visit to helsinki

Apart from leading people to faith in Christ (and equipping others to do the same) probably the greatest privilege of my job is getting to meet brothers and sisters in Christ from the global Church. Yesterday was one such experience when I preached at the Nordic Chinese Christian Church in Helsinki, Finland.

These dear brothers and sisters are from China and other parts of Asia and have in common their radical allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Some came to Europe (for study or work) and heard the Gospel and became Christians.

I chatted to one young woman from Taiwan from a religious background in ancestor worship. She moved to Finland to study and then came to Christ and is a radiant follower of the Lord. She told me: “ there was no power in the religion of my ancestors. We would pray and nothing would ever happen - but now I pray to Jesus and things happen”

I asked her if she was nervous about the potential threat of the Chinese annexation of her country and she replied: “not personally because one perk of being a Christian is that we do not fear because we know Him and have the Holy Spirit.”

Wow!

Others in the church came to faith in a cultural context that is hostile to Christianity (and religious freedom) and are refugees in Europe. I talked to an older lady who grew up as an atheist in mainland China. She came to Christ because He revealed himself to her in a dream. She joined a church in China which has a license from the Communist Party but is not part of the official ‘Three-Self Patriotic Movement’

三自爱国运动 (the government controlled protestant church)

As such the church faces massive scrutiny, control, opposition, and even persecution and so she has moved to Europe on a permanent basis. She said to me that whilst she appreciates the freedom, nonetheless she has struggled coming to the west to find that so many Christians are lukewarm and apathetic about their faith. She told me that she is a passionate, radical, word based and Spirit-filled follower of Jesus - and as such she has experienced subtle forms of persecution in Europe from fellow Christians who find her unsettling!

Wow !

I sometimes say that when I hear the stories of how people come to faith in Jesus, it’s almost as if I am converted all over again!

Yesterday was one such time

#lovebeingaglobalchristian