MINISTRY// Prayer: Networking items

316NOW works with our Chinese students to help them develop a network so they can offer each other mutual support and encouragement. We have an executive steering committee that oversees that work on a national level. Functioning under the executive steering committee are four district committees.  Our 316NOW’s networking effort is encountering several issues we invite you to pray about.

Priorities

A coordinator for this program reports that Chinese culture discourages our students from following up with each other and encouraging attendance at their online gatherings. Face-to-face meetings and retreats could offer more incentive for gathering together. However, costs for this are beyond the ability of most of our students. Pray that more of our students make fellowship and spiritual growth a priority.

Spiritual growth

The steering committees that are working to help our students network with each other have considered organizing retreats that would include students from more than one district. The current political environment, however, makes cross-districts retreats risky. Rather than providing training to a gathering of a number of students, the steering committees are considering how they might better focus on individual training. Pray that our steering committee find workable ways to keep our students growing in God’s Word and in relationship with each other.

Additional leaders

The leaders of our steering committees have ministries in their own churches for which they are responsible. Because of their busyness, they find it difficult to keep up with the additional demands of our networking efforts. Pray that the Spirit raises up additional believers who are equipped to provide leadership into the future. 

Male leaders

For a variety of reasons, it is difficult for Chinese men to become leaders in the Christian church. Ask the Spirit to energize more Christian brothers to become leaders.