We went to meet the people from Renmin University. Besides, there were friends from other universities as well as two pre-believers. Most of them were from provinces other than Beijing. Some people were brought up in a Christian family, while others got saved in university. We had lunch at the canteen in university and talked for two hours. We heard how they have fellowship and church life, as well as some testimonies of how they come to Christ. It seems that they had got the problem of many nominal Christians not being on fire for God. Also, they were so busy studying that they didn't have time to interact with other churches and fellowships. Generally, we felt that the local students still lacked the revival spirit that the international students profess. Apart from that, we talked about the political environment and the differences between Western and Chinese churches, especially on the concept of house church.
After that, we went to the temple of heaven to pray for China and restore that place as the house of prayer for all nations. We believed that emperors worshipped God in the past. I was glad that we managed to pray at such a significant place - the temple for good harvest. May God send out more workers to the harvest field in China.
12/1/11 (Thursday)
In the evening, we had dinner with Jane and Isaiah, a brother from the U.S. We discussed our experience in Melbourne and Isaiah's experience to study in Beijing. One great insight was that the way people express worship and prayer is shaped by their culture. Churches from different culture can all learn from each other. In the past, it is always perceived that the Western church is superior. However, the Western church can also learn from the Chinese church.
Charlie Lam
Science/Arts life group, Hope Melbourne Waverley Centre
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