overseas Chinese students. But the length of study at a UK university is quite short and new strict rules on immigration make it harder for foreign students to stay after they finish their degree courses. It is a huge challenge to get in touch with the students and make the Gospel meaningful to them during their brief stay. Meanwhile, the makeup of this overseas student group is undergoing noticeable changes. More and more are coming at a much younger age. Having brought up with the influence of China’s pop culture, even older students are different from the same age students that were here a decade ago. It is difficult for those of us who live outside of China to know the thinking of these students right away when we first meet them. To be effective in evangelizing and equipping, we need to gain a fuller understanding of these young people among us. We devote this issue of COCM Link to observe from different perspectives the unique characteristics of this new generation of overseas students, the needs they are keeping inside and the challenges they are facing collectively. We hope to stimulate more in depth interactions with them and to develop more effective ministry strategies according to their situations. We thank the Lord for calling local believers throughout Europe to partner with Chinese Christians to serve and care for the overseas Chinese students. I believer it is out of “His good, pleasing and perfect will” that God brings this generation of young people out of China and disperses them all over Europe. Let us follow God’s heart and win these young souls for Christ.
Rev. Henry Lu
神恩澤僑胞 福音遍全歐
Reaching the Chinese to Reach Europe
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