Greetings from Yibin, China, where we are currently conducting pastoral training seminars for 10 days. God has opened up the door of opportunity for us to return to this particular church (this is our fourth time here) to keep investing in the brothers and sisters of this region. Over 60 lay pastors (30 from the local church here in Yibin and 30 from the surrounding country side churches) have come for some intense training in Family and Marriage Counseling and Evangelism.

Many years ago, while waiting for my flight back to Europe in the airport of the city Bangalore, India, I saw a group of Chinese nearby. Always interested in meeting Chinese, I approached them and was introduced to Bishop K. H. Ting, the patriarch of the Chinese Church. This propelled me at once to the top leadership of the Church in China. For some time I had prayed that the Lord would open the door to a teaching ministry in China, the land of my birth. “Please come visit me the next time you come to Nanjing,” he kindly invited me.

“The end product of evangelism is not just to get you out of hell and into heaven, but to get God out of heaven and into you, so that Christ living in your heart might bring God out again into the open where He can be seen.  God has predestined us “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29) Therefore, when you are finally evangelized and people look at you, they should see the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.  That is what brings glory to God. That is the gospel.” (from The Indwelling Life of Christ by Major W. Ian Thomas)

"If you're not on fire for something you won't be able to ignite anyone else." - Joachim Löw, Coach of German National Soccer Team

As I read this quote I thought, “how true.”  How do you motivate others if you are not motivated yourself?  How do you pass on a value that you don’t first cherish yourself?  Passion: it’s a strong drive that comes from within.  It motivates to action; it pushes you forward when you feel like stopping.