UNDERGROUND UNIVERSITY (UU) CHINA

UU 차이나

To enable the church in China to remain one body with the church around the world today and the church throughout history, at a time when the Chinese government is trying to sever both types of connections.

2024 UU CHINA TRAINING

The UU China participants made up the most eclectic group that we had ever seen for a training. The majority of the participants were pastors of unregistered churches. There was also one man who spent five years in prison for his vocal work in human rights (not for gospel work). There was a famous researcher and speaker who was not a Christian but could be said to be a “God-fearer” in the sense that he often lectures on Biblical materials and is sympathetic to the Christian message. And finally, there was one participant, who first heard the gospel many years ago in China. She never fully committed to the Lord and has spent the last few years going back and forth between her father’s Buddhism and Christianity.

Since we knew there were several members of the training who hadn’t yet trusted in Jesus, we invited people to make a commitment to Christ and offered baptism. The woman who first heard the gospel over 30 years earlier, trusted in Jesus and requested baptism! A baptism was a first for a UU China training!

Pastor Foley baptizes the Chinese sister.

For the trainees, particularly the ones who came directly from mainland China, the training was “life-giving” for them.

Below are a few of the testimonies from the participants:

I felt so strengthened by this training, since I often feel alone in China. I don’t have people to talk to about my suffering and trauma. This training made me feel so comforted, since it gave me the opportunity to talk about these things.

The last three days made my heart feel so many things. I kept asking God, “Why have you brought me here?” I didn’t feel like I deserved to be here. But today, I learned very clearly how we should understand and respond to suffering.

I haven’t cried as much as I cried here. I’ve not only experienced persecution from outside of the church, but I’ve also experienced a lot of suffering from within the church. This training gave me the tools on how to deal with that trauma.

Most Chinese pastors don’t have the ritual/routine of family worship, but I now realize how important it is to heal from trauma.

I have so many church members that have experienced different kinds of trauma, and I never knew how to help them. Dr. Foley’s trauma training helped me to know how to help those who are hurting.

Before this training, I didn’t talk much about persecution. In fact, I was afraid of it. But as a result of this training, I feel like I had a kind of epiphany. I had an overcoming in my heart. I am now prepared for what will come.

CLOSING – THE LORD’S SUPPER

We closed the training, as we often do, by celebrating the Lord’s Supper together. But this Lord’s Supper celebration was not an ordinary one.

Shortly before the Lord’s Supper, we learned of a Chinese pastor, who was arrested in 2023 for his gospel ministry. His family had minimal information about him, and they also had minimal support from their local church body, due to the Chinese government’s pressure on the church members.

During the communion service, we saved the bread and juice to share with the imprisoned pastor’s family. We also took an offering, so that the communion elements and the offering could be delivered to the family to remind them that they are not alone. One of the participants agreed to deliver the items to the family (a dangerous job).

Earlier in the day, the UU China participants had received their travel reimbursements, but during the communion ceremony, they gave their travel reimbursements (and more) as an offering to the family.

Offering and communion elements set aside for the imprisoned pastors family.

After receiving the communion elements and the offering, we received this message from the imprisoned pastor’s family:

Thank God, we received everyone’s offerings today. We also received communion. Thank you all, your love is a great comfort to us. We are thankful for the intercession and companionship of our families around the world on this journey. Pray that the Lord will remember you!

Please Pray With Us For The Following Requests:

이 사역을 위해 기도해주시기 바랍니다.

Pray for an imprisoned Chinese pastor and for his family. He has been detained for over one year without a trial and his family members have been abandoned by some of their church family due to government pressure. Give the Lord thanks that we were able to visit the pastor’s family and deliver the Lord’s supper and an offering.
Pray for the Chinese participants who attended our most recent UU China training. Many of these participants are unregistered church pastors and they regularly face persecution from the government for their faithful witness.
Pray for the Chinese sister who received baptism at the UU China training. Although she first heard the gospel 30 years before, she placed her trust in Christ and received baptism at our training. Pray that she will continue to grow in her faith and pray that she will share the gospel with her family members and friends.