The April Prayer Calendar for the people of Yueyang, China is available for viewing and download. Please take a minute to download this month’s calendar and to print it out and post somewhere where you will be reminded daily to pray for the people of Yueyang!

As you pray;

• Remember those who have yet to hear the Good News of Christ’s death and resurrection.  Pray that obedient Christians will share this life changing news boldly and broadly!
• Remember Christians worshiping in ‘underground’ or unregistered house churches.  Pray that leaders of those churches will faithfully lead their fellowships to grow and multiply.
• Pray that people of peace will be revealed during the month of April, advancing the breadth of the influence of the Gospel in Yueyang.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Thanks for being involved!

In February, China will celebrate “Spring Festival”, also known as “Chinese New Year (正月.)”   The Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar, and almost always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. This year, it just happens that Chinese New Year’s Day falls on Valentine’s Day! February 14, 2010, will usher in the Year of the Tiger (虎.)

In the weeks prior to the holiday, people who are from Yueyang who live and work all over China (mostly in southern China) will battle the huge crowds of people and stand in line for hours at train and bus ticket counters, hoping to find affordable tickets to return home to Yueyang before they are all sold out. (There are some who crowd into Yueyang’s various transportation hubs in order to go other places, but the general tide of people is definitely flowing INTO Yueyang, not away from it.)  Getting home to share a special meal with family on Chinese New Year is the goal of almost every Chinese person.

Traditionally, the New Year holiday lasts for 15 days, with the 15th day being the Lantern Festival (元宵节) . Shops are often closed for st least the first three days of the holiday – often longer. Schools are closed for a month, or more, at this time of year.

The numerous traditions associated with the festival all have a special significance or superstition attached to them. Although modern Chinese will be quick to tell you that they do not believe all these superstitions to be truth, they nonetheless carry on the traditions as part of their Chinese culture; it also keeps their childhood memories alive as they pass them down to younger generations.

Many Chinese people work far from home, with only one opportunity to see their extended family members during the year, on Chinese New Year. For Chinese people who have become Christians during the previous year, Chinese New Year affords them their first opportunity to return to their hometowns, talk to their families about their new faith, and share with childhood friends. For new believers, this can be both joyful and stressful. In a country closed to the Gospel, their news of salvation is not always met with enthusiasm or acceptance.

Many young adults in China have grueling work hours with no free time; they work 16 hours a day, seven days a week; they live at the factories where they work. Chinese New Year is one of the few times during the year that they are able to mingle with people outside their workplace. Chinese New Year is an opportune time for many of them to freely interact with those who can share the Gospel with them.

For some Chinese, appeasing the “kitchen god,” praying in a temple, and scaring away evil spirits by setting off firecrackers are very important rituals. For these people, the holidays are a time of fear, stress and bondage to evil spirits.

• Pray for new Christians who are returning to Yueyang and who will be facing family and friends for the first time since becoming a Christian.  Ask that they would have boldness to share the hope that now is within them!
• Pray for the lost of Yueyang who may encounter the Gospel over the New Year holiday, ask that they would have soft hearts and that those sharing with them will share with clarity and compassion.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Thanks for being involved!

December was a great month for the sharing of the Gospel in Yueyang.  Because of Christmas, many believers had the opportunity to explain the holiday that the secular world tries to say is about a fat, bearded man with a red suit and a sleigh…  We know first-hand of dozens of new believers that believed as a direct result of Christmas outreach events as well as just personal sharing with friends and family!

The Chinese acknowledge Christmas, but they don’t really celebrate it ‘big’ like Americans do.  The big holiday for them in Chinese New Year, which this year is in February.  Please be in prayer for Christians who are preparing this month for large scale outreach efforts that will take place over CNY.

Due to an unforeseen upgrade ‘requirement’ with the software we use to update the Pray4Yueyang website (not the blog – that will remain the same) that we just cannot afford, the way that the site looks and is used will most certainly change in the near future.  We are not exactly sure how things will change, but we appreciate your patience as we figure things out!

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Thanks for being involved!

The December Prayer Calendar for the people of Yueyang, China is available for viewing and download. Please take a minute to download this month’s calendar and to print it out and post somewhere where you will be reminded daily to pray for the people of Yueyang!

December is a busy month for most people and it’s easy to let life’s daily demands steal the time you would normally spend in prayer for the lost around the world.  We want you to know how much we appreciate every minute of prayer you spend on behalf of the people of Yueyang!  We know it’s not easy and we greatly value the time you invest.

This month is not only a busy time for you, it’s a busy time for believers in China as well.  The people of Yueyang do not officially celebrate Christmas, but they are aware that much of the world is celebrating.  This provides a great opportunity for Christians all across the city to naturally share their faith with their family, friends and co-workers.  As you might expect, this also means that spiritual warfare gets stepped up at the same time, the evil one is NOT happy when Christians obediently and boldly share their faith.

Please pray for believers in Yueyang during the month of December!  Eternity is at stake for 1.5 million lost souls.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Thanks for being involved!

As you pray for the people of Yueyang in November, we would like to encourage you to really be in prayer for the existing believers in Yueyang city.  Being a believer in a place where you can be mocked, looked down upon, or even persecuted is not an easy thing.  Many of those believers take it serious to be a “follower of Christ” and they actually do try to be obedient to the things they learn in Scripture – bringing ridicule and persecution not only from non-believers, but also from believers who prefer to be ‘luke-warm’ and to fly under the radar.

Also, don’t neglect to pray for the hundreds of thousands of lost souls living in Yueyang.  Pray that there will be a mighty movement of the Holy Spirit resulting in thousands of new believers during the month of November!

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Thanks for being involved!

October begins with the much anticipated celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.  The actual ‘National Day’ is on the 1st, but this year the celebration will last for an entire week for most schools and some businesses!  That means that millions of people will be traveling across the country, usually to return home and see their families who they may only see once or twice a year.

This holiday is also marked by a noticeable increase in religious persecution as national and local police conduct a far-reaching effort to decrease “crime” leading up to, and during the National Day celebrations.  Please be in prayer for those who are caught up in this “crackdown” on unregistered churches.  Often the arrests are made in the middle of the night, and with no warning and can be very traumatic for the HC pastor’s family and for their congregation.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Thanks for being involved!

September marks the end of summer and students across the city begin the fall ’09 semester. Will you take a moment right now to pray for college and university students in Yueyang. University students in Yueyang face challenges and pressures as they leave their hometowns and come to Yueyang to study that they have never faced before. Often they find themselves feeling vulnerable and alone as they face decisions they have never had to make on their own before. This is a critical tiime in their lives as they cross the threshold of adulthood.

One of the nice things about this time of year is that the hot and humid weather loses a little bit of it’s edge and cooler weather begins to creep in. The result is that the people of Yueyang spend more time outside, talking and playing with their neighbors in Yueyang’s parks and other public spaces.

Many of Yueyang Christians are trying to become more obedient in the area of evangelism and are excited about the fact that so many people are out in public spaces just ‘hanging out’, providing many opportunities to share good news with neighbors and colleagues. Please pray for these faithful believers who are stepping out on faith in order to be obedient to the Scriptural command for ALL believers to share their faith with others.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Will you be involved?

As August arrives in Yueyang, summer is in full swing. Most students are having some sort of ‘summer break’, resuming classes for the new fall term in September. Yueyang is hot, no, Yueyang is REALLY hot in the summer! The pace across the city slows down just a notch or two as people adapt to the heat and general lack of air conditioning in homes and places of business.

One nice side effect of the August heat is that the city’s residents become even more social than usual, invading the city’s parks and public spaces every night with people of all ages who go out after dark to enjoy the ‘relative’ coolness of the evening. It is not uncommon for there to be several hundred to even several thousand people milling around the city square or the Yueyang Tower park. Some Yueyang Christians who are trying to become more obedient in the area of evangelism have been taking advantage of the fact that so many people are out in public spaces just ‘hanging out’. Please pray for these faithful believers who are stepping out on faith in order to be obedient to the Scriptural command for ALL believers to share their faith with others.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Will you be involved?

The month of July in China begins with the celebration of the Anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (中国共产党诞辰).

The Communist Party of China (CPC), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and the ruling political party of the People’s Republic of China and the world’s largest political party. The Communist Party of China was founded in 1921, and came to rule all of mainland China after defeating its rival the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War. The party’s 70 million members constitute 5.5% of the total population of mainland China.

By many estimates, there are more Christians in China (approx 100 Million) than there are Communists Party Members. However, the CCP holds a tight grip on every aspect of life for China’s 1.3 Billion citizens. Please pray for all 70 million members of China’s Communist Party. Ask that those who already have a faith in Christ will live out their faith with bold obedience and that those who do not believe will at least have a chance to hear the gospel explained fairly and clearly in a manner in which they can understand.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Will you be involved?

The month of June in China begins with the celebration of  the “International Children’s Day“  (六一国际儿童节).

When the People’s Republic of China was first established in 1949, the government established a holiday for all primary schools on June 1.  Schools usually hold activities such as field trips to local parks or other free activities on Children’s Day to allow students to have fun.  On June 1, 2009 the day was made even more memorable, as many people remembered the children who died in the massive Sichuan earthquake just a year before.

For many people in America, having a “Mother’s Day” or a “Father’s Day” makes sense, but a day to celebrate “Children” seems strange (isn’t EVERY day children’s day?!)  In many ways, this is a great illustration of the cultural values that have evolved in a country with a one-child policy and every family having their own “little emperor” upon which all the hopes of a family reside.

Pray that families all across Yueyang will come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ during the month of June.  Ask that people would begin to shift their hope for the future away from unrealistic ambitions for their children and onto their Creator and Savior who can meet every need.

If keeping track of the Pray4Yueyang blog is not very convenient for you, and you’d prefer to receive prayer updates delivered to your Email inbox, you can subscribe by giving us your Email address (use the box on the right hand column of this blog’s main page.) If you have any questions, just ask.

Prayer makes a difference. Will you be involved?