FLORIDA MEMBERS SUPPORT PROJECT PANDA
by Audrey Folkenberg
Florida Conference is partnering with the Chinese Union Mission in Project Panda which supports 40 indigenous two-person church-planting teams. These teams share the love of Jesus in unreached areas of China. As a result, 1,822 people were baptized this past year.
Recently, one church-planting team shared an experience from their ministry efforts:
“People finally seemed to be listening. They were not turning us away, and a few had chosen to study the Bible with us. We had joy in our hearts, but suddenly, we faced another challenge! We had been reported to the local government as members of a cult. Leaders from the religious bureau came to our home and banned us from sharing Jesus and worshipping there on Sabbaths.
“Desperately, we notified members from our far-away hometown of our plight. They fasted and prayed for us for several days as we prepared, with sadness, to leave this unreached city. Then, a miracle happened. An official from the bureau showed up at our door and gave us a permit. He told us that we were free to invite others to our home to share about Jesus. Our hearts now leapt for joy.”
For updates of the Chinese church-planting teams, contact Project Panda staff at kingdomgrowth@chumadventist.org