Feeding the Spiritually Hungry

by John Paul Jackson

When a key figure in the underground Chinese house movement was asked by a reporter how the churches in the U.S could be praying for them, he responded quite shockingly, “stop praying for persecution in China to end, for it is through persecution that the church has grown.” This leader then took this provocative point a step further. “We, in fact, are praying that the American church might taste the same persecution, so revival would come to the American church like we have seen in China.”

This reality that spiritual hunger grows in direct proportion to the corresponding amount of persecution surrounding it is a profound irony. When something is easy and readily accessible it can become mundane and unappreciated. When something is rare and hard to come by—even forbidden—it is savored, revered, and protected. This principle applies today in Bible-based discipleship and teaching.

The underground house church movement in China is growing exponentially. We don’t know exact figures because, quite frankly, these churches are doing a good job of remaining underground. However, reports from missionaries returning from Mainland China describe one of the greatest, albeit quietest, Church movements in history. It can’t even be called a revival because nothing existed there before it to revive.

In addition to prayer, one of the greatest needs in China right now is spiritual teaching. After receiving the Holy Spirit at salvation, the next logical step would be to receive training and discipleship in the gifts, operation, and ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Streams Ministries has recently launched a training center in Hong Kong. We are training and certifying instructors to teach The Art of Hearing God and Understanding Dreams and Visions courses to the English-speaking churches in Hong Kong. However, we’re also translating both of these courses into Traditional and Simplied Chinese. Our goal is once our Hong Kong instructors are comfortable teaching the courses in English, they’ll develop the condence to then translate these spiritual principles into Chinese. The Chinese language and culture have very little Christian infuence. Because of this, translating spiritual principles can be di cult.

Once these courses are translated, we will begin printing both of these courses into Simplified and Traditional Chinese. The translations will be complete by September, however, funding for printing of these Chinese manuals is still needed. If you would like to help us get these courses into Mainland China, please click bellow to give an earmarked donation.