The house churches in China have recently reported a critical lack of Bibles. Many thousands of new believers cannot obtain even one copy of God's Word.
The shortage is even more acute than normal because of the Chinese Government's decision to decrease the number of Bibles that are officially allowed to be printed. In spite of the intense persecution and suffering imposed on Christians by the communist regime, more than 20,000 souls are coming to Christ each day!
But there are not enough Bibles. This Christian leader from Henan is typical of thousands more when he says,
“ We have hundreds of churches with thousands of converts and some of these churches don't even have one Bible for their entire congregation."
It’s estimated that each Bible distributed in China will eventually be used by at least 300 people. Of these 300 people at least 10 will come to Christ! What an awesome opportunity and responsibility this is for those of us God has blessed so abundantly where we are.
The revival that China has been witnessing has grown even stronger with the recent SARS epidemic. The fear and anguish evoked by the illness has forced people to look for a solid foundation for their lives. Many people found that Jesus Christ was that foundation. Because of this incredible awakening, today there is an even greater need for Bibles.
Thousands of new believers who have recently come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour are left without a written testimony of His Word.
Reports that the limit for officially printed Bibles in China is decreasing will create an even greater need. According to some sources, the Amity Printing Company based in Nanjing, which has official permission to print an annual quota of Bibles, said recently that 519,493 copies were printed in the first quarter of 2003 and is on track to reach the target of two million copies approved for this year.
However, from 1994 to 1999 the total number of Bibles printed each year was, on average, 2.6 million. This means that the number of Bibles legally printed in China has dropped by about 23 percent in recent years.
Underground printing
AsiaLink has for many years been serving Christians inside China who are printing their own Bibles. Hundreds of thousands have been produced in this way, at great personal risk to believers who have put there skills to use in printing presses around China, often working through the night in secrecy.
Our associates have been receiving numerous requests from around China for more Bibles. Unfortunately, we have been unable to provide them with an adequate supply to keep up with the demand this year. We need your help.
This crisis will not go away! It is our responsibility to provide the Word of God to these new Christians who are going to face hardship and rejection as a result of the life that they have now chosen. They will have to find the strength to stand against the flow of a society that rejects Jesus Christ. Many will face jail and many will be tortured. Some will have to go through periods of sleep and food deprivation as a result of choosing to become a Christian.
Equipped for battle
These brothers and sisters need to be equipped with the Word of God to be their strength as they face these trials. They will need to have this Word written on their heart, but how can this happen if they don't know what the Word of God says?
We don’t often make such direct appeals at AsiaLink but this really is an urgent matter that goes to the heart of our God-given mission. We need your help today so that we can begin to quickly arrange to get Bibles into the hands of hungry Christians. Can you help please?