Special Things About Being Friends

• They often come without their family and can be lonely.
  
  
• They often feel pressured to perform well in their studies.
  
  
• Avoid making negative comments about Mainland China.

Major Obstacles

• Some possible hindrances to friendship are their lack of time and our lack of cultural sensitivity.
  
  
• Some possible hindrances to believing in Christ are a lack of knowledge or misunderstandings about Christianity, a fear of persecution when they return and the controversy between science and Christianity. Read How to Think About Evolution and Other Bible-Science Controversies by Duane Thurman (InterVarsity Press) and The Challenge of Marxism by Klaus Bockmuehl (Heimers and Howard).

World View and Values

• They are often more influenced by the past than the future.
  
  
• They are influenced by family rather than by personal interests.
  
  
• They think long-term rather than for the immediate.

Similarities with a Biblical World View and Values

• They have a historical sense of being.
  
  
• Familial / group identity and interests.
  
  
• They value harmonious relationships.
  
  
• Agricultural settings.

Important Differences

• No belief in a spiritual world or God, only material.
  
  
• Man is good, not a sinner.

Words to Define

• "God," "salvation," "sin," "born again."

Good Ways to Start

• Gather a group of Christians who can pray and serve together.
  
  
• Learn about Mainland Chinese culture and history through books, prayer guides.
  
  
• Order apologetic literature in simplified script from Christian Communications, Ltd. (see below).
  
  
• Meet students and scholars when they first arrive.
  
  
• Help them with their problems.
  
  
• Build a trust relationship, a true friendship.

Particular Interest in Passages or Books of the Bible

• Give a Bible with English and Chinese simplified script side by side on the page.
  
  
• They are especially interested in Genesis, a chronology of the Old and New Testaments, Jesus' encounters with people and how God's people deal with hostile situation (such as Joseph, Daniel, or the early church).
  
  
• Emphasize God's grace and power.

Books

Bieler, Stacey and Dick Andrews. China at Your Doorstep; Christian Friendships with Mainland Chinese. (Downers Grove, IL; InterVarsity Press, 1987)

Dillard, Annie. Encounters with Chinese Writers. (Middletown, CT; Wesleyan University Press, 1984)

Fraser, John. The Chinese: Portrait of a People. (Fontana, 1981)

Garside, Roger. Coming Alive: China after Mao. (McGraw Hill Book Co., 1981)

Heng, Liang and Judith Shapiro. Son of the Revolution. (Knopf, 1983)

Lyall, Leslie. God Reigns in China. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985)

Morrison, Peter. Making Friends with Mainland Chinese Students: A Christian Approach. (Hong Kong; Christian Communications, Ltd. 1984)

Shapiro, Judith and Liang Heng. Cold Winds, Warm Winds: Intellectual Life in China Today. (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1986)

Resources

Christian Communications, Ltd. (CCL), 1177 West El Camino Real, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (books / booklets in simplified character Chinese for evangelism and discipleship)

Pray for China Fellowship, P.O. Box 95889, Seattle, WA 98145-2889 (Prayer Letter)

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