30-22-09-ss

10/40—Week 5 [GO]—East Asia

3/22/09

FOCAL REGION: EAST ASIA

Countries in East Asia: China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan (5)

20% of the world lives in these five countries.

Population: 1.53 billion

Dominant Worldview: Atheism

FOCAL COUNTRY: CHINA

Population: 1.3 billion

(47.6% Non-religious/Atheist; 21.8% Ethnic Religion; 21.4% Buddhist; 7.3% Christian; 4.1% Muslim)

Interesting Statistics:

· China has the world’s largest army, the least amount of national debt, most common mother tongue

· One out of five people in the world live in China

· 10 cities of over 4 million people (Shanghai—17.4 million, Beijing—12 million, Tianjin—11 million, Wuhan—4.7 million, Shenyang—5.7 million, Guangzhou—6.4 million, Harbin—5.4 million, Chungchun—5.5 million, Chengdu—5.3 million, Jinan—4.8 million, Qingdao—4.4 million).

· 80 other cities with over 1 million people.

· $860-2,033 annual income per capita

· 516 people groups in China (427 are unreached—have little or no access to the gospel—83% of all groups in China)

· 470 known languages spoken in China

· Languages with the Scriptures—13 Entire Bible, 13 New Testament, 16 portions, 24 work in progress—66 total out of 470 (404 Chinese language groups without any portion of the Scriptures)

(Very) Brief History:

>2900 BC	Oldest records of ruler Fu Si; Fu Si wrote “Itzin,” the holy book introducing the concept of Ing & Yang
2200-1750 BC	Xia Dynasty
1766-1122 BC	Shang Dynasty; prolific bronze work, complete record of Chinese writing
1122-256 BC	Zhou Dynasty; Iron casting & multiplication tables invented (771 BC)
722-481 BC	Spring & Autumn Period; rise and spread of new philosophies including Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism
403-221 BC	Warring States Period
221-207 BC	Qin Dynasty; Guard walls erected and connected (would become Great Wall); standardized scripts, weights and measures
206 BC-9 AD	1^st Han Dynasty (Western); Trade route to India established (140-87 BC)
1^st C BC	Papermaking begins; compass & seismograph invented; steel manufactured
2 AD	1^st census taken—57 million people
25-220 AD	2^nd Han Dynasty (Eastern)
124-126 AD	Buddhism most likely introduced to China
590-618 AD	Sui Dynasty—reunification of China, Grand Canal built, contact with Japan and Arab Kingdoms
618-906 AD	Tang Dynasty—foreign religions enter China (Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Manichaeism, Islam), oldest known book printed (The Diamond Sutra)
635 AD	Assyrian Christian missionary Olopun visits China and gives translation of Scripture to Chinese prime minister—eventually printed and distributed throughout China
906-960 AD	Five Dynasties Period; first use of gunpowder
960-1279 AD	Northern and Southern Song Dynasties—rise of neo-Confucianism
1279-1368 AD	Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty—Kublai Khan becomes emperor
1368-1644 AD	Ming Dynasty—Great Wall constructed and completed; sailors sail to Africa
1644-1911 AD	Qing (Manchu) Dynasty
1900	Boxer Rebellion—many missionaries die or flee China
1911-1949	Republican China
May 4, 1919	May Forth Movement (1^st Nationalistic People’s Movement)
1920s	Communist Soviet Union assists Chinese governmental efforts
1925	Chiang Kaishek takes power and massacres all communist Chinese; Mao Zedong escapes
1937	Japan invades China
1939	WWII begins
1949-present	People’s Republic of China
1949	Mao Zedong proclaims the beginning of the People’s Republic of China (Oct 1); communism becomes the governmental structure, elimination of religious groups begins
1958-1960	Mao’s “Great Leap Forward”—forced labor and land reform, massive steel production—leads to unprecedented famine, 30 million people die of starvation
1966	Mao launches “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” to retain control of China
1978	Mao dies; fight for leadership begins
1980	Deng Xaioping becomes China’s national leader; begins reforms
1989	Tiananmen’s Square Protests
1990s-2000s	Explosive growth of Chinese economy
2008	Beijing Hosts Olympic Games; 8.0 earthquake kills 70,000 in Sichuan province

· 73 million members of the Communist Party in China—130 million followers of Christ

· While under some of the harshest systemic persecutions, the church has grown as fast (or faster) in China than at any other time or place in history

Impacting our NEIGHBORHOODS and the NATIONS is a matter of trusting and obeying.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: (take time to write some words in answer to these questions…and see what God does)

How are you going to be obedient and trust God in how He is calling you to impact your world (neighborhood and nations)?

1) Pray for China. See the PRAYER POINTS below and take one each day and spend time petitioning God for the largest nation in the world.

1. There may only be a ten-year window of opportunity for receptivity. Materialism with increasing wealth, the debilitating effects of spreading corruption, the moral decline and the social impact of the one-child policy all are conspiring to blunt the cutting edge of the Church. Pray that present openness in the midst of opposition may be used to the full.

2. Pray for the collapse of the whole atheistic and Marxist-socialist system and its lies so assiduously propagated in the education system, and pray for the conversion of those within the Communist Party. The government tries to control information and indoctrinate and control a new generation.

3. The 'One Child' policy is an attempt to tame the growth of the population. Family life has been deeply impacted, shown in: a higher divorce rate, 10m abortions a year (nearly all girls), suicide (40% of the world's suicides are in China), pampered children with poor interpersonal skills and the abandonment of baby girls and older people. The rising generation will pay a heavy cost – in 2000 there were 90m marriageable unmarried men; in some areas young men outnumber young women by 30-40% – rape, abductions, female slavery, incest, prostitution and the rapid spread of AIDS could all be the result. Pray for family stability and health. Pray also for wise policies to be implemented that will stabilize the population.

4. Economic liberalization has made a few very wealthy and improved living standards for many, but made others worse off:

a) The millions of unemployed have become an impoverished under-class. Multitudes flock to cities seeking employment.

b) The poorer inland provinces far from the sea where there has been less development; housing, education, health etc., are at a much lower standard.

c) The elderly – with the one-child policy limiting family care for them.

e) Those with disabilities who are discarded as non-contributors to the family and seen as a burden to family and society

5. The social and health needs in China overwhelm the available resources. Diseases are a challenge – 1.9m with tuberculosis, over 300,000 with HIV/AIDS, 10m mentally retarded through iodine-deficiency, 60m disabled, 13m blind and 520,000 registered drug addicts. Then there are the unemployed and the numerous victims of famines, floods and earthquakes due to the density of the population. Pray that Christians may find many openings to serve such in the social and caring professions and opportunities to show and speak about the love of Jesus for them.

6. China faces environmental disasters on many fronts – deforestation causing massive flooding, the unknown impact of the massive Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, polluted rivers filled with industrial and human waste, nine of the ten most polluted cities in the world, desertification in the north and east, and the continued increase of the population. Pray for a government courageous and trusted enough to take the difficult decisions required for the long-term well-being of the nation.

7. With more Christians in China than anywhere else in the world, pray that God would use the church in China to continue to build the Kingdom. Pray that God would give courage, strength, patience, and opportunity to Christ-followers as they face harsh persecution.

2) Ask God if He wants you to impact the nations by going…and really try and listen. If God wants you to go, don’t miss out on the blessing, be obedient and go! Talk to someone about it—Pastor Gary, Pastor Jeff, our Missions Committee are good places to start.