china

[totallylovedbygod]

At China Partnership, we place a high value on cities. As I wrote in my introductory piece to 2024, Chinese cities have a special place in the work of the kingdom of God. With thousands of people moving into Chinese cities each year, urban churches have a unique opportunity to be “cities on a hill,” kingdom communities that exemplify the love, joy, peace, hope, and righteousness of Christ to their neighbors. Because of this belief, we spent all of 2024 praying for Chinese cities. We prayed for a different city each month, drawing our prayer requests from the Christians that call those cities home. The feedback we have received from this prayer focus–as well as our own internal experience–has been fantastic. So much so, that in 2025 we’re going to do it all over again. In 2025, we’ll be praying for eleven more cities. Just as we did last year, we have intentionally chosen cities to represent multiple regions within China, from the cold northeast to the more tropical southwest. Though these cities are all a part of China, they are incredibly diverse, each with its own unique history and church context. To prepare our hearts for another year of praying for Chinese cities, we first want to step back and pray for China as a whole. This January, we will spend four weeks reminding ourselves about the “big vision” of why we pray for Chinese cities, and praying for the entire country. Our prayer schedule will look like this: Week 1 - Praying for China as a whole: city vision Week 2 - Praying for China as whole: by area of ministry Week 3 - Praying for China as a whole: by region Week 4 - Praying for China as a whole: renewal for Lunar New Year We hope you will join us as we begin 2025 praying for cities across China. We pray that the Holy Spirit prepares your heart well for praying for Chinese cities this year!

This Week's Prayer Guide January 5 - This week, we will prepare our hearts to pray for more cities in China in 2025. To begin, we will pray for the Holy Spirit to give churches in China a “city vision,” that they may be shaped by the gospel in how they view their cities and how they live in them. May they be Christ’s ambassadors to the cities where they live. January 6 - We believe cities in China need transformation by grace. Pray for cities in China to experience this transformation in 2025, and for God to use churches within these cities to help bring about this transformation. January 7 - A Christian leader in China reminds us: “When you pray for a city according to God’s heart, you will see God working in that city.” Prayer is effective and powerful. It is the main avenue by which we see God’s rule affect change. Pray for believers in Chinese cities to be deeply rooted in prayers, that they would see God working in their cities in 2025. January 8 - Matthew 5:14 calls Christian churches to be a “city on a hill” within their cities. Pray for churches in China to be a “city on a hill,” an alternative community to the cities around them, exemplifying the way of the cross. January 9 - Pray that churches in China would be communities defined by the love of Christ: first, that they would be a people who deeply experience Christ’s love for them. Second, that they would love Christ in return. Third, that they would love each other as brothers and sisters. And fourth, that they would reach out to the lost and broken around them with the love of Christ. January 10 - Pray for Christian unity within churches in China, both for churches within the same city and for churches from different cities. May God bring his people together to show his goodness to the world. January 11 - A Christian leader in China reminds us why it is important to pray for Christians in other cities and other countries: “We are all in God’s kingdom, and we need to support each other, to have a kingdom mindset.” Pray for more mutual love and encouragement of Christians in Chinese cities in 2025, that together we may have a kingdom mindset.