Breaking Christian News on The Gospel Herald

The population growth of Asians has outpaced that of Hispanics in the last 10 years, especially near California’s urban centers, according to The New York Times. As we reported earlier this week, some of the largest increases in the Asian population were in wealthy white suburbs in the San Gabriel Valley.

Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin will be sharing his life testimony at a large-scale evangelistic conference held in San Francisco Bay Area on September 7th. New York Times best-selling author and pastor Francis Chan will be sharing the stage with Lin to address a common question that people today ask: What really matters in life?

Will Graham, Billy Graham’s grandson, preached in the same Kenyan city that his grandfather preached 53 years ago to more than 20,000 at the Celebration for Peace.

Yuan Zhiming, Xiao Ming and Christian celebrities from mainland China led an evangelistic and Bible-study conference in Tokyo days ago. Over 2,500 Chinese throughout Japan participated in the event. Around 230 decided to place their faith in Jesus Christ and around a dozen or more expressed their desire to serve full-time in country’s mission field.

A pioneer in Chinese mission ministries and expert in China missions recently said the Chinese government has given silent approval to the rapidly growing "house churches" or those that did not register with the authorities. He predicted an increasing environment for growth of Christianity in the country with a quarter of the world's population.

FORT ERIE, Ont. (INS)— Intercede International’s work with indigenous First Nations ministries in Canada has deep roots, going back over 37 years. Now, since the sudden passing of Rev. Ross Maracle, this First Nations work is going through a transition. Three ministries are emerging with strong ties to each other. One of them is based in Attawapiskat, Ontario—a community that has been in the mainstream news much in the past few months.

Thousands of Indonesians converted to Christianity during the Stephen Tong’s evangelistic conferences in the country with the world’s largest Muslim population. Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministries International (STEMI) announced on their Facebook fan page that the events were held on five Indonesian islands – Ambon, Manokwari, Kab, Sorong, and Kota.

“Gospel going out of China” is this generation’s greatest evangelical dream both locally and internationally. The long road of spreading the Gospel carries the wonderful wishes of innumerable Chinese church priests and gathers the blood and sweat of the older generation of Chinese shepherds.

China's leading ram of economic development are in the country's Eastern coast, where Christian missions was also the most active in the beginning of the 20th century. Was this a coincidence or destiny? A returning overseas professor of the Peking University, through research, discovered the intimate connection between Christianity and economic development.

KIEV, Ukraine (INS)— It may still be winter, but a Spring of Life is blooming in Ukraine! Intercede International partner Father’s House—an indigenous Christian ministry based in Kiev, Ukraine—has started a new crisis centre with that name for street children and a help line for children in distress.

With the rapid internet and transportation development in the 21st century, not only has communication become easier, but the interactions between countries and citizens have also improved. Besides, some regions still find it tough to accept missionaries, and thus Christians are inclined to use the internet for proselytizing rather than to appoint missionaries to go to the mission field for long-term missions.

Missions Fest Vancouver is celebrating their 30th anniversary of bringing awareness of world missions to the local church. This year's theme is "His Story Revealed: Celebrating the Growth of the Global Church.”

Students and leaders, who participated in the 2013 Passion Conference, gave more than $3.3 million to fund 23 causes with 19 partner organizations in the fight against modern-day slavery that affects 27 million people today.

“Surrender your plans and allow God to surprise you. God’s invitations may be unexpected,” said Tom Lin, Urbana conference director and InterVarsity’s vice president. “You and I are called to share God’s Kingdom news not just for our campuses, not just for our cities, but also for the ends of the earth – the unfamiliar places, the unfamiliar cultures, and for unfamiliar friends.

While most people regards Christmas as just one of the many holidays of the year, or the best period for family gatherings and reunions, Chinese-Indonesian evangelist Rev. Stephen Tong will host a Christmas outreach in Taipei.

The Chinese Conservative Baptist Church held the 60th anniversary celebration in Kaohsiung from the 18th to the 20th to celebrate the missionary work in Taiwan. The celebration's theme surrounded unity, connecting, caring, and missionary work, to commemorate the American missionaries who came to Taiwan like a seedling that sacrificed itself to enable the formation of many more seeds - in turn spurred the development of 42 churches across the whole Taiwan.

FORT ERIE, Ont. (INS)—What does persecution have to do with beauty? Read on! Beauty For Ashes is the theme of this year’s International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) in Canada, which will take place on Sunday, November 4th.

Chinese Christians gathered for a three-day mission conference to reaffirm the importance of spreading the gospel through media. Over 350 people consisting of ministers and lay believers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, United States, Canada, and Australia participated in “The Miracle is Coming” from August 13th – 15th at Golden Palm Tree Resort in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The world's largest book exhibition at sea, the Logos Hope, will be visiting Hong Kong in mid November, and OM HK is currently preparing to welcome its arrival.

Although there are many churches and seminaries in the world, and many graduates of theology and people who are willing to spread the Gospel, there has not been a truly great missionary. Recently, Pastor Stephen Tong spoke on the topic of a great missionary in the STEMI Limited newsletter, and introduced to us some great missionaries in history.

PAKISTAN (INS)—God is performing miracles in Pakistan, where at least two people have been raised from the dead through God’s power working through the people of Pakistan Gospel Assemblies—an indigenous ministry partnered with Intercede International.

INDIA (INS)— People are being healed miraculously and one woman was even raised from the dead in India, as God’s power works through indigenous missionaries connected with Intercede International.

On May 21st, two blue plaques were unveiled in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, commemorating the famous British Christian missionary to China James Hudson Taylor.

Asian Outreach honorary president Dr. David Wang was invited by Missions Fest Vancouver as its keynote speaker. In one of its seminars, he described China’s churches as the continuation of the book of Acts, where they are growing continuously under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Yet, what is the actual outlook of the church in China today?

Chinese Coordination Center of World Evangelism (CCCOWE) recently published the mission developments and prayer needs of Japan’s mission field on its website. While Japan has been known for the difficulty in spreading the gospel, the Chinese churches in Japan have been revealing a unity in seeking for a gospel revival.