Seth Magnuson is the International Outreach Manager at Desiring God.

I recently watched Malatya, a documentary released earlier this year about the first modern martyrs of the Turkish Church.

A little over two years ago in Malatya, Turkey three men, Necati Aydin and Uğur Yuksel (two of the first Turkish Christian converts from Islam), along with Tilmann Geske (a German Christian living in Turkey), were tied up, tortured with butcher knives, and murdered in their own office at a Christian publishing house.

The Malatya film gives gritty, realistic, unassuming access into the lives of the widows and families, as well as into the church-body that is still grieving in Turkey.

This very small community of Turkish Christians has been thrust into a national spotlight. Now the faith that they live to proclaim has been put on display for the whole nation to witness, a nation that is taught from childhood “to be a Turk is to be a Muslim.”

It is very clear that God is using these times of suffering and affliction for his glory. The clearest evidence of this is the widows of the martyrs, who made front-page news and shocked the nation by publicly forgiving the men who murdered their husbands, echoing Christ's words: “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”

We know that God regularly turns the most difficult suffering into joy and salvation for many.

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)

May God use this event to strengthen, gather, and multiply his church in Turkey as the nation watches the portrayal of Christ’s love through the pain and suffering of his bride.

For more information, or to watch the trailer, visit the documentary's website.

With 300 million internet users in China and millions more worldwide, the Chinese language has now become the number one language on the internet. In order to provide more Christ-exalting resources for Chinese speakers, Desiring God’s International Outreach is ramping up our translating efforts and getting more and more sermons and articles into Chinese.

We're looking for volunteer translators who have the passion and ability to translate from English to Mandarin Chinese (simplified characters).

In order to ensure consistent quality, we've established an application procedure for serving as a volunteer translator for this project. This includes filling out an application and translating a sample sermon and article.

If you're interested in helping us translate Desiring God resources into Chinese, please email us at Chinese@desiringGod.org.

We began the third day of our China vision trip by viewing some of the historical and cultural sites of this amazing nation. It has been a joy to learn about this great land, its history, and its people.

We started off at Tiananmen Square (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace), the symbolic center of the nation. We then journeyed north to the massive gate-laden compound called the Forbidden City, which served as the home of China’s emperors from the 1400’s to the 1920’s. (The last emperor of China abdicated in 1912, but was allowed to live there until 1924.)  

In the evening, we continued our crash course on the current state of Christianity in China, fellowshipping and learning from some dear brothers about the victories and challenges stemming from the unprecedented growth of the Chinese church.

We have learned many things this week, yet in many ways are more confused. In preparation for this trip we read the book “China Road,” by Rob Gifford and one of his quotes has been rung true:  “If you’re not confused you’re not paying attention.” My respect and appreciation for the leaders who maneuver these complex situations and relationships grows day by day.

Another highlight yesterday was learning about a company called Baojiayin, a book distribution center delivering legally published books all over China. As we walked into their distribution center we saw stacks and stacks of newly published books like Mere Christianity, Theology of the Reformers, and Through the Gates of Splendor. It was great to meet the staff and hear their vision of helping Chinese believers access encouraging Christian literature. 

If you have friends in China please direct them to Baojiayin to see what books are available. Books can be ordered and delivered anywhere in the country for less than $1.

One of the books they sell is a recently-published bilingual version of The Big Picture Story Bible. That such a book has been approved for publication and distribution in China is truly amazing.  If you would like to help get copies of these books into the hands of Chinese orphans, please contact them.

As China has risen from the ashes of the Cultural Revolution to have one of the largest economies in the world, the Chinese church has seen similar growth. And it has come at an amazing pace.

Some Chinese government officials have estimated the church in China to be as large as 130 million people. While it is very hard to gauge a realistic statistic, one thing is for sure; the church in China is growing by leaps and bounds.

While the bulk of this rapid growth has been in the underground church movement, there has also been a significant expansion of the sometimes-criticized Three-Self Church, the officially recognized and government-supported church in China. 

But recently there has been a new side to the Chinese church, a movement that has been coined “the urban house church.”  It is not part of the underground church which has historically been a rural movement and is also not registered or supported by the government. 

These new urban house churches are popping up in large cities all across China. Some meet in high-rise apartment buildings and some have even begun building large multi-purpose buildings for their growing congregations to meet in.

Last May, Christianity Today carried an insightful article about what is happening with the church in China and the explosive growth of the new urban house church movement. And last month the Chicago Tribune posted an audio slideshow called “Christianity Sweeping China,” which also gives a glimpse of the various faces of the Chinese church.

The overall atmosphere for our brothers and sisters in China still varies from day to day and region to region. While some believers face resistance, others are finding more freedom and opportunities to worship.

While many challenges still exist for Christians in China, God is growing his church and bringing about a major missionary movement through it. The Chinese church is poised to play a significant role in future missionary endeavors. Some of China’s Christian leaders have a vision to carry the gospel “Back to Jerusalem” through some of the most gospel-resistant lands which lie between China and Israel. 

Despite this increasing interest in spreading the gospel, the one consistent thing that we have learned from our partners working in China is that there is a significant need for God-centered, Christ-exalting resources and teaching.

Please pray that God would provide all the teachers and material that the Chinese church needs to continue growing. And pray that Christ would be the fuel and sustainer of this amazing missionary calling he has given to the Chinese church as he seeks to gather worshipers from all the peoples of the earth.