China's land mass is almost the size of Canada and is home to one-fifth of the world's population. While King Nebuchadnezzar ruled the Old Testament world from Babylon, the ancient city of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province was the capital city of China and the largest city in the world. During the time of the explorer Marco Polo, Xi'an was brought to the attention of the outside world when commerce forged a trade route from there to Rome, Constantinople and Jerusalem, mainly to trade in China's precious silk. This became known as "The Silk Road" and is today an attraction for millions of tourists from all over the world. It was along this road that Islam, Buddhism and Christianity entered China.

Since the expulsion of foreign missions and missionaries in 1949, the Church of Jesus Christ has seen sustained growth, and it is now estimated that there are between 50 and 100 million Christians. This growth has occurred through both the official churches and the house churches of the Han Chinese majority people group. Nevertheless, Bible teachers and training materials are still in great demand.

Western China borders Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand and supports almost 100 million Muslim and Tibetan Buddhist people. This is a spiritually needy area, where there are few Christians and no churches.

There is a great need for Christians with marketable skills to live and work in Western China, in order to assist in the development and training of the churches and their leaders and to reach Tibetans and the Muslim tribes of Western China for Christ.

Please pray for:

1. Christians everywhere to be concerned for the unreached millions in China who have never heard the name of Jesus.
   
2. The Lord of the harvest to send out Christians to China to see for themselves the spiritually needy peoples of Western China, to pray on location, and to return to their home churches with a new zeal to pray.
   
3. A China-focused prayer movement to sweep the Christian churches worldwide, especially among the Chinese Diaspora.
   
4. Christian radio programmes that are beamed into China in the Chinese language and several other languages to be effective in presenting the Gospel.
   
5. Han Chinese Christians in China to be moved by the Holy Spirit to reach out to their Muslim and Tibetan neighbours.
   
6. Christians with marketable skills to be prepared to give up their lucrative employment and to live and work in China, allowing Christ to be seen in their lives.