Chinese Presbyterians Spreading and Publishing

The Chinese Reformed Presbyterian House Church is expanding under the leadership of "Brother Lin." This portion of the Reformed family trains local leaders in five-week first level sessions and then provides 11 week training programs for evangelists and teachers. In cooperation with the Reformation Translation Fellowship, Brother Lin has published a dozen textbooks for these programs. Some six itinerant teachers in the home county assist with the work. Other house church groups have begun to adopt the Reformed faith following contact with Brother Lin.

Brother Paul now works full-time for the Fellowship translating Reformed literature. A lawyer by background, Brother Paul holds a master's degree in law from one of China's nationally recognized universities. After beginning his spiritual journey among the Hare Krishnas, Brother Paul came to Christ through the influence of a charismatic Christian businessman. During four years of service in a house church, Bavinck's Our Reasonable Faith and other Reformed literature from the Internet firmly established the Reformed faith in Brother Paul's heart.

The Fellowship also marked 2001 with publication of Louis Berkhof's History of Doctrine. The official government Religion and Life Press made Berkhof available in the simplified script and it is now being distributed through New China Bookstores which is the largest national government-operated chain store.

RTF is also resurrecting the beloved Reformed Faith and Life quarterly. From 1949 to 1992 the magazine represented a major force in the development of the Chinese Reformed community. The product initially concentrates on producing topical anthologies of articles in earlier editions. Each volume emphasizes a particular topic. The February edition treated the theme "The Bible and the Preacher." The next issue will feature "Theology and the Church." Each copy is 100 pages long and the print run of 10,000 is distributed free of charge.

* Reformation Translation Fellowship, 302 East First Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47401
* Reformation Translation Fellowship, PO Box 366, Peitou, 112, Taipei, Taiwan
* Reformation Translation Fellowship, 10 Esslemont Road, Edinburgh, EH16 5PX