Open Doors Launching New Project for China
An international Christian ministry to persecuted Christians is launching a project to help strengthen and encourage believers in China.
An international Christian ministry to persecuted Christians is launching a project to provide 3.4 million Bibles, Study Bibles, commentaries, hymnals and other resources to help strengthen and encourage believers in China.
Through the Lighthouse Project – China for 2005, Calif.-based Open Doors USA aims to distribute 400,000 more resources.
With some of the fastest-growing house churches in the world being located in China, Open Doors USA said it believes the Body of Christ in the West needs to mobilize.
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“There are many cultic movements in China today,” says Open Doors USA President Dr. Carl Moeller. “That is why Open Doors is focusing on training pastors and church leaders. To do that we will provide 238,000 Study Bibles along with other tools they can use to understand God’s Word and teach it accurately. In addition, we will train 8,400 pastors, lay leaders, Sunday School teachers and youth workers across China. By targeting key leaders of the house churches, Open Doors will be able to impact thousands of Christians.”
According to Open Doors, there are an estimated 60 to 80 million Christians in China, making it one of the most heavily populated Christian countries in the world.
“Unfortunately, it also makes Chinese believers one of the largest bodies of persecuted Christians in the world,” Open Doors reported, “especially those who worship in unregistered house churches – which includes an estimated 75 percent of all Christians in China.”
“Pastors are thrown into prison. The distribution of Bibles and Christian literature is restricted, especially in the countryside,” the ministry added.
On Open Doors’ World Watch List of countries where Christians are most severely persecuted China is currently ranked No. 9. Also, since 1999, the U.S. State Department has designated China a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom.
On Mar. 1 the communist government instituted a new law governing religion in China. In effect, the law could make life harder for those Christians already suffering persecution.
