{"id":16806,"date":"2019-09-19T14:06:29","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T05:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=16806"},"modified":"2020-02-18T16:06:31","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T07:06:31","slug":"vomk-report-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2019\/09\/19\/vomk-report-71\/","title":{"rendered":"NGO ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN TO OPEN 5,000 SUNDAY SCHOOLS IN 12 MONTHS IN CHINA"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea has begun a campaign to open 5,000 Sunday Schools in China in the next twelve months, in partnership with its sister NGO China Aid.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]The campaign, called \u201cSunday School in a Box\u201d, assembles the leading legal children\u2019s Bible in China, a compact video player, and a comprehensive curriculum of digital resources for parents and children. Each \u201cSunday School in a box\u201d is designed to reach an average of seven children and will be distributed through the ministries\u2019 joint underground house church network. The materials are specially designed to allow parents of all educational levels to teach the full scope of the Christian faith to their own children and relatives.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\u201cThe number one challenge facing the church in China is not cross demolition or church raids,\u201d said Voice of the Martyrs Korea representative Hyun Sook Foley.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the full-scale effort on the part of the Chinese Communist Party to prevent the children of Christians from becoming believers themselves.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”16813″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”`{`Photo credit: CNS photo`}` Churches that permit children in worship are facing fines and criminal charges across China.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:11px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:1.6em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley notes that Voice of the Martyrs Korea and China Aid have now compiled credible reports from every province in China of churches facing harsh penalties if they permit children to attend. But Representative Foley says the problem is actually twofold.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children of Chinese Christians are not only being shut out of churches,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are also being taught a comprehensive curriculum in schools that defines Christianity as an evil religion. They are warned to be suspicious of their Christian parents and encouraged them to report any relatives who are practicing Christians. For the first time in Chinese history, we have reached a point where it is nearly a criminal offense for Christian parents to raise their children as Christians.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1562056932207{margin-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”16814″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”`{`Photo credit: Reuters`}` Xi Jinping is replacing Jesus in the lives of Chinese children as they are locked out of churches and locked into anti-religious education in Chinese schools” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:11px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:1.6em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Representative Foley references the story of a kindergarten-age child and his Christian mother from a July 17 report by the Chinese persecution watchdog website Bitter Winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt school the child learned that belief in God is abnormal. When he came home, he said to his mother, \u2018If you believe in Christianity, you will leave home and not take care of me. You might set yourself on fire, too.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”16817″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”`{`Photo credit: Associated Press`}` Children are not allowed to visit churches anymore under new religion rules enacted in January 2018.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:11px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:1.6em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”16812″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”`{`Photo credit: UCA News`}` Nanjing summer camp for Catholic children in 2016. Such camps are increasingly rare as China replaces children\u2019s participation in church activities with compulsory children\u2019s education on the evils of religion.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:11px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:1.6em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row overlay_dotted=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that this is one of the reasons why the \u201cSunday School in a box\u201d is primarily designed to be used by parents rather than professional Christian educators.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, there are not many professional Christian educators in the countryside, and even in the cities Sunday school teachers are watched by the government with particular suspicion,\u201d says Representative Foley.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut second of all, the home is the place where the battle for the Christian faith is won or lost in every country in every generation. If Chinese Christian parents are not given comprehensive, useful tools to raise their children in the faith, those children will become the first line of persecution against the church in the next few years.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that the cost for one Sunday School in a Box is 75,000 KRW. Voice of the Martyrs Korea is challenging Korean churches and Christians to sponsor one or more boxes.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\u201cOne of the reasons for the cost of each box is that we are using only materials that are legally available to the Chinese general public through Chinese retail stores. There is no underground printing operation involved. Though it make the cost a little higher this way, it also makes the Sunday School in a Box more difficult for Chinese authorities to oppose on legal grounds,\u201d representative Foley explains.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that since each Sunday School in a Box will reach an average of seven children, even a gift of 10,000 KRW toward the campaign can reach one child.<\/p>\n

Churches and individuals interested in making a donation to the campaign can do so at vomkorea.com\/campaign\/ssib\/<\/a> or via electronic transfer<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Learn More about ‘Sunday School in a Box'” style=”flat” shape=”square” color=”danger” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fvomkorea.com%2Fen%2Fcampaign%2Fssib%2F||target:%20_blank|”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea has begun a campaign to open 5,000 Sunday Schools in China in the next twelve months, in partnership with its sister NGO China Aid.” …","protected":false},"author":903,"featured_media":16928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[847,846,848,845,185,849],"class_list":["post-16806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vomk-report","tag-sunday-school-in-a-box","tag-846","tag-848","tag-845","tag-185","tag-849"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}