Showers of Grace in Vietnam (February 1, 2025, Decision Magazine)
Christians in Vietnam are rejoicing as they work to disciple more than 2,300 people who responded to the Gospel during a Festival in the Mekong Delta’s largest stadium. The Cần Thơ Season of Love Festival was Franklin Graham’s third evangelistic Crusade in Vietnam since 2017, but Christians in the city of Cần Thơ describe it as a first for the nation.
Egypt’s Coptic Christians Deserve Our Attention — and Our Help (January 12, 2025, National Review)
The Copts represent a living link to the region’s ancient history and its religious diversity, which is now under systematic threat.
40,000 Revival Prayer Groups Spring Up as Taiwan's Christians Face Beijing's Belligerence (March 28, 2025, The Christian Broadcasting Network)
"The united prayers and fasting prayers of the churches in Taiwan are much more than ever before. It's an unprecedented prayer movement…" All across this island, people are meeting every day, 24 hours a day, to pray for revival, unity, repentance, and protection over their land.
Church must help heal France-Algeria rift, says Cardinal Vesco (March 25, 2025, La Croix International) (Subscription required)
As political tensions escalate, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers urges the church to foster fraternity and reconciliation, warning that France’s approach risks a deeper rupture with Algeria—and with its own Muslim citizens.
Attack, Assault, Arrest, Repeat (March 11, 2025, Christianity Today) (Subscription required)
In February, a mob of 200 people interrupted a Christian worship service in Rajasthan state and beat congregants with iron rods, leaving three severely injured. “Our prayer is … that one day we can practice our faith without fear…”
Planting Seeds of Faith (April 7, 2025, ChinaSource)
In a rapidly shifting religious landscape, Chinese house churches have faced increasing challenges in recent years. For one pastor and his congregation, these changes have become an impetus to embrace a greater mission—cross-cultural evangelism. In this interview, a Chinese pastor shares his journey from leading a thriving church in China to starting a new congregation in Thailand, shedding light on the opportunities and challenges of cross-border ministry.
Blessing as a Culturally Acceptable Theme for Outreach (April 4, 2025, ChinaSource)
This outreach program tried to uphold the harmony between urban dwellers and villagers. Farmers’ hard work in producing safe and healthy food should be encouraged and recognized. Without the support from urban consumers, eco-farming could not be sustainable. Therefore, the promotion of eco-farming was positioned as a program to restore communal relationships. God’s love among different groups was the key to the restoration.
Why I Went Home to China: Part 1 (April 3, 2025, China Partnership)
In recent years, many Chinese Christian leaders have moved overseas. Some of this is due to pressure or persecution, which makes it more challenging to follow Jesus and raise children in the faith, especially for church leaders. However, although many people are leaving China, others are deciding to return or remain. Recently, we spoke with one church leader about her decision to come back to serve the church in China after living overseas for several years.
Preserving faith in China (April 4, 2025, Evangelical Focus)
China is a great power with a strong desire to ensure that the country’s large number of Christians serve the interests of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “This is a time of increased restrictions for the church in China, perhaps the worst in the last 40 years. But it’s also an important time of maturation”, says Brent Fulton, founder of ChinaSource.
Unbelievable but True (April 1, 2025, ChinaSource Blog)
From remote mountain paths dusted with fog to bustling university lecture halls, from the ashes of addiction to the quiet strength of everyday believers, these testimonies shimmer with grace. They remind us that God often writes his most beautiful stories in the margins—on tear-streaked pages, in whispered prayers, through long seasons of waiting… God is working—in quiet places, in unexpected hearts, and in stories that are still unfolding. Even on April Fool’s Day, there’s nothing foolish about grace.
AsiaBriefs, produced in partnership with ChinaSource, is a place for you to catch up on news items and analysis from around Asia that you might have missed. It is a curated list of links from published online sources. Clicking a link will take you to a website other than Asia Congress or ChinaSource. Neither Asia Congress nor ChinaSource is responsible for the content or other features on that site. Further, an article’s inclusion does not equal an endorsement. Links to China stories are from ZGBriefs, a weekly publication of ChinaSource that highlights important news and analysis from China. You can read the complete, unabbreviated version of ZGBriefs at ChinaSource, and subscribe to receive it by email every Thursday.
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Joann Pittman
Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs. Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University …View Full Bio
Blessing Asia
In October-2022 more than 500 Christian leaders from across Asia gathered in Thailand for the Asia 2022 Congress, sponsored by the Lausanne Movement and various partnering organizations. I had the opportunity to participate in the Congress virtually and was mightily blessed. From Bible exposition to K-pop worship, and through seminars and workshops, the participants were encouraged by the stories of what God is doing in countries all over Asia. Clearly, God is on the move.
A beautiful vision was portrayed in a video of the popular worship song The Blessing, featuring singers from all over Asia. Here it is:
Many of the sessions have already been posted on their website and to their YouTube channel.
One that I found particularly helpful considering all that is going on in China was a presentation titled Church and State Relationship in Asia Today. You can see the video here.
I encourage you to spend some time on their website; there are fantastic resources for understanding God’s work in Asia today.
Original link: https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/blog-entries/blessing-asia/
Image credit: Andrea Brucker, via Unsplash
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