Partner with us. Give a Jesus-Shaped Surprise to the people of China.

Be the Surprise!

Picture this: brand-new Christians surprised by the gospel. You can make that surprise happen for growing numbers of Chinese people.

The Holy Spirit continues to open more doors to 316NOW to bring the surprise of God’s grace in China and wherever Chinese people live.

To capture those opportunities requires additional resources: human resources, prayer resources, and financial resources. Give a Jesus-Shaped Surprise will help you partner with 316NOW to provide those resources.

What in the world is Give a Jesus-Shaped Surprise?

Give a Jesus-Shaped Surprise is the name of 316NOW’s capital campaign that is designed to help you equip 316NOW to train more house church leaders to shepherd their members and share Jesus in their communities.

What does Give a Jesus-Shaped Surprise seek to accomplish in the next three years?

What stands in the way of 316NOW sharing the gospel’s surprise?

What are the plans to connect more Chinese souls with Jesus? 

Do you have comments or questions about the Give a Jesus-Shaped Surprise? Email us at 316NOW@316NOW.org.

God willing, over the next three years, 316NOW will

• Equip more house church leaders through Grace Bible Institute (GBI). Increasing numbers of students are attending GBI, our online training school. The Institute prepares house church leaders and deaconesses with courses in books of the Bible, theology, practical ministry skills, and shepherding.

• Create house church leaders among the 50 million expatriate Chinese who live outside China. Expatriate Ministry is our emerging program that engages and raises up Chinese house church leaders. Through them, the surprise of the gospel message will reach more outside China.

• Mentoring and Consulting Ministry (MCM): MCM offers coaching to house churches and their leaders in Mainland China and expatriate leaders outside China.

• Equip those house churches to share Jesus with their friends and families.

The opportunities to surprise people are amazing, daunting, and, with God’s blessing and your help, achievable.

China’s openness to Christian influence has dwindled over the last two decades.

• The government is more aggressive toward Western groups that share the gospel in China. We can no longer send our Western teachers to China.

• It has also taken steps to limit the impact of the Chinese Christian church.

• With growing anxiety over the influence of Western governments, distrust of the message of Christ is growing because it seems to represent Western values.

• Over 40% of Chinese people trust a religion other than Christianity and 50% hold to atheism. The gospel is viewed there as an alien, even anti-Chinese faith.

Surprising more Chinese people with the gospel requires more resources than 316NOW currently has.

In order for 316NOW to capture these ministry opportunities, we are prayerfully committed to the following:

• Raise up more Chinese house church leaders through our Grace Bible Institute and Mentoring and Consulting Ministry.

  • This requires liaisons in China who are personally shepherding and helping to train these leaders.

  • Expanding our volunteer faculty of WELS/ELS pastors is necessary.

  • We will also need additional interpreters. Ensuring that we use online technology that allows us to safely teach in Mainland China is essential.

• Raise up house church leaders among the 50 million expatriate Chinese, also through GBI and MCM.

  • This requires learning to use social media in order to reach this audience.

  • Along with learning how to use social media is the cost of advertising on social media.

  • A growing expatriate student body will also necessitate a larger faculty and additional interpreters.

• Encourage gospel-sharing by Chinese people to Chinese people.

  • Additional materials and courses on sharing the gospel in a Chinese culture need to be developed.

  • Personal encouragement by our liaison for Mainland Chinese Christians and by stateside mentors is essential.

• Fully implement a curriculum to (which trains) train deaconesses to assist in growing healthy house churches.

  • We have launched an initial program for training deaconesses.

  • We must continue to hone and improve it.

  • Publicizing this program so Chinese women know it exists is essential.

• Enhance our partnership with other Confessional Lutheran organizations that are working in China.

  • Our goal is to deepen those relationships, continue to share ministry resources, and capitalize on the strengths we offer each other.

The costs for expanding our gospel outreach are also increasing. 316NOW anticipates our expenses will rise by an additional $630,000 over the next three years. Your enhanced financial support of our ministry will help ensure the opportunities to surprise Chinese people are within reach.