CHINA: WEIDONG’S PASSION TO SERVE THE NEXT GENERATION

JOIN us in praying for Weidong*, a christian in china who is reaching out to and training young believers. With restrictions increasing, and for it to be illegal for those under 18 to be involved in church activities, He’s passionate about seeing more and more young people come to know Jesus.

Weidong’s journey to faith…

Weidong and his parents lived near a place where Christians across China would gather to pray. This was in the 80s and 90s when a new wave of persecution was happening in the country.

Growing up in the area, he witnessed the desires of different believers. He was also touched by his mother’s dedication to prayer. Even today, she still wakes up at 4 or 5 every morning to pray, even when the weather is cold.

Inspired by his parents, Weidong started hosting different believers in his house when these big prayer meetings were happening. He says: “I saw my parents’ resolute faith in God. I told myself that when I grow up, I also need to serve the Lord like they do, even though it might be a small act like making a meal.”

When there wasn’t enough space, he would set up a tent outside, but knowing this wasn’t the safest option for travelling believers, he prayed, “Lord, please help me build another house so everyone can have a safer shelter.” God answered, and Weidong was able to build a bigger home.

SERVING YOUNG PEOPLE

The authorities in China are putting a lot of pressure on the church, and are trying to stop more and more people becoming Christians. One way they are doing this is to prevent young people from going to church. This makes Weidong worry for the future of the church in China: “Our generation has carried the baton from our previous generation. But what’s next? Where is ours? Where is the next generation? There are only a few young people chasing after God.”

To address the need, he decided to build extra rooms in his house and set up a training programme for young people. The biggest room serves as a classroom, and there are two smaller rooms that serve as dormitories for young people to come and learn about Jesus and develop a sound understanding of the Bible and Christian theology.

They started out with six young people, but now have more than 20 students. The youngest is 14 years old, and the oldest is 24. The theology school is free of charge. But there is a cost fr the students – if the authorities found out, they could be in serious trouble.

For safety reasons, all the students stay indoors most of the time. They only take a walk to the town via a route in the basement at weekends.

Ning, a local partner who is supporting Weidong, shares a few prayer directions that other brothers and sisters can pray for: “They want to expand the size of the house so there is more room to study and live well. They lack teachers, and the church is not able to provide more financial support. Third, there will be extra costs such as transportation, meals and so on, if the students will be sent to other churches as trainees.”

Ning continues to share how staying indoors to keep the young people safe can affect the students: “Please pray that the group is able to find ways to enrich the young people’s lives, and they will be fervent to serve God in the future.”

Another local partner, Yingfei*, says; “We praise God for servants like Weidong who are willing to give it all to God in serving the next generation. Let us continue to pray for young people in China, and may God raise up more field workers to reap the harvest.”

*Names changed for security reasons…