Aloha from Almaty,
We have been very encouraged by your affirmation of our upcoming move to Beijing in June, God willing. Several have asked helpful questions about our plans, so we’re sending this letter with answers to all. We are blessed to have such a loving and generous team of people who have so faithfully stood with us in mission. When we began our ministry abroad in war-torn Uganda in 1983 it took more than six months to receive a letter, email did not exist, and telephone was impossible. Now we connect globally in nano-seconds – even with former colleagues in that remote African village. Sometimes, when the news is bad, this can overwhelm us all with compounding sadness, as the stock exchanges around the globe sink in one another’s panic! But as we know Him who holds this world, we look to Him with faith not fear. When the puny nation of Judah was about to be swallowed by the wicked global tyrant Babylon, God sent the prophet Isaiah to help the faithful keep things in perspective -
“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:22-31
On Sunday, July 6, 1924 those words were read from the pulpit of the Scots Church in Paris. At that very hour the starting guns for the 100 meter Olympic heats sounded nearby. Eric Liddell, the one favored to win that event, was not on the track but in that pulpit. He would not run on the Sabbath, but he would preach. Later that week Liddell entered the 400 meters, by no means his best event. He was a sprinter. As he went to the starting blocks, an American masseur slipped a piece of paper into Liddell's hand with a quotation: "Those who honour me I will honour" (1 Samuel 2:30). He ran with that paper in his hand. Not only did he win the gold, he broke the world record. Eric Liddell was born and died in China as a missionary. This Scotsman, ‘the Pride of Scotland,’ was also China’s first Olympic medalist! Hard times will not last, but those who find their strength in God will. We do not know God’s plans, but we must not doubt His power.
Pressing on in KZ
As with any move, the hardest part will be saying good-bye to beloved friends. The life-challenges we face together here in Kazakhstan have forged deep bonds of partnership and love. We want to be faithful to seize every opportunity for Him in the remaining months we have here. (God wants obedience today, not just dreams about tomorrow!) In January we had a wonderful time in the south of this country with 35 leaders and pastors from 10 churches. We studied the Pastoral letters of Paul; long, but encouraging days. Pray for their perseverance in a strong Islamic area - lots of adversity. Stones have hit several, literally! Broken windows, government pressure, harassment, slander from the media, and general discouragement are rife. They want us to come back for another week of teaching in March. We plan on it.
Now some of questions we have received about our plans to move to BICF (Beijing International Christian Fellowship)…
I hate to be so dumb, but will you now have to learn Chinese?? If so, blessings on you - I mean, since you're so old now I imagine new language acquisition might be more of a challenge! :-)
Ouch! That was from Mark’s college dorm mate – a true “Catacombs Homeboy” from Covenant. So he is no young pup either! But it is a good, and daunting, question. And this makes us wonder – “God, are you really calling us there!” When we walked past a restaurant in China recently we thought they were giving language lessons but it was just the busboy dropping the silverware on the floor. Thankfully, we are going to serve an English language church in Beijing. And there will be many people to serve and ministries to do in English. But we will have neighbors, shopping, traveling, etc. that will require at least some ‘survival’ Chinese, like we have ‘survived’ in Russian here. This is not our strength. Pray, please!
If "local Chinese" are restricted from coming to BICF are the people who attend all from different countries working or studying in China?
Yes, only foreign passport holders are allowed in BICF. There are thousands of internationals living and working in Beijing. Our experience here has been that people in this status are unusually open to the Gospel. Those who attend BICF do have numerous opportunities with nationals throughout their week, and we will too.
What is the situation of the Church in China?
We still have much to learn, but we will share what we know. The government has allowed their citizens to meet in officially recognized churches since the late 1970’s. There are both Protestant and Catholic official churches. The number of official churches is not enough for the huge demand. Clearly there are limits placed on these churches. Yet, many leaders we respect tell us the gospel is being preached in many of these churches and people are coming to faith in Jesus. Although their shortage of pastors and teachers often means that possibilities for growth in discipleship are limited. BICF has good relations with this official church and opportunities for our teaching in their seminaries are quite possible.
In addition, there are a large, and growing, number of ‘unofficial’ churches. Many of those who find their way to these churches have come to faith through official churches. We have friendships here too. This group, like Christendom, varies from balanced, Biblical understanding to wild fanaticism. Some have little access to good teaching, others have embraced false teaching. Spiritual hunger – inside and outside the Church - is great in China. Even the government now estimates the number of believers in China as 130 million, and 9,000 unofficial churches in Beijing alone. God knows His own.
Are there Bibles in China?
The government allows the publication and distribution of Bibles. The former days of hand-copied scraps of Scripture are thankfully over, at least in the primary language of Mandarin. One printing press alone, which we visited a few years ago, has now printed more than 50 million Chinese Bibles and counting. There is also a growing amount of Christian literature available for believers. With such a huge population, this is just a small, but encouraging, beginning.
I know you will have to be more careful of your words in China than you have needed to be in Kazakhstan.
Yes, for the safety of local believers especially. The government will recognize us as a foreign Christian workers through the ministry of BICF.
What will your job description and title be at BICF?
Mark will be a pastor in function, and a ‘Church Leader’ in title. The historical context has guided BICF not to use the term pastor in the past. Now that title is more freely used with no problems. Their structure has three ‘Church Leaders,’ one at each of their three primary sites of ministry. We will be at Zhong Guan Cun, which began four years ago. Mark will be on a team of Elders in ZGC and part of the Community Elders of the entire BICF. I have never been very interested in titles. I think the title ‘Senior Pastor’ has some unbiblical implications and anyway it makes me feel old! Perhaps the title “Servant Pastor” would be closer to Scripture. There will be three main areas of my duties at BICF ZGC, quoting their document: 1) To provide spiritual and pastoral leadership, as leader of the church elders, to the BICF ZGC congregation. To preach, teach, and administer the Sacraments. 2) To serve as the chief administrator of the congregation so that it might fulfill its mission and purpose as the body of Christ. 3) To give primary leadership to the four ministry quadrants: Inspiration, Life Stations, Small Groups, and Impact.
Maybe someday our church can do some kind of outreach or something there with you.
That is an exciting idea! Let us see.
What percentage of financial support are you currently at while serving in Almaty and what your current monthly need is through May?
At this point, thanks to many generous folks, we are nearly at full support. As we have mentioned before, and as you are no doubt feeling, the value of the dollar has gone down significantly here too. One thing local pastors are asking us to do before leaving is reprint several of the books Mark has produced in Russian and Kazakh. Currently, all copies are in circulation. We have been able to produce these through excess mission funds.
Will there be any one-time start up costs?
Yes. We plan two trips to China, in April and then our move there in early June. In April we will have a week together with the current leader of BICF ZGC. (He leaves in May.) This will be an invaluable time to learn from him. Mark is scheduled to preach there on Palm Sunday, April 5. Our eldest son Nathan and his wife Heather will be visiting us then and they will come too. We also hope to find an apartment for our future home then.
We will not move our furniture to Beijing. But we do plan to transport books, clothing, and personal effects. We are exploring the best options. We hope for an apartment not far from where the church meets. We will need to outfit this apartment. Dayna is excited about one of the world’s largest Ikea stores located in Beijing!
As some of you know, we were extremely blessed to have an anonymous believer in the States loan us $35,000 in 2001 which we used to purchase an apartment here in Almaty. By May we will have repaid that dear person at 5% interest. This has allowed us a fixed rent cost. The seminary we have served since 1997 owns the apartment. Now it will help their ministry. It is now valued at over $100,000. IF there is anyone who is open to such an idea, we would love to explore the possibilities in Beijing.
If you could tell us what your monthly needs will be in BJ.
We anticipate that our overall living costs may be quite similar to what we have here. Food and supplies will probably be cheaper. But we may have to pay more for rent. We will see.
Will there be any kind of compensation from BICF-ZGC?
There is a monthly stipend. It is not designed to support the pastor but to supplement some of his needs. As we have explained, there are presently three sites of BICF. ZGC is comprised of many students. At this point their congregation is not fully self-supporting but is supplemented by the general BICF budget. The rental of facilities large enough to serve the members and children of the congregation is significant. Once we are in position we will be able to give more detailed figures of our needs and the BICF.
Is there any denominational affiliation of BICF?
As you can see from their statement of faith posted on their web site; their doctrine is theologically conservative. (That word which has a negative ring in the popular press is still quite useful. It simply means they’re trying to ‘HOLD ON’ (conserve) to truths entrusted to us by our Lord in His Word.) The members come from many Christian denominations, traditions and nations. There is a strong emphasis on mission and evangelism. Speaking from our experience here in Almaty, we have found the International Church to be a wonderful foretaste of heaven!
What does BICF resemble organizationally?
My answer, to all these questions, will be more accurate in one year. But as an outside observer I can say it is a very active, changing, and focused place. They have a strong core commitment to the Lord and His Word and a great desire to do what they can to make Him known, from Beijing to the ends of the earth. There are three sites where English language worship services are held. Those sites offer simultaneous translations through headsets into several different languages during their services. Also during the services, there is a full program of ‘Sunday School’ for all ages. Each site has multiple worship services. In addition there are numerous fellowships of different language groups. ZGC currently has Korean, Mandarin, and Indonesian meetings every week. Then, during the week there are many small groups – with lots of different styles and subjects – meeting throughout the city of Beijing. There is also a strong emphasis of community outreach and ministries of mercy. For example the total BICF – about 3000 members – donated RMB 1.7 million ($250,000) and many man-hours toward earthquake relief in China in 2008. One more factor that shapes this picture is the transient nature of the membership, with people coming for one Sunday, one school term, one year, and a few long termers. There is a good administrative network which tries to get people mobilized and maximized in ministry while they’re in Beijing. Their documents at www.bicf.org offer many good ideas for any church.
Do you hope to continue teaching national church leaders?
Definitely. At this point we cannot say how or where. And even when it happens we may not be as free to say how and where. But it is our deep desire to use our gifts of teaching to encourage the leaders of His Church in that nation. Pray for this with us, please.
How many years are you initially committing to BICF?
We want to commit at least three years initially. We are open to how He leads both us and the elders of BICF regarding a longer term of service.
Will you go on furlough before heading to BJ?
No. We returned here to Almaty from furlough in January 2008, just one year ago. We may visit the States in 2010, but no plans are made yet.
Again, we are so grateful that you are standing with us and even reading this loooong letter!
Yours in Him who holds the Nations, Mark and Dayna Blair
Our Mission
Pioneers - 10123 William Carey Drive - Orlando, FL 32832 - USA
www.pioneers.org
Our Blog
www.blairstan.blogspot.com
Our Ministries
International Christian Fellowship www.icf.nursat.kz
Beijing International Christian Fellowship www.bicf.org
Our Mailing Address (Please do not send anything after April 15 as we leave here in June.)
Blair – Almaty 43 – P.O. Box 13 – Kazakhstan 050043
