Baptisms At 4am

It was 4AM at the river bank in northern China. It was damp, cold, and dark, yet songs of praise filled the air. Why? The crowd of believers had gathered that morning with a special purpose – to be secretly baptized. One of the pastors spoke compassionately as he baptized them, each with hands lifted up to a new life in Christ. He and his fellow workers baptized eleven hundred new believers that day! For decades, the church in China has suffered consistent persecution. The government instituted a “strike-hard” policy in a vain effort to curb the growth. However, we see God moving in China in a powerful way, and believers are being added to the Church daily. Another pastor commented, “We believers are stronger than before. The more they want to pull down the banner of Christ, the higher it flies.” As this pastor and the story of the Chinese Church shows, the more a church is persecuted, the more its members often rise up as a testimony to the steadfastness of Christ. Hear more stories of the church growing in hostile places by subscribing to our email updates at http://extremedevotion.vom.org.nz/project/baptisms-at-4am