“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His lovingkindness endures forever.” Psalm 107:1
“Great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23
Dori and I left for Asia in October, 1975, forty-four years ago.
This month also marks the 30th anniversary of the formation of China Institute and the 15th anniversary of Global China Center.
God has prospered us far more abundantly than anyone could have imagined when I opened a bank account in the name of China Institute with only a few dollars in 1989.
We have grown from just two people – Dori and me – to seven CI Partners and six GCC Associates, plus four part-time assistants: 17 in all. Almost all are self-supporting.
Our ministry expanded from Charlottesville to England, Canada, Taiwan, and Texas.
All of us participate in local churches and seek to forge strong relationships with individuals.
We have seen the publication of ten books by me in English and nine in Chinese (five of them edited; all composed in English and translated by Chinese), as well as fourteen volumes issued in our GCC Studies in Chinese Christianity series, with three more in process of publication. And that’s not counting the “books” available as free downloadable PDF files on our CI website.
We have gone from no website to three.
We began with a Bible study composed of Wright and one Chinese man. That developed into the Chinese Bible Study that met for a dozen years, before most people moved away.
Chinese Christian Fellowship served ethnic Chinese at the University of Virginia from 1993 to 2013. Dori and I served as advisers. International Christian Fellowship (ICF) held Sunday worship services for a dozen years. A Mandarin Sunday school class was begun at Trinity Presbyterian Church almost twenty years ago and is still meeting.
Over the years, God has moved almost 100 Chinese to receive baptism.
Global China Center was organized in 2004 as an academic outreach to Chinese scholars studying Christianity and Western scholars studying Christianity in China.
Studies in Chinese Christianity, edited by Dr. Carol Lee Hamrin and me and published by Wipf & Stock, is the leading series of its kind, with new manuscript proposals coming to us every year.
Our two websites have received more than 1.5 million unique visits.
GlobalChinaCenter.org describes our vision, mission, and work, and offers in-depth reviews and articles for scholars, China ministry leaders, and interested readers.
The Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity: With both English and Chinese pages, the BDCC tells the stories of outstanding Chinese Christians and Western missionaries.
As a result, Christians have been edified, and the false narratives of both Chinese and Western critics have been refuted.
GCC associates have presented papers at academic conferences in China, England, and the United States.
Our Part – and Yours
Dori and I seek to encourage everyone connected with CI and GCC, including prayer partners and members of our Board.
Please join with us in
- Thanking God for his remarkable faithfulness to us, and
- Asking him to continue to use us for his glory and the growth of the kingdom of God among Chinese around the world.
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ.” Colossians 4:2-3