Open Doors’ Impact on China Mission to be shown in Upcoming UK Tour

Open Doors UK will host a massive tour across the country with Chinese Christian Brother Johnny Li to highlight the impact of the organisation on the mission work in China. The tour will begin on Saturday 18th June till Sunday 26th June, covering many major cities in Wales, England and Scotland.

China - the ninth country on the Open Doors’ World Watch List 2005- has 10,000-25,000 new converts every day, even under the restrictions of the Communist government on religious freedom. Well-known for its commitment in supporting persecuted Christians in different parts of the world, Open Doors has been working to strengthen and resource the believers in Mainland China.

Brother Johnny Li’s UK Tour will launch with a main full-day event at St John's Church in Manchester on 18th June. The meeting marks the China Prayer Day, as part of the Open Doors’ 7-years China Prayer Campaign leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It will also feature a special "Project Pearl" recollection by Alan Hall, National Director of the Open Doors UK.

18th June in fact has very a rich historical significance for Open Doors in its China mission. On the night of 18th June 1981, Open Doors delivered one million Bibles to the beach at Shantou, a port city on the South China Sea, as part of the "Project Pearl". Over 2,000 Chinese Christians were waiting on the beach that night to hide or distribute the Bibles immediately.

"Project Pearl" is an initiative to deliver and supply Bibles to Christians in Mainland China, and was founded in 1981 due to the appalling shortage of Bibles. Sources say "Project Pearl" accelerated the Chinese government’s official printing of Bibles. The number of Bibles available to Chinese Christians has significantly increased after that historical event in 1981, even though believers in remote and rural areas are still crying out for Bibles and Christian literatures today.

Brother Johnny Li’s UK Tour starting from 18th June is to commemorate the historical "Project Pearl" and to give testimony about the situation of the China mission.

Chinese Christian Brother Johnny Li has travelled to more than 30 countries, sharing the message of the suffering church in China. Li was born in China, but he was forced to immigrate to Hong Kong as a young child during China's cultural revolution. He has been serving persecuted Christians in China since shortly after his conversion in 1972, at the age of 16. In 1996, Johnny was forced to immigrate to America, as it became too dangerous for him to continue his ministry in China.

In a latest interview with Open Doors UK, Li said, "So, many things in Beijing or China look just the same on the outside as they look in the UK, but there is a lot of persecution in places, hidden from view."

Li shared a moving story about one group of little children, praying desperately to have just one children’s Bible to share in their village. He relates, "They live in caves and were very dirty and very poor. All they had to live on was corn, bread and noodles. But they captured my heart. The children are so excited that Open Doors will be bringing them illustrated children's Bibles."

According to Open Doors, it took 2.5 million training books, study Bibles and other pieces of literature into China last year.

In addition, Open Doors has recognised the desperate need of formal discipleship training. The official figures for the government controlled Three-self Church say 2,000 new churches are established every year on average while the underground house-churches are growing at an even higher rate. However, in the whole country there are only 18 seminaries. The church leaders are therefore vulnerable to the false teachings of cults that abound in China. In 2004, Open Doors offered training to 6,500 Christians in China.

During his upcoming UK tour, Li is expected to recount many inspirational real stories of many brave and dedicated Chinese Christians who are carrying on their missions regardless of imprisonment and severe beatings. He will also address a unique insight into the current situation in China.

18th June's "Project Pearl" recollection in Manchester will be one of the highlights to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Open Doors International this year as well.

For the itinerary of Brother Johnny Li’s UK Tour, please refer to the official website.