December 1, 2013
November 29, 2013
Home for the Holidays
Thanksgiving Greetings from Beijing,
Last Tuesday we said good-bye to
our eldest son Nathan and his wife Heather who moved back to Portland, Oregon.
In their two and a half years here Heather taught Biology and English in a
large Chinese high school. Here she shares with a blind Chinese boy who is a
part of the Bethel Home that is often served by the members of our church.
Nathan
began his career as a product designer working in two companies here. You can
see some of his accomplishments, and some his great photos of life in Beijing,
on this web site: http://nathanklblair.com
We,
and their many friends from our church and work, miss them already! But we will
see them soon as all three of our sons will gather with family for a Christmas
reunion in Hilo. It will be the first time we have been all together with Nathan
and Heather, Josiah, and Aaron - in six years. We are excited and grateful.
The Beijing International Christian
Fellowship continues to thrive. We are seeing the Lord work throughout our 21
congregations, including the five that we serve in Zhong Guan Cun. Last night
we had a full and dynamic “Unity” service with our English, Korean, Indonesian,
and African congregations! This fall we have seen Small Groups really grow.
Young people far from home are finding Christian community and solid Christian
friendships. Of the 82 Universities that surround our church venue, we have
groups on about 20. Pray with us as we try to reach even more. We are planning
an all church Thanksgiving Dinner, which has been much appreciated by students,
both Christians and not yet, who are far from home.
Dayna enjoys teaching baking, and we all
enjoy eating the fruits of their labors! Here are students from China,
Tanzania, Madagascar, and Ghana getting some tips from the Chef. We are
thankful we can open our apartment for fellowship and ministry.
We our planning our third annual “Christmas
around the World” program held at a large Chinese church again this
year. We again have a great team of performers, stage crew, and coordinators
who are already working hard. The pastor of the church, which now has 10,000
members, has asked us to do the performance for two nights (December 13 &
14) to allow more people to attend. Their venue seats over 2000 people and we
expect to fill the house twice. Many of those who come will not know the Christ
of Christmas. May He who became man long ago give them a new birth this year!
During
our time away from BICF ZGC these five young preachers will serve our church
here in Beijing. It has been a joy to spend time studying with them as they
prepare to preach, “King Jesus: Adored and Obeyed” from Matthew 1 & 2, and
5-7. It has been one of our goals to encourage and equip expository preachers.
And these guys come with knowledge and skills from Hong Kong, Tanzania, USA,
and UK. Please remember Hin Tai, Mbazingwa, Adam, Peter, and Josh in your
prayers.
We leave for Hawaii tomorrow and are
eager to be with our ohana, churches, and friends. Here is our Sunday schedule:
December 1 Kalihi Union Church, Honolulu
December 8 Living Waters Assembly of
God, Hilo
December 15 Hilo Missionary Church
December 22 Puna Covenant Church, Keaau,
Hawaii
December 29 Mokuaikaua Congregational
Church, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
January 5 Kalahikiola Congregational Church, Hawi, Hawaii
January 12 City Church of Honolulu (PCA)
January 19 First Chinese Church of
Christ, Honolulu
January 24 Kauai Island Missions Banquet
January 26 North Shore Christian Church,
Kilauea, Kauai
February 2
February 9 Kawaiaha’o Congregational
Church, Honolulu
February 16 Hawaii Kai UCC, Hawaii Kai, Oahu
February 23 AM - Waipuna Chapel, Kula,
Maui
PM – Wailuku Door of Faith, Maui
February 26 – Fly back to Beijing….
If you are in Hawaii, we really hope to
see you!
Yours in Him who came to Save
Us, Mark
and Dayna Blair
Our Mission
Pioneers - 10123 William Carey Drive -
Orlando, FL 32832 – USA www.pioneers.org
(Checks should be made out to ‘Pioneers’
– with a separate note attached saying: ‘Mark and Dayna Blair, Beijing.’
Electronic transfers can be sent to: http://www.pioneers.org/Give/AutomatedGiving.aspx )
Skype blairstan
Our Ministry
November 5, 2013
The Language Most Spoken by Global Christians...
Aloha
from chilly Beijing!
We left summer behind, packed up the Hawaiian shirt
and flip flops, busting out the scarves and hats! Tomorrow Nathan and Heather
will run in the Beijing Marathon. And we’re going full speed with lots of
exciting ministry here.
Never
Poorer, Never Richer!
The message of a fellow pastor recently brought us
strange consolation. He, like us here in Beijing, made great efforts for their
church to reach University students near their venue. It worked! Hundreds came,
and stayed, and enjoyed, but their fancy church building got tattered and shabby.
Yet many lives were touched and transformed by the Lord Jesus Christ. And,
their weekly collection increased by an average of $13 a week. One Sunday an
Egg McMuffin was placed in the offering plate with a note, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give…”! We at BICF ZGC have been in our pricey hotel
venue, next to the University with the largest number of International students
in China (10,000 from 120 nations), for four months. Our collections just about
cover the rent, but God is bringing and blessing many….!
And
Now Spanish…
For some time it has concerned us that the most
widely spoken language in Christendom is not among the ten languages used by
congregations within our Beijing International Christian Fellowship – Spanish.
So it was a great joy to announce to our congregation that a Spanish service
began at one of our locations on the other side of city. But then a number of
Spanish speaking students who worship with us asked why we could not get
something started. (The other site is an hour away.) So we hosted a dinner (picture
above) for Spanish speakers at our apartment and 23 people from 13 different
nations came! Pray for them as they plan how to launch a Spanish ministry connected
to our church.
Studying
Old Testament
For three weekends in October Mark is teaching an
“Old Testament Survey” class for our BICF seminary program. Students who have
another “job” squeeze out enough time for lectures, reading, and writing
papers. We had our first graduation this year; four students earned an
accredited Master’s degree. Here are some of those in this month’s class;
they’re from Singapore, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Germany, Cuba, Tanzania, England,
Kenya, and USA.
Happy
Harvesters
Even though our church budget is tight, we are not
trying to save money by not helping the poor. 20% of our total income goes to
“Impact” – BICF’s Outreach, which has a big focus on mercy ministry. Our
primary focus is on the preaching of the Word, but we think it is vital the
world can “see” the living Good News of Jesus. It is a joy to serve a
congregation with such a biblical balance of word and deed ministry. Here are our
“barley harvesters” as we recently spent a day serving a local orphanage for
blind children.
China
International Fellowships
This
weekend we host the China International Fellowship with leaders from I.F.’s
from throughout this nation. (www.cifconference.org)
Mark will lead a workshop on “Preaching in the International Church.” We hope
this will be a refreshing time as we seek to encourage the work of the Gospel
in churches throughout this most populous nation of the world.
We
are so thankful for your prayers and support which allow us to serve the Lord
here in China. Our hearts leap thinking about the wide open door God has placed
before BICF ZGC! This is our 30th year of missionary service and we
stand before the widest door of opportunity in our lives. For those who have
asked, our support seems to be slightly below our requirements.
We
are looking forward to coming to share with our ohana, churches, and friends in
just over a month. We have fixed dates with some churches and look forward to
hearing from more. Here is what we know so far:
December 1 Kalihi Union Church, Honolulu
December 8 Living Waters Assembly of God, Hilo
December 15 Hilo Missionary Church
December 22 Puna Covenant Church, Keaau, Hawaii
December 29 Mokuaikaua Congregational Church, Kailua-Kona,
Hawaii
January 5 Kalahikiola
Congregational Church, Hawi, Hawaii
January 12
January 19 First Chinese Church of Christ, Honolulu
January 24 Kauai Island Missions Banquet
January 26 North
Shore Christian Church, Kauai
February 2 Kauai
February 9 Kawaiaha’o
Congregational Church
February 16 Hawaii
Kai UCC, Hawaii Kai, Oahu
February 23 AM - Waipuna Chapel, Kula, Maui
PM – Door of Faith, Kahului, Maui
February 26 – Fly Honolulu to Beijing….
If you are in Hawaii, we really hope to see you!
Yours
in Him who rules the Nations, Mark
and Dayna Blair
Our Mission
Pioneers - 10123
William Carey Drive - Orlando, FL 32832 – USA www.pioneers.org
(Checks should be
made out to ‘Pioneers’ – with a separate note attached saying: ‘Mark and Dayna
Blair, Beijing.’ Electronic transfers can be sent to: http://www.pioneers.org/Give/AutomatedGiving.aspx )
Skype blairstan
Our Ministry
August 27, 2013
Open Secret
Warm Greetings from sunny Beijing in Jesus Name!
In June Mark snuck over to Seoul, Korea. We hoped he
could slip out, AND back into, China. More importantly we prayed that 100
Chinese pastors would do the same. You might remember that in October 2010 Mark,
and 4000 other church leaders from 98 countries, got to Cape Town for Lausanne
3. But 250 Chinese leaders, with tickets in hand, did not.
So it was a great joy to gather the last week of
June with 100 Chinese leaders; and to know that we’re all safely home and
resuming our ministries. We were asked to ‘go dark’ on sharing about this dodgy
endeavor but now the Lausanne movement has sent out the press release and the
photos: http://www.lausanne.org/en/about/news-releases/2148-symbolic-moment-as-chinese-gather-in-seoul.html
It was a great honor to be one of the small number of
“Westerners” to hear – and I hope encourage – these Asian church leaders. Take
a look at the “Related Links” at the bottom of the web page to see what
happened.
Not the Fastest Way to Fill a Glass with Water….
But Dayna and her team had plenty of “bonding time”
using this method at our recent BICF Staff Retreat. We are thankful for the
great team the Lord has assembled here and the privilege of belonging.
Fall Push
We have been in our new church location for over a
month now. It works very well. And now students from around the world are
pouring into our neighborhood. Also, many of our members are back from their
summer travels. Pray that we can “strike while the iron is hot.” One study of
high school seniors transitioning into college found that if they did not find
and get plugged into a church within a month of their arrival they never do! Of
course God is bigger than our percentages, but it is all too easy for people to
establish habits – good and bad. The bars and clubs around us are allowed to
have neon signs and hand out flyers. We, like the first Christians, grow when
friends bring friends to a rather out of the way meeting place! And they do.
Sunday we had a “Welcome to Beijing” program led by
a panel of our members from Singapore, Samoa, Gabon, New Zealand, Hong Kong,
and USA with more than 40 years of living experience here. Lots of “newbies”
came and really appreciated this free program. Did you know there are more than
20 “apps” to help folks live in Beijing? I didn’t! Today Dayna took a group of
ladies to the ‘plant market’ to buy houseplants to improve the air quality in
your home. Great for Beijing!
This Fall Mark will begin a preaching series through
the book of Revelation. This is in conjunction with a Small Group study of the
Letters to the Seven Churches (chapters 2 and 3) he wrote for the whole BICF to
study this year. You can download a copy, in English or Mandarin, at: http://bicf.org/resources
Thanks for Standing with Us!
In the last couple months our support has been more
stable! Thanks so much for your generosity and most of all your prayers. Been
reading a very helpful book on ministry that offers this timely encouragement
as we have been studying the life of Abraham on Sunday mornings…
“I would argue that there is nothing more critical
for the evangelical church today than to emphasize the support of urban
ministry. The need is great, as is the cost – ministry in city centers is
considerably more expensive…If Christians want to reach the unreached, we must
go to the cities. To reach the rising generations, we must go to the cities. To
have any impact for Christ on the creation of culture, we must go to the
cities. To serve the poor we must go to the cities. Many people who are not
naturally comfortable in the city will have to follow the example of Abraham.
Abraham was called to leave his familiar culture and become a pilgrim, seeking
the city of God.” Tim
Keller, “Center Church,” p. 162.
Pressing
Toward that City with You, Mark and Dayna Blair
Our Mission
Pioneers - 10123 William Carey Drive - Orlando, FL
32832 – USA www.pioneers.org
(Checks should be made out to ‘Pioneers’ – with a
separate note attached saying: ‘Mark and Dayna Blair, Beijing.’ Electronic
transfers can be sent to: http://www.pioneers.org/Give/AutomatedGiving.aspx
)
Skype blairstan
Our Ministry
August 24, 2013
July 6, 2013
New Doors Opening in Beijing
Warm Greetings from Beijing, China!
We have good news to share about new locations –
both a new apartment and a new venue for our Beijing International Christian
Fellowship Zhong Guan Cun. We are rejoicing in this double blessing.
Our new church home will be in a hotel conference
center right next door to a University with the largest number of foreign
students in China - 10,000 foreign students a year from 120 nations. We’ll be
just blocks away from several dozen other universities too. 100,000 International
students are in our neighborhood! One million Chinese University students! Just
typing these stats gives me ‘chicken skin!’ My, we have a BIG responsibility.
Pray earnestly that we will be faithful! Some come to Beijing as committed Christians,
very glad to find a church home. Thousands more have every intention of
‘sinning to their fill.’ May we faithfully shine His light of grace and truth.
As 80% of our church is students from more than 70
nations, Dayna spends lots of time making graduation leis! Here we are saying
farewell to one of our high school seniors. It was a privilege to baptize her
several years ago and now to see her heading off to a fine Christian college.
There
are also many University graduations; Frederick from Rwanda earned a Master’s
degree in Engineering. He is with (left to
the Philippines), Terry our Assistant
Admin (China), Mbazingwa one of our Elders (Tanzania) and Dayna. What a
privilege to have a small part in equipping these fine Kingdom servants who
have many years and opportunities before them!
Timely
Word
In
over 20 years of preaching systematically through books of the Bible there have
been many Sunday’s where the chosen text speaks right to a situation in the
congregation or community. Brothers who do not preach through books of the
Bible sometimes ask how this method could possibly be “relevant”?!? Well, our
present series through Genesis landed on chapter 19 the Sunday after the U.S.
Supreme Court’s sad decisions. I sensed the Lord’s blessing to speak with
boldness. But I also felt an incredible sadness that this chosen misbehavior celebrated
by some is condemned by the living God. The Church in the 21st
Century must strive to maintain the Biblical balance of God’s mercy and
justice. Some are very good on mercy and bless others. Others are very good on
justice and blame others! The perfect balance is seen in Jesus. Nobody was more
intolerant of sin than Him. He spoke more about hell than heaven. Yet, nobody
was more welcoming and forgiving of sinners than Jesus. He died for us! If
someone chooses to go to hell they’ll have to step over His body to get in.
Movin’
Higher Up!
Our
BICF Seminary program is adding a Doctor of Ministry track. We already offer
accredited Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Christian Studies and Missiology.
Now we have been granted permission to offer a D.Min through Global University.
This allows our students, mission workers, and pastors from throughout China to
enhance their academic qualifications right here in Beijing. Mark will be
teaching the first course for this new program this fall, “Leading the
International Church.” And he will be teaching a course on the Pentateuch for
the Master’s Program in October. The work of mission is now truly “from
everywhere to everywhere” as workers are sent from China to the ends of the
earth.
Our
new apartment is within the same complex where we have lived for the last four
years. We are moving from building 6 to 16, from the 6th floor to
the 22nd for an additional $ 100 a month. Our present landlord
wanted to make it $ 500! We’re thankful to remain near our new church site and
many of the campuses we are reaching.
Speaking
of dollars, we are very thankful to report that we have been fully supported
the last two months. Praise to God and thanks to you!
Yours
in our Faithful Lord, Mark and Dayna Blair
Our Mission
Pioneers - 10123 William Carey Drive - Orlando, FL
32832 – USA www.pioneers.org
(Checks should be made out to ‘Pioneers’ – with a
separate note attached saying: ‘Mark and Dayna Blair, Beijing.’ Electronic
transfers can be sent to: http://www.pioneers.org/Give/AutomatedGiving.aspx
)
Skype blairstan
Our Ministry
May 21, 2013
Spring-time Greetings from Beijing!
Spring-time
Greetings from Beijing!
Our Zhong Guan
Cun church of the Beijing International Christian Fellowship must move by June
30. The business center which has been our home for 7 years plans major
renovations. We are encouraged that the government religious officials are
quite supportive and open to us finding another venue. So we are busy in search
- an auditorium for 500 people with rooms for 150 children for just one day a
week in the high-market university district of this global city – at rock bottom
price! No problem for the God who owns it all. Please stand with us in prayer.
We want to continue to declare His glory in the capital city of the world’s
most populous nation.
Travel Report
We had a tremendous trip to Kazakhstan, Abu
Dhabi, Kuwait, Jordan, and Israel in April. We loved seeing our son Josiah and
granddaughter Maylee (now a 9 year old young lady!) in Almaty.
Mark had the privilege teaching a seminar for a number of Kazakhstani pastors and church leaders, several of whom were our former students there.
Our first trip to the ‘Holy
Land’ was amazing! We are so thankful for dear friends in Israel who showed us
many of the Biblical sites. Already we are reading the Scriptures with a bit of
an ‘eye witness’ perspective.
The blessing continued as our youngest son Aaron
came from Oregon when we got home. Together with our oldest son, Nathan and his
wife Heather (who live here), we enjoyed about a week together. Here we are wearing
essential Beijing tourist gear…on some days!
A Great Read
One of the many talented members of our church is, Aminta Arrington. She has written a popular book: “Home is a Roof Over a Pig: An American Family's Journey in China” (ISBN-10: 1590208994). Her balanced insights present a very helpful picture of the life of a foreign family in this amazing land. It’s been a great read.
Gathering, Growing, Going
These three ‘G’s’ are the motto of BICF ZGC. As you can imagine for a
‘student church’ our focus is on the last G
just now. It is extremely heartening to hear students say how the Lord has
blessed them through the ministry of our church during their time in Beijing. A
number candidly share how they arrived from their Western homeland with a big
cynical chip on their shoulder about God, religion, and especially evangelical
Christians. But after a few weekends trying out the many bars and clubs in
Beijing and feeling just as empty as all that made them feel at home, they come
to admit that Christians are the most sunny and sincere folks they meet here.
And slowly they show up at small groups in dorm rooms, meals in café’s with
friendly Christ-followers, eventually even coming to CHURCH! We have seen a
number come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! Last Tuesday night Dayna
and I went to visit one of our 16 University small group meetings. It was so
encouraging to hear 22 bright students from 10 different nations picking
through the points and passages of the sermon I had preached to them two days
before. (Very surprised they could find so much!) In less than a month nearly all
the young adults in that meeting will leave to continue their University programs
in Korea, England, Vietnam, Canada, Germany, France, Malaysia, Australia, and
the US. Several hundred people who are now part of the ZGC family will be “Going!”
And we – and YOU through your generous prayers and gifts – are sending
them out better equipped in His Word than when they came. And God willing, in
our new location somewhere nearby, we will “Gather” several hundred more in
August and September.
Yours
in the Lord of the Harvest! Mark and Dayna Blair
Our Mission
Pioneers - 10123 William
Carey Drive - Orlando, FL 32832 – USA www.pioneers.org
(Support checks should be
made out to ‘Pioneers’ – with a separate note on the check saying: ‘Mark and
Dayna Blair, Beijing.’ Some have asked, and you can send funds through
electronic transfers too: http://www.pioneers.org/Give/AutomatedGiving.aspx
)
Our Blog www.blairstan.blogspot.com
Skype blairstan
Our Ministry
Beijing International
Christian Fellowship - www.bicf.org
Hear Mark’s sermons at: http://bicf.org/english-service
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