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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CONFERENCES IN CHINA

Why this brief account of how these conferences began, and what they are like today?
- HISTORY - HIS STORY - needs to be recorded. The amazing work God has been doing in and through international students in China is something few people know about, yet it is highly strategic and significant in the world today.
- TO REMEMBER to thank the Lord for all He has done, from the beginning (Psalm 105, v.5).
- TO UNDERSTAND that each one of us is part of a great movement inspired by God Himself, and continued by God Himself, for His far-reaching and eternal purposes.
- TO LEARN from the PAST - those who went before us; TO ASSESS our PRESENT, and TO RECEIVE WISDOM for the FUTURE, that we may go forward in Him.
A full history of the conferences would be the length of a book (!), so this account is necessarily 'potted', with a special focus on how the conferences began.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
In the late 70s and early 80s, young people from African countries began to come to China as international students. They usually spent their first year in the Beijing Language Institute studying the Chinese language and, while there, the Christians among them formed prayer groups - one in French and one in English - that met regularly. In the midst of life in a new land and culture, and all the challenges that entailed, this kind of fellowship was deeply precious.
After the first year, students would pursue their desired courses of study in various universities throughout the country. Some then found themselves in areas that seemed lonely and remote compared to Beijing, with few (if any) around them who shared their faith. They craved the size and the richness of the student fellowships they had enjoyed back in Beijing.
The need of these students for more fellowship was obvious. The question was - how could such fellowship be provided? The Lord would use a few young men, who themselves were students, to answer that question.
In late 1986, Folly (from Togo, studying at Beijing's Qinghua University) and Dono (from Chad, studying in Shanghai), with others, had the idea of organizing a small Christian conference during the winter holiday of 1987. This could create for students that all-important opportunity to get together and 'recapture' the atmosphere of times past. It could also, they felt, serve as an opportunity for attendees to be encouraged and equipped in their Christian lives.
As this vision was shared, people were enthusiastic. In the context of real financial pressures (due to the low student allowances of the time), people were prepared to give sacrificially towards conference costs, and help eachother - a true reflection of the Acts 4, v.32 principle*(1). And thus, by the faithfulness of God, the first student conference was held in late January 1987, in Shanghai, at the East China University of Chemical Technology.
The conference, with the theme "Know God in order to serve Him better", went on for a week. About 50 people of about 20 different nationalities attended. Most were from African countries, though there was at least one European (a sister from Switzerland) and a brother from Sri Lanka. Accommodation was simple - many attendees stayed with their countrymates or with other brothers and sisters studying in Shanghai. The speakers were all students (leaders in their various local fellowship groups). A different speaker spoke at each session, each on a specific topic, and meetings were always bilingual (English and French).

The organizers of this first conference did not initially plan for the conferences to take place regularly. However, the time together in Shanghai was so enriching that a second meeting was soon planned for the summer of 1987 (in Beijing).
And so it was from these simple, yet strategic, beginnings, that China's biannual international student conference was launched. It would soon become a focal activity for the lives of Christian students and something they would really look forward to. The early conferences usually took place in universities in various cities where there were Christian students. One of the early 'host' cities (1988) was Wuxi.
First conference in session (This has been the only time, till the present, that the conference was held in this city.) Due to security issues in some cities, Beijing, where it was relatively easy to organize events for internationals, soon became the location for most summer conferences.
Folly was often used by the Lord to keep the vision sharp and lead the conference forward as things developed. From the time of the 2nd or 3rd conference, Anatole, from the Central African Republic, who led the student fellowship in Guangzhou, began to play a key role, too. Various other brothers were also very much involved in invaluable ways.

Early on, it became clear that God had plans for these conferences that were even greater and more far-reaching than originally imagined. Not only did they provide opportunities for fellowship of a kind that has been described as 'a taste

VISION OF EARLY STUDENT CONFERENCES:OPPORTUNITY FOR FELLOWSHIPOPPORTUNITY FOR EQUIPPING…IN ORDER TO MAKE USE OFOPPORTUNITIES TO EXPANDGOD'S KINGDOM

of heaven', and for equipping in one's personal Christian life - they could also inspire students to get actively involved in the expansion of God's worldwide kingdom.
Christian students, speaking the Chinese language as well as they often did, scattered
throughout so many parts of China, and having daily contact with the people around
them, were in a unique position to reach out in their various communities with the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. The student fellowships in Guangzhou (especially) and Shanghai were
very instrumental in encouraging this outreach, and set a good example since they
themselves were so active in this regard. The view students took of their lives in China,
and of their future lives, could be transformed as they began to see themselves as 'sent' to
their various locations by the Lord Himself.

FROM THEN TO NOW:
Over the years, the student conference has continued to be held every six months, and has usually gone on for five days. From 1989 to the present, fellowships in Tianjin, Wuhan, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shanghai (Suzhou), Hangzhou, Shenyang and Beijing, have all hosted either winter or summer conferences (often more than once). Meeting places for conference sessions have ranged from universities and churches to hotels and embassies, while accommodation (partly due to growing numbers) has increasingly been in hotels. Conferences have grown considerably in size, with some more recent conferences attracting more than 200 participants from all over China (the largest ever was held in Nanjing in 2002). They have also become increasingly international, with sometimes as many as 50 nationalities represented from all continents of the world. There have been participants from Mali, Guinea, Eritrea, Mongolia, Russia, Peru, Thailand, Bulgaria, Fiji - to mention just a few. And it is not only students who attend. Teachers, business people, diplomats, even short-term visitors to China, are all keen to come and take part. Some attendees come as unbelievers and receive Jesus at the conferences. Others get water baptized. The majority leave closer to the Lord from when they came.
Conferences have at least afternoon and evening sessions, and often morning sessions as well, usually still focusing on a central theme. For some years now, the evening sessions have been taken by a main, guest speaker. The first time the conference invited a guest speaker, was in the winter of 1990 in Tianjin, when Pastor Stevens Nolin spoke. He and his wife, Mary, would become regular conference speakers over the next few years. There have been many other speakers greatly used in the continuing 'history' of the conferences, including some who have had a deep and ongoing involvement. Speakers have usually spoken in English (though sometimes in French), and translation
Stevens Nolin into the other language has always been provided. In addition, there is now often a need for Chinese translation for those from various countries who understand Chinese more readily than either English or French.

As China has developed, so conferences have become more and more 'professional' in the way they are organized. Nevertheless, challenges have always presented themselves for the organisers, not least of which is the challenge of getting official permission. This, is turn, is linked to the issue of finding a place to meet. For example, in preparation for the winter 2003 conference in Wuhan, Christian students in that city were tested considerably in those very areas. Yet their faith was rewarded as official permission was
granted in perfect timing (indeed, official recognition of these conferences as a regular Christian activity in China may now not be far away). It is not an overstatement to say that each conference has been a miracle, and it is sometimes when the challenges have been fiercest that the blessings have been the greatest.
In July 2002, an advisory committee (of former students now working in China) and a steering committee (of students)

were formed to help with conference organizing, and, under the guidance of God, give cohesiveness and direction to this work. To this end also, a vision statement was devised: "Equipping the saints through teaching, training and mentoring for devotion to Christ, the building of His church and service to the local community and the nations".

VISION STATEMENT FOR CONFERENCES (2002+):EQUIPPING THE SAINTS THROUGH TEACHING,TRAINING AND MENTORINGFOR DEVOTION TO CHRIST,THE BUILDING OF HIS CHURCHAND SERVICE TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND THE NATIONS

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
The above statement has an amazingly similar feel to the vision in the hearts of those students the Lord used to establish the conferences. The same Holy Spirit has been guiding us all along! What message might the students of those early days have for us now regarding how this vision can become absolute reality in our lives and futures?
There is always a danger, in any move of God, that the larger, the more 'professional' we become, the less we end up depending on the Lord Himself. Though there have often been external challenges (as we have seen), the vast majority of attendees may not be aware of these as they meet and enjoy fellowship with their friends. In recent years, having a conference has become something many of us are tempted to take for granted

The greatest challenge needed is one to our hearts. Potential attendees of early conferences understood that sacrifice and total (including financial) commitment were a must if these conferences were ever to take place. Thus, by the time people gathered, hearts were prepared and expectant. Christians made serious commitments to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ. They were challenged inwardly to live lives worthy of the Lord, and this not just at conference time.
If we look at just a few examples of what the Christian students of those early days are involved in now, we will see that their commitment was neither shallow nor passing. Moreover, the desire to expand God's kingdom, which was encouraged in them at these conferences, would continue to shape their lives even after 'student days'. It was at a conference that Anatole, from the Central African Republic, shared the vision God had already put in his heart to return to Africa in full-time Christian service. He now co-pastors a church in his home country, and is also involved in working among pygmy communities and in other kinds of outreach. A student called Musa, from Niger, was a Muslim when he came to China, but he and his Chinese girlfriend both became Christians. At the Tianjin conference in 1990, they were married and also commissioned for full-time Christian service. They are presently serving the Lord in Togo and Benin and have been used to set up schools and hospitals. And there are many other examples one could cite.
The vision for these early conferences was outworked in reality and the fruits can be seen to this day. How about us, in this generation, as we have before us a vision the same in essence as the earlier one? Do we recognize God's far-reaching purposes for us as a body? How can we learn from the past in order to move forward into all He has for us? We would not want to lose the commitment, the passion, the seriousness…. Are we willing to make the sacrifice that will therefore be required of us? What will be said of our lives in 10, 20, 50 years' time?
"For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required." (Luke 12, v.48)