discovering missions - Southern Nazarene University

245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 202
202 Future Church
Hungry for the Gospel
China is hungry for the gospel. We discovered that immediately upon
our arrival in Beijing. On Easter Sunday morning we told our
guide, “We must go to church. It’s Easter Sunday. We are Christians,
and we must go to church.” However, we had a difficult time finding
a church. The taxi driver in that atheistic country was not really familiar
with taking people to church services. But finally, going down
an alley and through a gate in a thick wall, we arrived at a church.
And what a church it was! It was standing room only with over
2,000 people crowded into that building for an Easter Sunday morning
service. With people standing in the back, in the vestibule, and
everywhere else imaginable, we sang a joyous song about the Resurrection.
The atmosphere was electrifying. Then, in that Communist
land where they had just enacted a law threatening immediate imprisonment
for Christian witnessing, a soloist sang about Christian
hope in this life. We felt bathed in the glory of God from that great
group of Chinese believers who had been turned “from darkness to
light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). Fifty people
were baptized that Easter morning.
While all this was going on, our guide became hungrier and
hungrier for the Good News. She began to ask me questions, and before
the day was over, she prayed to receive Jesus Christ as her Savior.
We had a week of Bible studies with her before we left. Because
of the new law, I was not allowed to officially witness to her. But we
found a way. The next day, we went to the Temple of Heaven (I
thought that would be a good place to talk about religion), and we
found a secluded place on the grounds where there was a bench.
Doris, my wife, was the lookout, and we had our first Bible study.
Another day, the three of us rented a paddleboat and went out
into the middle of the lake at Beihai Park for prayer and Bible study.
After a week, we got on a plane to Russia. We were happy because
we were leaving behind a brand-new Christian in China.
On the plane, God placed a Chinese gentleman, Professor Wu
(not his real name), next to me. We talked about his field of study
for a while, and then our discussion turned to spiritual things. He
had not realized that God wanted to be our Friend and that we
could talk to Him. I sensed a deep spiritual hunger in Professor Wu.
After we talked awhile he said, “I would like to pray.”
“Would you like to pray right now?” I responded.
“Yes!” he said.
I then led him in a prayer of repentance and salvation. Right
there in midair, over frozen Siberia, the Chinese gentleman gave his
life to the Lord and was born again. His burden rolled away! The
professor grabbed my hand in gratefulness, squeezed it, and said,
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He squeezed my hand so hard
it seemed ready to break. 24
—Charles Gailey