In the far north of India, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, is a small densely populated town called Anantnag. A small maternity hospital with limited staff delivers babies, provides medical care to women of the valley, and raises up young nurses. On our last visit to the hospital, as we toured the small campus with vibrant flowers and tall stone walls, the nursing students shared in beautifully sung hymns and greeted us with unparalleled hospitality as we dreamed of the much-needed hospital and nursing school expansion, a project that continues to be on our hearts today.

This unassuming stop along a busy route of honking drivers and endless pedestrians served as a refreshing reminder of the joy of the Lord in a city ravaged by political strife and civil war.

Then, COVID-19 took hold.

As stories of lockdowns, fear, and sickness began to spread around the world, we knew this little city in Kashmir had the potential to be hit hard and we were called to pray for our friends and all of the villages and cities throughout India. But still, word came that 10 of the staff members at John Bishop Memorial Hospital were positive for the coronavirus. And so, we prayed. Two weeks later, we received word that the staff were all re-tested and came back negative, the hospital was back up and running!

Given the needs of the community, the hospital is now serving as a hub for COVID care in addition to their usual service to mothers delivering babies. There is a need for personal protective equipment, additional help for the staff, but most of all continuing prayer. John Bishop Memorial Hospital has been a beacon in the valley as a place of answered prayer upon answered prayer for many years, and yet again we’ve found the next opportunity for a newly answered prayer.

Join us in praying for the nation of India, from the far north to the southern tip. Psalm 28:7 comes to mind in prayer for India, “the Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.”

We have great faith for the people of India in overcoming the virus, in turning their hearts to the Lord, and continuing to share the good news of the gospel throughout this great nation.

About three o’clock in the morning Jesus went out to them, walking on the water.

Matthew 14:25

Jesus, man/God of miracles, amiracle in and of himself; he healed the sick, cast out demons, saved oursouls. Big, important stuff. Matthew records an incident that is miraculous,but not often considered in the same category. And yet it is a pivotal momentfor many huge reasons. Also for one that seems insignificant because it’ssomething most of us are blessed to be able to do each day: he walked. Yes, onwater. The fact that ‘he went out to them, walking’ is relatable.

So why is this such a big deal?Sure, we can’t stroll across a lake. But this walk of Jesus’ showed manythings: his power over the storm, his appeal to Peter, and his revelation tothe disciples who then recognized him as the Son of God.

Peter also walked. Verse 29: Then Peter got down out of the boat, walkedon the water, and came to Jesus. This disciple suspended disbelief longenough to join Jesus on the surface of the lake. Now there are two men walkingtoward one another across storm-tossed waves. Very dramatic. Even though Petertook his focus off Jesus and put it onto fear, it opened his eyes in otherways.

Pray Americas, SEAPC’s prayer walking initiative to seek revival in the United States, involves, well, walking and praying. Instead of a lake, it will be taking place across the storm-tossed turbulence that is America in 2020. Waves of fear, unrest, and division are affecting so many—believers and non-believers alike—as one nation under God becomes one nation under siege.

What is needed? A dramatic miracleto calm the wind and the waves. What is required? That our eyes remain fixed onJesus. It’s not our walking that will change anything on its own. It’s not evenour praying. It is God hearing our prayers from heaven and intervening in thestorm.

It helps with Scripture to readwhat comes before and after a key verse. Matthew prefaced this scene as Jesuswent away by himself to pray. He ends it with Jesus healing all who touchedhim. There is a correlation between prayer, action, and healing. Those sameprinciples can be applied today to prayer walking.

This nation-wide effort will beepic, as every county in every state participates. It has been an outreachalready forged in hours of fervent prayer by the SEAPC team. Alone andtogether, they have sought God’s will during this unsettled hour. After hearingGod’s voice, it is time to take action.

The action involved is three-fold. Pray. Walk. Pray.

Pray about your individual role. Ask the Lord of the harvest to identify workers. Is he sending you?

Walk through your state, county, parish, or borough.

Pray as you walk: for the land under your feet, for your state and its representatives, for the nation and national representatives, for renewed nationwide commitment to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Healing begins by reaching out.When Peter left the boat, he walked effortlessly on the water because hefocused on Jesus. Only when he stopped seeking his Savior did he falter andalmost drown. He had the faith to reach for Jesus once again by crying out, “Lord, save me!” When Jesus landed on theshore, people brought all their sick tohim. They reached out on behalf of others. All who touched him were healed.

During Pray Americas, those whohave absolute faith in Jesus’ ability to do the impossible will be walking andpraying. God hears prayers, including intercessory prayer for others and forsituations. He longs to have a relationship with every person on earth. Thereis not a single soul he wants to see perish. None. But we have to do our part.

Storms are not calmed without anoutside influence. Distracted people are not saved from drowning. Those whocan’t do it for themselves require concerned others to step in and do theasking.

Jesus walked across a tempestuous expanse to Peter. One to one. But the culmination of the walk on water was a walk to the cross followed by a walk out of the tomb. One for all. The One who calmed the seas can calm the land as well. America does not have to be splintered in the gusts. It can, instead, be put back together through faith, hope, love—and the simple act of prayer. We may not be actually walking on water, but prayer will keep our nation afloat.

Be a water-walker.  Cry out to Jesus.  See revival.

"I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one." - Ezekiel 22:30

Have you ever ridden theUnderground in London? There are signs and visual warnings to “Mind the Gap.”This cautions passengers who use the subway to be careful of the space betweenthe platform and the train. In Europe, different nations announce it in morethan one language. In Asia it’s a bit more polite, as in Singapore: “Pleasemind the platform gap.” And in the Americas, it is also common.

Beyond the subway experience, thephrase has become iconic. Book titles, films, board/video games, music albums—allmake use of it. Mind the gap. It must be important. Beyond pop culture, however,it has a much deeper significance to the family of faith.

Consider the verse from Ezekiel.God is searching for someone to intercede for the land. He finds no one. What doesit mean in a Christian context to “mind the gap?” Is anyone capable of doingso? Or is this a job reserved for the holiest of prayer warriors?

Simple answer: anyone. You couldstop here. But read on. No matter what it is or who we are, God listens. Allare equal. Nothing is too big or too small.

At SEAPC, prayer is the foundationof everything. No, really. Everything. From personal needs, to local needs, tocountry needs, to global needs, nothingmoves forward without first seeking God’s guidance. Which means sometimeshaving to take a step back from our plans…and wait for His. This year hascertainly been one where the best-laid SEAPC plans have been changed. God knewit would happen. No surprise to Him.

This is a season where He is askingus to mind the gap. Thanks to travel restrictions, we are unable to visitfriends in far-flung nations; we remain in prayer for them. And there is morethan enough to accomplish in the United States. It is exciting to see wherethis will lead as we continue to get our hopes up. For those with a passion formission travel, it is an interesting time. A time of introspection—looking backand looking ahead. A time of shifting strategies—both at home and abroad. And atime when God is speaking clearly—His purpose and His plan. It is a time of prayer.

The news we get is uniform in itsnegativity. People wonder how a good God can let so much bad happen. Politicalrivals are becoming enemies. There is a disconnect that is perhaps the worstAmerica has ever experienced. How is all of this animosity going to beovercome? What are believers supposed to do?

Ezekiel lived circa 621 B.C. And even so long ago, hechronicles God’s search for someone to stand in the gap on behalf of His land.That encompasses not just the soil, but the entirety of His creation. Over2,640 years ago God found no one to help. We must do better. We can do better. It begins with reframingour vision of prayer.

Intercessory prayer is asking God for something on behalf ofanother. It is not a burden, a chore, or a hardship. It is a blessing. And adirect line of communication with the Almighty. The One who created heaven andearth is waiting for someone to stand in the gap and just talk to Him. Howamazing that it can be you or me having that conversation. We don’t need a holyof holies, a long flowing robe, or a white beard. All we need is thewillingness to step forward. And to pray. 

*Prayer draws believers together from all over the globe.Every nation has its problems. Different, yes. Small, no. It’s easier to seethings more clearly when they are not our own. Thus we are in a better positionto invoke God’s help for friends—and enemies—than for ourselves. And so we prayfor one another and are united in peace and unity. Nations and hearts willexperience revival.

*Prayer asks for God’s help when someone is unable to ask forthemselves. The sick, the hurting, the grieving, the lost may have troublereaching out, even if they are Christ-followers. That’s where we move in andmind the gap to bolster faith or to introduce it.

*Prayer can rise to the Lord on behalf of people, countries,environment—anything at all. Nothing to do with His creation is trivial to God.He waited for someone to intervene so that he would not destroy the land. Howsad that according to Ezekiel, no one did.

As SEAPC friends embark on Pray Americas in June and July, itis time for everyone to be mindful of the needs around us. It takes very littleeffort to make a difference, because for the One who is being called upon,nothing is impossible.  

When there is a wall that needs rebuilt, step up. As theworld around deteriorates, as illness goes on a rampage, as economies fail,it’s important to remember that there is a perfect plan. Our tiny niche is tointercede fervently. Love abundantly. Seek humbly. And mind the gap.

Welcome, friends, to the May prayer focus. What a time for us to pray for America and our world! Prayers of confidence, zeal, and specific wisdom given by Father's Spirit towards the nations are vital NOW! Prayer is like oxygen to the child of God, and prayer is a fragrance before God's presence as well. It does things our physical hands or plans could never do. Prayer sets us up to see true success.

As we focus this month on our families and communities here at home, we also engage Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. These nations, and our friends in them, sit on the frontlines of nation-shaping intercession for Asia. We are ready to see God's fresh plans burst out in these places.

The Holy Spirit highlighted Psalm 103:20 for me as we enterthis month: "Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who doHis word, heeding the voice of His Word."

Through friends of this ministry, the nations of Korea, Taiwan, and Japan have been soaked with the prayer of His Word. I've had the personal joy of being a part of some of them, but more so hearing mighty stories from friends who have pioneered in prayer here. Angels, full of strength, have responded to these prayers of His Word. Not the word of man, the word of doubt, the word of fear… but the Word of God for these nations was spoken. History was changed through these Attack Lambs then, and NOW angels are ready to do the same as we pray.

Something Korea, Taiwan, and Japan all have in common ispowerful stories of liberation from oppression. Each nation experienced thegreat cost of human life under unrighteous rule and has needed to stand firm tocontinue in their freedom.

"When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice, But when the wicked rule people groan." - Proverbs 29:2

This very freedom has produced great natural prosperity inthese nations, and in some areas great Spiritual prosperity. This month, let usthank the Lord for His hand that has brought freedom in these Nations which hasblessed the world. Let's also call forth the HARVEST of that freedom to beturned back to Him, offered to Him, and used by His people to bring lives toJesus in Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and all across Asia! Let's join with the Churchof these countries to pray for flames of fresh awakening to move here—a deepRevival even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Thank you for joining us this month and we look forward to bringing you stories to encourage you as you pray for these nations! Angels are sent on assignment by His Word from your mouth. There is really nothing like the might of fervent prayer!

What is Christian hope? Christian hope is hope in God and in Jesus Christ. It is the confident affirmation that God is faithful that He will complete what He has begun. It is also, therefore, that confident expectation which waits patiently and ardently for God’s purposes to be fulfilled. But the Christian hope is hope for a certainty. Hope is a confident expectation and anticipation. It is the belief that things will work out, especially when it seems otherwise. It helps you stay calm and peaceful when something less desirable emerges. Hope believes you will get through it! Hope teams with faith and believes in the impossible, Matthew 19:26 and Luke 1:37.

SEAPC’s thematic 2020 word to the nations: Praise to God for a Living Hope, the revelation of Jesus Christ among the nations, 1 Peter 1:1-13. Matthew Geppert, President of SEAPC, communicated this prophetic word of hope and encouragement for 2020. It is particularly relevant in light of recent world events.

Segueing into focusing on the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and specifically, Wuhan Province, as a dark shadow has been cast over the nation of China, the perceived epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originating there and now sweeping the globe. However, the whole world system, in China, USA, Israel, and all nations of the world, are fallen, broken, and in the grip of evil desperately needing redemption. The good news that Jesus Christ spoke from the cross over 2,000 years ago, "It is finished," John 19:30. Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead and He is alive (Matthew 28:5,6)! Christ Jesus ascended into heaven and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father, Mark 16:19, interceding on behalf of all of us Attack Lambs standing in the gap, 1 John 5:14.

However, it is so fitting and timely that I have been tasked with the great opportunity to communicate our SEAPC CARE Autism mission to the SEAPC community and friends throughout the USA, China, and the nations. Why? During the month of April, the Jewish and Christian believers are in the midst of celebrating Passover, Palm Sunday, and Easter. We are viewing all of this through the mind of the Risen Christ’s perspective. He brings light into the darkness! As a wonderful worship song called "Here I Am To Worship" goes, "Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness. Opened my eyes let me see." As our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ spoke, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life," John 8:12. Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light (John 1:5)! The spiritual laws in God’s Word and the physical laws of the universe confirm this truth. Therefore, the darkness which inhabits all of the nations of the world are dispelled as the Risen Christ’s presence floods the earth, and as Christ Jesus' name is prayed, spoken, and proclaimed into all of the nations.

He, "Yahweh – The Lord," Exodus 6:2,3, is shaking this world and all of the world systems. He is in total control of all of the world powers, Ephesians 6:10-18, and is exercising His permissive will leading to His perfect will for the salvation of every man, woman, and child who hear and receive Jesus Christ throughout China and all the nations of the earth, Matthew 28:16-20.

What is amazing is that the SEAPC has been strategically positioned, through God’s grace and favor, to serve in a small, but very significant way, in bringing Redemption’s Plan to China. How? Our SEAPC CARE Autism Project over the past five years, now in year six, has enabled us through the platforms of education, parenting, and healthcare to build strong relationships with local church, government, education, and medical professionals as well as with the families of children with autism. Seeing first-hand teacher and parent trainings conducted in China, as well as trainings conducted in the USA, the love of Christ is being manifested in the work being done.

Unity in the community is very much present between and among Dr. Jia’s Beijing team in China and Kim Bennett and Rachel Kittenbrink’s SEAPC teams. The training curriculum consists of a very sophisticated program called Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) which is a focused and intense training program. When successfully completed the training leads to competency certifications in teaching the full range of children with autism. Kim and Rachel are master teachers in this discipline. Prayer warriors and coordinators living in Chengdu, China, made all of this happen. All of the scheduling, language interpreters, meetings, and training events have been accomplished through their dedicated work as they have been led by the Holy Spirit. Wow! However, there is much more work to do moving forward into the second half of the ten-year agreement between SEAPC and The Beijing Autism Association and the Handicapped Association of China.

Capturing the vision of what SEAPC CARE is all about, I want to quote an excerpt from an article that Kim Bennett wrote for the SEAPC Magazine in February of 2017. Titled "Shame to Fame," Kim writes, "It is our desire to design a school where children can come and receive treatment and healing. A model school that will be a training place for professionals to gain further knowledge on how to educate these children, and where families can receive comfort and hope by coming in contact with the love of Christ. It is our desire to also train workers in church to minister to the families and to teach children with autism about our great God and His son, Jesus; to show them the power of prayer and worship as well as bring hope into their circumstances. He is making a way for families walking through the wilderness to find companions and love along the way. God is doing a new thing in China! I end this message with these words from Isaiah 49:13: 'Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones'"

Turning to prayer which is the very heart and soul of SEAPC. As SEAPC's "A Guide to Prayer Walking" states, "SEAPC is a Christian global community of friends who believe that lives and nations are changed through prayer. Since 1991, SEAPC has been actively fostering communities of prayer and leading friends in prayer walking adventures which have resulted in amazing, miraculous, and life-changing memories."

This has certainly been true for the PRC as well as numerous nations that SEAPC has served.

This guide has been the direct result of the book The Attack Lambs authored by Mark Geppert, the founder of the SEAPC. I encourage all of you to sign up for the new eCourse, which comes with a free eBook of the new expanded and revised The Attack Lambs, now available on how to mobilize prayer in your communities and in the nations.

Please pray and stand in the gap for the central pressure points in intercessory prayer for the Peoples Republic of China:

The Government of China

Centers of Education

Centers Communication and Media

Centers of Commerce, Business, Trade, and IT

Churches of China

Lastly, we ask the SEAPC Community to actively engage to help us in reaching this faith goal. SEAPC has accepted a Faith Goal proposal for $500K into China missions. This resource will be used to expand the local church in China and to meet the needs of families with autism in six provinces of China. In addition, training teachers and family members, building facilities, producing and distributing Christ-based training materials, and hosting international gatherings in the USA and China.

Our belief is that as the SEAPC Community prays, gives, and goes that God will open more doors, raise up and draw more workers, bring much fruit in the harvest and release finances so that millions of Chinese souls will know and receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Our hopes are sky high!

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

John 10:27-28

There are many colorful stories in Scripture that are seen in our day as quaint but outdated, the true meaning of which escapes people steeped in technology, travel, and an urban mindset. Bible stories are rooted in an agrarian culture that is foreign to many. A deeper dive into the original context can be enlightening and speak to our oh-so-civilized society about truths we might otherwise miss or misinterpret. 

As we face the trials of modern life, be it a pandemic, natural disasters, or economic upheaval, it’s helpful to consider: What was Jesus really trying to tell us in all those sheep stories? And in the midst of chaos, where is our shepherd today? How do we find him?

Sheep are not known for intelligence. But there is growing evidence that this is incorrect, based solely on their herd instincts—which they need for protection against predators. One study in the journal, Nature, has found that sheep can remember up to fifty faces of other sheep for at least two years. And they can recognize a human face in a crowd. They are able “to navigate challenges in the same way as humans and primates.” Sick sheep will seek out plants that make them feel better and nutrients lacking in their diet. Who knew?

Jesus knew when he used sheep as examples of humans. We do tend to follow a herd mentality but are able to recognize the right leader when he comes along. And the one who can protect us. This truth supersedes culture, race, and nation of origin. 

In Biblical times, an individual shepherd would have charge of 100 sheep. For protection at night, up to ten shepherds and 1,000 sheep would share the same sheepfold. A thigh-high stone wall had one opening, which the shepherds took turns guarding so everyone got some rest. He would lie across the entrance, a human gate of protection. 

The next morning, shepherds would call out their own sheep. Only the one hundred that recognized his voice would come. Sheep learned, from hours of hearing their own shepherd’s voice as he worked with them, to follow only him. 

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. After He has gathered His own flock, He walks ahead of them and they follow Him because they recognize His voice. They will not follow a stranger; they will run from him because they do not recognize his voice. - John 10:3-5

What does this mean to us today? Quite a lot. Sheep only knew their shepherd because they spent time with him. They learned the sound of his voice. When danger threatened, they understood that this one person would protect them. And they acted on that knowledge by following him.

The shepherd protected the sheep with his own life. Predators, like lions and bears, could take a human life as easily as killing a sheep. He worked daily to know each animal in his charge, teaching them to trust him and him alone. 

The analogy to us as sheep and Jesus as shepherd is apt. Jesus has done his part. But are we doing ours? Do we spend time with him? Can we hear when he calls? Where do we turn first in times of danger—to Jesus or to social media? Who do we follow?

During the current pandemic, we are at home, following developments on the news. Some like one station, others prefer a different channel. There is nothing wrong with being informed. We are made in God’s image, with intellect and gifts to use. But it’s wrong to blindly trust and follow any newscaster, politician, or ideology. We are made to be sheep. And to follow our shepherd. Therein lies truth, protection, peace.

Jesus sacrificed himself ages ago so that our sins are forgiven. He is alive today, still lying down in the gap to keep us from harm. We can only hear him if we recognize his voice. And we can only recognize his voice if we get to know him intimately. Once we do, no predator can snatch us from his hand. And we will be with Him for eternity.

Today, sheep farms use helicopters, dogs, and electric fences to herd. So the sheep do not know their shepherd. It makes sense from an economic standpoint. Progress happens. But there is an ever-growing need for a strong, individual shepherd to take charge and to be recognized.

As friends around the world come together in this season of social distancing to pray, worship, and support one another through online venues, we can be thankful. We have a herd—believers in one God. And we have a shepherd—Jesus Christ. 

Be the sheep: smart, obedient, seeking. And let the Good Shepherd lead. We don’t have to look far to find him. He is always with us. 

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15

This month we are joining in prayer for the nation of China. Check back Tuesdays throughout April for blog posts about China and our friends serving there.

“Let your light so shine among men that they would see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:17

It was 1985. Guided by our friends, Curtis and Mei Lin Jones, our team of four, Tim Burgan, Scott McMannis, Dave Linglebaugh, and I were setting up a massive TV camera loaned to us by Cornerstone Television in Wall, PA. Above us the famous portrait of the late Mao Zedong guarded the entrance to the Forbidden City, and before us lay the vast emptiness of Tiananmen square. The soldiers arrived quickly and waited while an English-speaking officer could be located. We tried to communicate with these young men. We were the first Americans they had seen and our freedom of speech and idea of television reporting was something they had never encountered.

The officer arrived and with great enthusiasm helped us get set up and get the shots we needed.

From Beijing, we went up to the Great Wall and shot out in the open and again enjoyed the hospitality of the army as they guided us from place to place.

We traveled from Beijing to Shanghai without payment of bribes or serious opposition. Our tapes were not confiscated and our text was not edited. It was amazing to us as our little team of six moved about with great freedom.

In the course of production, we had occasion to meet our dear friend, Pastor Wang Ming-Dao, Father of the House Church movement of China. Having spent 22 years and 10 months in prison for his faith, Pastor Wang opened our eyes to the extent of the miracle in which we were participating. At the close of the time with him, he called me out and laying his hands on my head consecrated me to a work among the Chinese people. And in fact, we have floated our boat in the river of revival among the Chinese people from that day until this. Blessed to be associated and so thankful for them.

The 28-minute documentary was released in the Spring of 1986 and response flowed in from around the world. The largest number came from the island republic of Singapore. This English- speaking modern-day miracle would eventually become our home and the birthplace of the South East Asia Prayer Center (SEAPC). 

In July of 1986, while entering Hong Kong with a short-term team, I was arrested, placed in a cell, strip-searched, and instructed by the officer in charge that the government of the People’s Republic of China advised that I stay out of China for two years. That was the day that I realized a fact about the nation of the PRC.

The Chinese people are warm-hearted, joyful, friendly, and the most hospitable people. They live under the cloud of an atheistic, amoral, western system called Communism which was forced upon them and continues its repressive nature.

It was 1991. Ellie, Sam, Matt and I and our little dog Fu sold our home in Virginia Beach and moved to Singapore to walk and pray for revival in that city. We were embraced by the Church of Singapore and eventually would serve as pastor of the English congregation. The warmth and love of these people made being strangers in a strange land livable. We began to realize that a Chinese person is a Chinese person wherever they are to be found. We traveled to Malaysia and Indonesia enjoying the commonality of the Chinese people and realizing their great hunger for the knowledge of Jesus and their deep commitment to Him. Medical doctors, taxi drivers, professors and students, owners and managers, all were eager to hear about Jesus and to make Him Lord of their lives.

SEAPC was born with the vision of creating new and networking existing prayer cells as we shared in so very many small groups across Singapore. Days were filled with prayer walking and evening with wonderful worship as the heart of the Chinese was fulfilled in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Born to worship, they gave it their all.

These groups were eager to hear about God using them to reach other nations. Naturally, they thought of Chinese in other nations where they could speak the language and reach out within the culture. For several years we took teams from Singapore to China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia and met wonderful Chinese believers throughout Southeast Asia.

In the mainland, the PRC, things were changing. There was an openness to the gospel. The laws against assembly remained in place and at any time officials could raid a meeting or a Christian Training Center and break up the fellowships; but in most cases, they looked the other way. If a Communist Party Leader came to town, the local police would inform the church not to meet for a few weeks and a cooperative relationship was enjoyed.

Our relationships with Chinese people continued to develop on the Mainland and throughout the Chinese world. The Bread of Life churches adopted us in Taiwan and the United States as we enjoyed wonderful friendship and fellowship. SEAPC was becoming very Chinese, adopting the principles of Chinese culture. And in the year 2000, we restructured the corporation around the Chinese character for blessing.

SEAPC is about God and, through the crucified life, hearing His voice to provide a practical demonstration of His love through health, education, parenting, and economic development. Keeping the calling of creating new and networking existing prayer cells, we see a world joined together through prayer.

With this understanding, we have engaged two very powerful health and education platforms in China at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Under our condition of freedom to present Jesus, pray with people to receive Him, baptize those believers, and form groups of people to study the Bible we launched Touching Hearts in the Tibet Autonomous Region of Tibet and over a 12-year period brought the knowledge of process and procedures to diagnose and treat congenital heart disease in that region. While doing this we saw the Lord heal several hundred children who would have died and establish His church through their families. The work continues to multiply to this day.

God provided six million dollars over a 12-year span to save lives, and to plant His church in Tibet and Chinese people from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Canada, and the US were major contributors of money, medical ability, and prayer in reaching Tibet. A major Christian business in America underwrote much of the cost through our partnership with Every Home for Christ and we can say now that through this combined partnership Jesus has been presented in every home in Tibet.

At one point, the government of the PRC donated $800,000 to a healthcare project in Tibet through a Christian organization.

With the success of the Tibet project, I was approached by the Central Committee through the doctor who first diagnosed autism in China to join in a cooperative agreement with the Handicapped Association of China to bring practices and protocols to those who serve children with autism. This doctor was very deeply touched by the way in which our SEAPC board member, Kim Bennett ministered to children with autism. Scheduled for a half-hour session in Beijing, Kim was pressed to spend the day and then a week and now they want her to move there. The anointing that accompanies her hard work has resulted in many marvelous testimonies of lives changed through prayer and practice.

Now in its fifth year, CARE China has resulted in 1,000 trained workers multiplying our practices and protocols throughout China. An atheist, communist, sometimes repressive government has reached out to a blatantly Jesus-first Christian organization for help in a time of need.

In the life of the Apostle Paul, we see that the greatest opposition provides the greatest opportunity where prayer is involved and we are praying this month for China. Specifically, we are asking the Lord for $500,000 to further develop platforms, materials, trainings, and support for those involved in this life-changing project.

Of course, I am aware of the global pandemic. Certainly, I understand that this is a tough time. Yes, we too feel the pressure; but, being a member of the most at-risk group, my response is to do something significant where I know the money will be used for its stated purpose and change the life of a Chinese child living as a handicapped person in an atheist, communist nation.

So, I invite you to join with me through SEAPC to fulfill the first instruction of the Lord to His disciples.

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Isaiah 26:3

It’s totally frustrating when the phone dies. When the electricity goes off. When someone makes fun because of jokes, movies, or activities that are unsavory to a believer. Frustration. Deprivation. Persecution. But…really? Maybe inconvenient would be a better word. Because the phone will charge, the electricity will come on, and another person’s opinion is just that.

Our brothers and sisters in Kashmir, India, have had a season of great difficulty. The political atmosphere, as in all nations, has spilled over into other areas of life. It is a set of issues far too complex to explore or even totally comprehend from a Western mindset. But what we can understand is a portion of the effects the communication restrictions had on the nation. And we look forward to what lies ahead for the work of the Lord in the aftermath.

Hillsong United has written an amazing song, “Aftermath.” It captures the heart of a Father who sent His Son as a sacrifice.

Freedom found in your scars

And in your grace my life redeemed

For you chose

To take the sinners crown

As you placed your crown on me

And in that moment

Of glorious surrender

Was the moment

You broke the chains in me

Lifted out of the ashes

I am found in the aftermath

If believers in Kashmir are in the aftermath, what does that even mean? And if the chains are broken now, will they stay broken? What exactly is this freedom? How can we stand in the ashes with our friends?

Of course, it is understood that when any person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, the personal chains of their sin are obliterated. The ashes of their lives after rebirth are blown away like ephemeral dust. But individual renewal does not equate with societal renewal. So people find themselves personally free even while earthly life continues to bind them.

There is the potential for future unrest in Kashmir. That could be true for any country. If communication is once again cut-off, if projects stall, if persecution arises, how should the rest of the believing world respond? There are always two “Sunday School” answers to every question: Jesus and prayer. They are always correct. But unpacking what that looks like in reality is going from milk to meat, as Paul says of the maturation of believers in Hebrews 5:12.

SEAPC has come alongside the Church of North India, regional pastors, and a local ophthalmologist with a dream to open a school for the blind in Srinagar. Many have lost eyesight following injuries during riots, others through medical issues. The goal is to teach life skills and to provide a way for the blind to thrive in the culture.

Cecelia Manning, Matt Geppert, Bill Richardson, and others from SEAPC have traveled to Srinagar to meet with Kashmiri friends. They searched for a building that could house the school and looked at resources. Bridges were built into the community. And then things stopped when Kashmir closed to travel and communication.

In the town of Anantnag, John Bishop Memorial Hospital is an oasis of the Christian faith in a Muslim majority. The hospital serves the needs of women. Babies who are born there receive prayer at birth, covering them with the love of Jesus. The mothers meet the Lord through the excellent care they receive. In addition, there is a nursing school where young Kashmiri women (most of whom are Muslim) learn to become skilled nurses. In addition to a rigorous education, they attend daily Christian devotions, weekly church, and learn songs to praise the Lord. When they graduate, both secular and spiritual knowledge go with them into their homes and careers.

The SEAPC medical team has visited Kashmir to provide clinics to the least and the lost. Student nurses assisted with triage and translation. They witnessed believers praying with patients, listening to tales of violence and abuse with compassion in Jesus’s name and discovered the humanity behind the belief. Due to new government regulations, the school will close if the physical structure isn’t rebuilt. SEAPC prayed and stepped into the gap. Until the gap closed.

As of this writing, Kashmir is slowly opening its communication outlets once again, but travel is once again restricted due to COVID-19. It is possible to be in contact with friends there. It is hoped that soon the time will come when face-to-face meetings will once again be possible. Prayers continue for the blind school and the nursing school. And for God’s guidance to His perfect plan and timing.

Kashmir is in the aftermath of a time of isolation. The ashes aren’t yet blowing away, but are drifting in the breeze. It’s important to remember that although the believers there are truly born again, like all of us they need the support and encouragement of the entire body of the Church. What that will look like will evolve over the next months as many factors are weighed.

Prayer is of the utmost importance at this juncture. Safety, peace, open hearts and minds, steadfast purpose are a beginning. A building, equipment, funds to rebuild, feet on the ground, ongoing dialogue are a few next steps.

SEAPC moves with the intent of relationship before ministry. In submission to God’s authority. Led by the Holy Spirit. By faith before human reason. And so we pray. We listen. We submit. And we have faith that the good work God began will be brought to completion. Not because it makes sense as the world sees it. But because in God’s economy the impossible is always possible.

We invite you to come with us in faith and prayer, to be found in the aftermath.

I met Pastor Mark Geppert in March 1998. When we met, for some reason, Pastor Mark mentioned the Greek text of Ephesians 6:10-18 showed the four evil spiritual forces could be individual demons because the names were preceded by definite articles. I reached for my Greek Bible. As I read the passage, I said, “No one ever mentioned that, and I’ve never noticed it.”

“No one ever got out a Greek Bible to check me on it,” he said with a laugh. Our friendship began at that moment. Mark invited me to join him on a “Prayer Walking Mission” to China in July of 1998. I’d never heard of prayer walking and it made little sense to me. As a doer by nature, walking and praying didn’t seem like something to DO for two weeks. Nevertheless, I became part of a twenty-four member team of prayer walkers.

We landed in Beijing, and my first prayer walking experience took place in Tiananmen Square. When we arrived at the square, I stood and prayed. After about fifteen minutes, a young woman walked up to me and said, “Hello.” She spoke English. We started a conversation. She asked, “Why have you come here?”

I said, “We came 10,000 kilometers to tell you about Jesus.” She told me she had heard about Jesus at the university. Eventually, another member of the team joined me. We talked with the young woman for a couple of hours and she prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior and Lord. I decided right then prayer walking was, indeed, doing something!

Our next stop was Chengdu. We visited a Buddhist temple because we were heading to Lhasa, Tibet the next day, and many of us had never been to a Buddhist temple. Right outside the temple sat a lame beggar. The Holy Spirit prompted me to pray for his healing. I said, “No.” That would have been bad enough, but the impulse came again as we left the temple, and once again I resisted. The next morning, we were to fly to Lhasa, but our flight was canceled due to bad weather. One of our team members from my church, Kim, asked me if we could go back to the Buddhist temple because she had a difficult time there the day before. She wanted to be sure she was ready for what we would experience in Tibet, the center of Buddhism on the planet.

As we came close to the temple, the lame beggar was still there. I had just been telling Kim how we need to listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and obey Him. The prompting came a third time. I almost said, “No,” but realized the absurdity of that with what I had just told Kim. The man didn’t speak English. I didn’t speak Chinese. I told him, “I’m going to pray for Jesus to heal you.” I prayed in English, then tongues. He listened. When I finished, He was smiling broadly, but he wasn’t walking.

Hubert Chan and Jeffrey Yuen were on the trip. When we went back to the hotel, I told them the story. They ran to the temple. The lame beggar told them an American man and teenaged girl had prayed for him and he had trusted Jesus as his Savior. Now I was all in for prayer walking! Jeff and Hubert encountered a deaf woman there, and when Jeff prayed for her, she was healed.

We went to Tibet the next day, and prayer walked the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple. Pastor Mark met a Chinese government official who saw our concern for the Chinese people. He asked Pastor Mark if he would help with the problem of congenital heart disease in children. Pastor Mark said, “Yes.” That ended up leading to the Touching Hearts ministry that impacted the entire Tibetan Autonomous region.

Pastor Mark invited me to return to China the following year to be part of a team that provided a week-long leader training for house church leaders. As part of that team, I experienced the profound commitment of those Chinese believers. It has had a lasting impact on me. When I think of it being “hard” to pastor here in America, I remember what those folks experience daily to share the good news of Jesus.

As we pray for China, for the people there, for the church and their leaders, and for all the ministries SEAPC is part of in China, including the nationwide autism ministry, let us give thanks to God that praying and walking changes the world! It starts with the people who invest the time to walk and pray and then ripples out to individuals, families, communities, and nations.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

How many times recently—or in your lifetime—have you heard someone say, “I hope so!”? You’ve probably said it yourself. It’s a common expression, with a universally understood meaning: the speaker wants something to happen. Everything from, “I hope it will be sunny tomorrow,” to “I hope he will beat the cancer,” expresses a natural desire for things to go our way.

But is that really hope? It seems like a genie-in-the-bottle, desperation-borne statement more aligned with unicorns and magic dust than reality. Because we can want what we want all day long and not have the power to make it happen. How many outdoor weddings have been rained out when the bride hoped for sunshine? How many diseases have taken a life instead of the hoped-for healing?

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems fitting to review what it means to have hope, to be hopeful, and to accept the reality of Biblical hope. We are people living in a post-resurrection world. If anyone should have hope in spite of the circumstances, it’s those who believe in Jesus.

Hope is that rare commodity, a “four-letter word” that is positive. It exists on more than one plane of meaning. Certainly, hope is a feeling. We have an expectation that something will happen. We desire that it will come to pass. We trust. On their own, these feelings can be easily dismissed or downplayed. Just because one expects the virus to end, wants it to be over, and trusts that day will come doesn’t make it so.

Think about money. It is nothing more than bits of paper, in and of itself without meaning or value. The reason it has significance is that it is backed up by the government. In the past, actual gold supported currency, called the gold standard. In recent years, that solid foundation has given way to illusion. Money has value because the government says it does and everyone believes it and acts upon it. Not comforting.

Secular author Lewis H. Lapham puts it this way: “The complex mechanisms of the modern world depend as certainly on the faith in money as the structures of the medieval world depended on faith in God.” Also not comforting.

In Jesus, believers have the gold standard of hope. The feelings are real. And they are backed up by the incontrovertible Word of God. This means that our expression of certainty in the goodness of tomorrow is because God has made a promise to His people. By nature, hope is a way of looking forward. It is also an invisible commodity. As such, it is a tool of the Lord’s. Consider Romans 8:24-25:

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 

So what, then, is the responsibility of believers in times of trial and disaster, such as wars, pandemics, political upheaval, or natural disaster? We can follow through on The Great Commission whether in person or via electronic means. Being His witnesses to the ends of the earth doesn’t require that we necessarily be physically present. It’s the message and the relationship that are important, not the venue through which it is delivered and built.

No one has ever seen God or experienced all the blessings of belief. Many are still to come, expected through faith and hope. We can communicate this ongoing process to anyone of any background. God’s love, mercy, peace, kindness, righteousness, and perfection, while difficult to see in times of trial, are still viable. When we consider our foundational belief that God wins, that His plan is perfect, that he only wants what is best for his people, it is a vision we can cast for others. 

Worldly hope will always fail. That failure will lead to anxiety, disappointment, or an inflated sense of control. It puts self at the center of everything. Godly hope will always succeed. Knowing that He will care for us in the next ten minutes as well as the next ten years frees us. That freedom translates to loving others over self, and ends up giving God the glory. Which is exactly where it belongs.

Even as the world struggles with fear, it is a perfect opportunity to share the message of fundamental, Scriptural hope. “I hope so” loses all uncertainty as that ambiguous hope is anchored in the person of Jesus. The Christ. Lord God. Our Savior.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Psalm 127:7-8