Author Archive for: Jane

What is on our BTJ watch and pray list for 2023? Please join us in prayer for these nations! Iran: 2022 saw a popular uprising against Islamic totalitarianism. Protests are of course brutally suppressed, and the death penalty has already been handed out to several of the protesters who were arrested. Many more have faced torture and imprisonment. Protests have

We often think of Chinese missionaries as heroes, fearlessly sharing the gospel in closed countries. And while it is true that God has given the Chinese church a fearlessness that is inspiring for Christians all over the world, God does not cancel people’s humanity. He works through it. Two testimonies of Chinese missionaries in the 10/40 window testify to this.

The world is in turmoil, and protests are breaking out in various places. What is the role of the church when it comes to civil unrest? Should we march the streets calling out for justice, or should we quietly obey the government and make sure we are no threat to the authorities we live under?  It is not a new

For decades, the South Korean church has been praying for reunification with North Korea. Their prayer was that the church of South Korea could re-evangelise the communist North and that the capital, Pyongyang, would once again be the Jerusalem of the East. Some denominations had already planned exactly where and how they were going to plant churches when North Korea

Despite the North Korean government doing everything to isolate its population from outside influences, there are still those who have contact with North Koreans on the other side of the border. Most of those are family members who have fled to other countries and go to great lengths (and costs) to have occasional contact with their relatives in the closed

What to do when the message of salvation you carry inside can be deadly to yourself or those you love? Many North Korean Christians struggle to pass on the gospel to the people around them. They want to, but it is so risky. Not just evangelising strangers, but also your own family members. “I never knew my mother was Christian

The war in Ukraine is rekindling old alliances and not in a good way. Recently, it was revealed that Russia had bought drones from Iran to replace their losses on the battlefield, but to replace ammunition like artillery shells and rockets, it has turned to another old comrade: North Korea. Many use this deal to point out how badly Russia

China has a long history of isolationism and suspicion of foreigners and who can blame them? The opium wars gave China every reason to doubt the foreigners’ intentions towards them. The hundred years before the communist takeover are known in China as the age of humiliation, where Western powers and Japan forced China into unequal treaties. As soon as they

Would you like to learn just a bit more in depth stuff about the church in China? Does ‘China’ sound a bit generic to you and would you like to learn about where exactly churches in China are concentrated and why? Then you might want to take an hour or so to watch this lecture from Dr. Fenggang Yang, professor

Imagine you are a 17th century well-educated priest in France. One day, you receive a call to go to China. That meant giving up everything familiar, all your friends and relatives, and stepping into the great unknown. Imagine that you arrive in China and get to work, preaching the gospel and pastoring a church. Soon, you realise that there is