NEWSLETTER Min Yin
November 2012 Mainland Chinese students in Helsinki, Finland
Chinese Overseas Christian Mission (COCM) is an inter-‐ denominational mission with the objective of bringing the gospel to the Chinese scattered over Europe and local Europeans through multi-‐facet ministries. ‘Reaching the Chinese to Reach Europe’ is our vision and the mission field is in the UK and Continental Europe. The priority target groups include mainland Chinese students, new immigrants in the UK and Continental Europe and local language speaking ethnic Chinese. The Headquarters is currently in Milton Keynes, UK.
Profile I was born and raised in Shanghai, China. Like many Chinese of my generation, I am an only child of my parents. I left China and came to England doing my masters degree in 2006, when I became a Christian through a gospel event. After working in China for a year, I later went to London doing my PhD degree in Archaeological Science in 2008. Two years later, I joined COCM as a part-‐time communication officer while finishing up my study. Responding to God’s call, I became a missionary trainee with COCM in October 2012, reaching to Chinese students in Europe. This is my first newsletter and my testimony. I sincerely invite you to join me on this journey of faith!
CONTACT Address: COCM, 2 Padstow Avenue, Fishermead, MK6 2ES, UK Telephone: +44 (0) 1908 300 539 Mobile: +44 (0)7810 826 341 E-‐mail: minyin@cocm.org.uk
4 3 2 1
n The mainla
s d Chinese
K et in the U tudents I m
With COCM G
ospel Team i n Dundee UK
“Fill me with your love; reach their hands and hold them tight once again.” As I listened to this worship song riding on a crowded bus in Shanghai, my spiritual eyes were opened and I saw the image of countless hands reaching out, waiting to be held by the Lord. My heart was deeply stirred by this image and I just couldn’t hold back my tears. For the first time I had a close encounter with the urgent need of lost souls in such a vivid way. That was the beginning of 2008. Having been baptized in England for less than a year, I went back home with my newfound conviction to follow Jesus. Chosen before I knew
With siste
y chu rc rs from m
h
a month, I made my decision to become a Christian at a gospel event, prompted by the desire to be a ‘good person’. At the time, I was mainly attracted by the genuine love and care of the Christians I met at church. Deep inside, I did not have a true understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. The first fellowship group meeting I attended as a new believer happened to discuss the topic of “the debt of the gospel”. As I sat there listening to the discussion about the need to widely spread the gospel, the thought of telling the gospel to strangers caused instant fear and trepidation in my heart. But
When I first set foot in England in September 2006, I never thought that one day I would embark on an entirely different journey by God’s gentle leading. Like most Chinese students, I was eager to find opportunities to practice my English and learn about British culture. The local English church seemed to be the ideal place to do both. After attending church for
prompted by the desire to be a ‘good person’
as time went on, I began to have regular church life. Through the practice of spiritual devotion, the Biblical truth was slowly revealed to me. I personally experienced the inner peace and joy of being a Christian. As a result, I started to feel the burden to share the gospel with others. The leader of my fellowship was a missionary. Although I’d never heard of the terms ‘missionary’ or full-‐time Christian service before, somehow I was terrified that one day God might call me to do this kind of work. When I finished my one-‐year study in England, I actually breathed a huge sigh of relief seeing that God did not call me into full-‐time service.
Baptism o f two siste rs by the a church S River Jord TM trip to on during Israel
Lost souls in darkness In September 2008, I received a PhD scholarship from a university in London. After much prayer, I came back to England to further my education. This time, I had a sense that God brought me back not only for me to attain a degree, but He also had a plan for me to accomplish something else. During my stay in London, God took me to a Chinese church and I had many opportunities to get involved in various church ministries. The most joyful moment came when I witnessed young people coming to Christ in the student fellowship I served. During our weekly
6 5
I suddenly felt a very gentle nudge inside my heart. I knew that nudge was from the Lord.
visitations to the detention centre, my heart was touched when I met people in despair and saw how God miraculously restored their life and gave them hope. Meanwhile, short-‐term mission experiences broadened my horizon. Seeing the eager responses of my compatriots everywhere to the gospel, I often prayed that God would send more workers to the harvest field. God’s blessing was also with me in my study. Even though I invested a big chunk of time serving in the church, I was the first among my peers to pass the PhD qualification exam. I came to the conclusion that it would be best if I could be a tent maker serving in the church while advancing my professional career. Then I was confronted by the challenge of full-‐time service again. One night, my pastor was driving me home with a few students in the car when a brother asked him, “How does one know that God calls him into full-‐time service?” “When you see people walking in the darkness, would you not have compassion?” answered the pastor. My heart was greatly stirred by the question in his answer and I silently prayed, ‘O Lord! I do see the people walking in darkness. I do feel compassion for them.’ That very moment I was also trembling with fear of having to give up the academic accomplishment I had worked so hard to achieve. I told God, “Lord! Unless you take away this fear, there is no way I am going to step out of my boat.” His gentle touch Soon, God answered my prayer in a miraculous way. In November 2008, I was at a routine weekly prayer meeting at church and when it was my turn to pray, I suddenly felt a very gentle nudge inside my heart. I knew that nudge was from the Lord. Immediately, my long-‐standing fear towards full-‐time service was
completely gone and instead my heart was filled with inexpressible joy. I knelt down before God as soon as I went home and offered this prayer: “Lord, I am now willing to do anything you ask me to, even if you call me into full-‐time ministry one day.” Another year had passed since I prayed this prayer but things went on as usual in my life. I was wondering perhaps God did not take my prayer seriously. Eventually God’s plan was revealed to me at the end of 2009 when Rev Henry Lu from COCM asked me to consider serving as a part-‐time staff worker at COCM. He suggested that such arrangement might help me to seek further guidance and confirmation from God. I knew Rev Lu With my parents in London and his wife well and had been encouraged by their testimony of leaving their professional jobs in the US and moving their whole family to the UK to respond to God’s call in the mission field of Europe. Now it was my turn to hear the call of serving the Lord, yet my feeling of excitement was mixed with hesitation. I wanted to fulfill my promise before God, but my parents were strongly against it as soon as I told them about my decision. Like many Chinese of my generation, I am an only child and my parents had always been proud of me. I didn’t want to disobey them but I also wanted to follow God’s guidance. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” So If I believed what Jesus said is the absolute truth, would I be willing to submit to him and walk in his way?
8 7
Would I be willing to commit my parents into God’s hand? I continued to seek God’s guidance in my prayers while sharing my struggles with my spiritual elders and Christian friends. In the end, I made up my mind to join COCM despite my parents’ opposition. On my first day at COCM, Isaiah 41:9-‐10 popped out as soon as I opened my Bible for morning devotion. I knew right away it was a confirmation of God’s guidance. He told me, “You are my servant and I have chosen you. Do not fear, for I am with you.” God had taken away my fear completely! The cost of being a disciple Over the next two years, God enlarged my vision to see the rapidly changing landscape in the European mission field. Through the ministries of COCM I came in contact with many more Chinese students, the majority of them had a searching heart for the truth and a longing for everlasting love to heal their brokenness. They reminded me of the years before I met Jesus when I was sitting in darkness, pondering upon the ‘who am I’ question. Many of these young people were open to the gospel and eager to respond. I felt so overwhelmed by the urgency to reach my fellow kinsmen I wanted to ask God what more I could do to help. Meanwhile, living with other missionaries at the COCM mission centre helped me to see mission from a whole new perspective. Gradually I came to understand the cost of being a disciple that Jesus talked about in Luke 14. During those two years, God continued to bless my research and I published two journal articles. As a result my supervisor had high expectation of me because I was on the fast track to completing my thesis. From time to time I had second thoughts about God’s call and started to calculate the ‘cost’ seriously. If I was going to enter full-‐time ministry, what was I going to say to my parents? What would my academic mentors and peers think about me? Would I be willing to give up my ambitions in academia? Would I have a secure future? I wrestled with these questions. God’s final confirmation Just before Christmas in 2011, my supervisor asked me what I would do after graduation. I mustered the courage to tell him that I was considering full-‐time Christian service after graduation, thinking he would have been very disappointed with my decision. Surprisingly, he was very supportive and pleased with what I had already contributed to this research field.
He told me that it was my decision to choose what I wanted to do in the future and that the most important thing was to follow my own heart. Praise the Lord that He spoke to me through my supervisor, reassuring me that my research work was finished and I could move on without any regrets. In spring of 2012, I spent ten weeks at All Nations Christian College to take an intensive mission training course. It was such a privilege to study with many like-‐ minded people and share life with them. It was also a period of quiet time for me to pray and to wait upon the Lord. Just before I was about to leave the college, I received a note in my pigeonhole from an anonymous sender. On it was written, “Take me by the hand, I will take care of you and I will lead you.” These words of encouragement reminded me of Isaiah 41 and I was convinced that they were the words of God’s promise to me. Later, my parents came to visit the UK and stayed with me for a while at COCM. I thank God that even though my parents couldn’t fully understand my choice, they still accepted my decision to work with COCM simply because they loved me. The change in my parents’ attitude was truly a miracle and I knew it was the final and the most important confirmation from God. I do pray that God’s love and blessing will reach my whole family through me because of my decision to follow His guidance. A life from the ashes In my 4-‐year PhD research I often marveled at the mechanism behind the formation of glaze covering the surface of ceramics. One might be surprised to know that these shiny and beautiful glazes are made merely from black and fluffy wood ashes. But when these ashes are heated in fire with temperature as high as 1300°C, they undergo an amazing transformation. This is also the reflection of my life – from ashes to beauty, by the fire of God the refiner. He lifted me from the ash heap and seated me with princes. All I can d o is to submit to Him in the fire and say “You are the potter and I am the work of your hand!”
I will be serving in Europe…
Response Slip
Hundred years ago, Europe was the powerhouse of sending out overseas missionaries. Most of the Chinese Christians of early times were the fruit of these European missionaries. Sadly, Europe is becoming the spiritual desert in recent decades – churches closing down and the number of Christians plummeting. Meanwhile, God brought many Chinese students coming to study in Europe and the door of gospel was wide open so that many students like myself heard this life-‐changing news of Jesus Christ. I want to take the baton and continue to share this good news with many more young students who sail across the sea in hope of having a better life. Now, I also invite you to partner with me to begin my ministry of reaching to the Chinese students in Europe. Together we will advance God’s kingdom in Europe!
The ministry need for me will be about £2400 per month. I am praying God will give me: 5 families/individuals who will support me for £100 pm 10 families/individuals who will support me for £50 pm 20 families/individuals who will support me for £20 pm 100 families/individuals who will support me for £10 pm
Dear Min, I want to partner with you as you begin your ministry of ‘Reaching the Chinese to reach Europe’ through COCM. By God’s grace, I will continue to stand with you in months ahead. My faith commitment is to: PRAY: I will lift you up ☐ daily, ☐ weekly, or ☐ as God prompts me (please tick one).
CARE: I will do something to support and encourage you ☐ weekly, ☐ monthly, ☐ annually (please tick one). GIVE: enclosed is my gift of £＿＿＿＿ Give regularly: I will send regular support to COCM, referenced for your ministry, in the amount of £_______ ☐ monthly, ☐ quarterly, ☐ annually (please tick one). Name: Address: Phone: E-‐mail: Please return this slip, with your cheque payable to COCM and Gift Aid Form (if applicable) to COCM Headquarters. Please contact COCM if you want to donate via bank transfer or standing order.
Address: 2 Padstow Avenue, Fishermead, Milton Keynes, MK6 2ES, UK Telephone: +44 (0)1908 234 100 E-‐mail: cocm@cocm.org.uk