From: "Rev. Robert Rahn (by way of Rev. Eric J. Stefanski, )" To: Subject: CLIMB: China Date: Friday, November 02, 2001 12:54 PM Subject: CLIMB: China Sent: 8/27/20 2:23 PM Received: 8/24/00 9:29 AM From: Rev. Robert Rahn, rrahn@lhfmissions.org To: Confessional Lutherans in Missionary Boldness, CLiMB@CAT41.org Greetings, In two hours I will be leaving on a trip that will take me to China for the first time. Why China? Because we have had no work going on in China since a mission society was organized for the Synodical Conference by a Rev. E.L. Arndt in 1913. In 1925 there were six stations and 12 pastors in the field. Some 500 members were part of the congregations and in 1925 there were 101 adults and 64 children baptized. The communists took care of the operation in their usual good fashion and we have been relegated to a British Crown Colony for our "China work." My trip will be an exploratory trip and will include a visit to our China office in the [region]. It will also include a visit with our LHF Branch Director. I am purposely being vague as to location and the name of our worker. I think you can understand why. [CAT 41 Director's note: this message has been edited to be even more vague since its original posting, on advice of government contacts of LHF; the need for such measures ought to show us precisely how necessary this work is!] I will make a stop in Hong Kong to visit with the leaders of our work there under the direction of the Rev. Craig Molitoris, Area Secretary for Asia. I will be meeting on Sat. with people from the "China CPH." I am interested in what they are translating and publishing. I am also interested in sharing with them what we are doing and why we are doing it. China is no different than any other place where we are working. The books and materials we select for translation and publishing are meant to undergird the mission effort where it exists and to provide confessional Lutheran material where there is no Lutheran presence. Our goal is to instruct and expose people to a Word and Sacrament Lutheranism based on the efficacy of the Word. If a church springs up, as it did in Sudan, it is only a miracle of God and deserves our fullest support. In China there is a government decree that says there are only two Christian denominations- Roman Catholic and Protestant. I am not interested in Lutheranism as Protestant. I am intersted in how we might establish a Lutheran presence even if it might end up as part of the underground church. I wouldn't even mind if some of our confessional Lutheran books and materials ended up distributed in the underground, maybe even reproduced by the underground press. We know these exist. My trip is to try to make any connection with these believers in the underground. We know that in Russia an entire bogus church was set up to impress western visitors with freedom of religion Soviet style. Is it not possible that the same pattern is followed today in China? Why is there government sponsored persecution? Why are people being imprisoned for their preaching? It is because the government isn't given opportunity to sanction their message. We will have to answer one day if our preaching is going to be guided by men rather than the Bible. We will answer one day if we supported a government sponsored church while the government was killing Bible believing Christians because they tried to worship in secret. If we do nothing, we will answer. If we support an evil government, we will answer. You can see that this trip is one of dire importance as we seek to use the opportunity that God has given us today. It may not be there tomorrow. We will work while it is day. The darkness in China is known and hopefully there will be a way to bring Him Who is the Light of the World to these masses. Perhaps we can do something to restore Lutheranism. Pray that the Lord would provide an open door as He did in Russia. R. Rahn + + + Confessional Lutherans in Missionary Boldness + + + The CLIMB e-letter brings you unedited, uncut reports directly from the mission field, whether in South America, Africa, Europe, inner-city, rural, or collegiate America, or military installations and battle sites around the world. 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