I have many great memories from the twenty years I was privileged to be involved in youth ministry and church planting. One I’ll never forget is the time Kay Arthur, the Co-Founder of Precept Ministries, responded to my spontaneous invitation to teach at our Harvesters Youth Camp at the Y.W.C.A. Campground on Lantau Island in Hong Kong, one June night. Kay was in the city carrying out an intense Bible teaching and Precept training schedule. Her plate was already full, but once she heard there were 100 teenagers seeking God at camp, she happily said yes.
Kay and her husband Jack embarked on the one-hour-plus ferry and bus ride to the camp, arriving at the end of an already full day. It was about 8:00pm at night. Then, in a very hot and humid hall, she launched into a treatment of 1 Timothy 2:22 “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace…” (NIV) and 4:12-16 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young….” (NIV).
By the time she was done, the Holy Spirit had touched every student, and staff member. The follow up sharing and prayer times were powerful, as the Lord had used Kay to bring transformation into our lives through his word and the presence of God in Christ, by the power of His Holy Spirit. Many of us never forgot that sacred night, not only because of Kay’s powerful teaching accompanied and quickened by the Holy Spirit, but because of the zeal, joy, and warmth she exuded even though she and Jack were exhausted from jet lag and her busy schedule, and barely making it back to the city on the last ferry that night.
Precept Ministries International, which now provides literature, television and radio broadcasts in thirty countries and seventy languages, actually had its start in Jack and Kay’s living room in Chattanooga, Tennessee, when Kay began teaching the Bible to teenagers. Kay always loved young people. Like Paul she taught them to seek out and realize their calling and gifting in Christ. Along with her commitment to reach young people, Kay had a high regard and respect for young men and women. Because she wholeheartedly believed in the calling of God and his purposes for youth, as well as the power of God’s word, Precept student programs have flourished all over the world. She would always say, “By God’s grace he has done this.”
At the age of 91, Kay’s faith was turned to sight last month on May 20. Her husband Jack went Home January, 2017. A global kingdom legacy reverberates because of their faithfulness.
A Scattered Global Movement
God brought Kay Arthur to mind as I was reading Jessie Yang’s ChinaSource June 06, blog entry entitled Called to Stay, Equipped to Go. Like Kay, God has called Jessie to have the world in mind as she and the team she works with lead a vital ministry among “Chinese youth in Canada, particularly those from second generation or Asian immigrant backgrounds.” From junior high through college, Jessie writes, “We believe these young people deeply shaped by postmodern culture, yet spiritually hungry, are a vital part of God’s work in this generation.”
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read Jessie’s post, because like Kay Arthur in her generation, God has given Jessie a vision for being faithful in her locale while being equipped, and equipping others to minister cross-culturally across the street, or around the world, “inside and outside the Chinese church.”
After attending the Chinese Diaspora and Glocal Evangelism Consultation, also called 华人散聚网络策进会议 last April, Jessie concluded: “The global Chinese church, with its linguistic diversity, mobility, and cross-cultural experience, is strategically positioned for missions. Whether we‘re in Hong Kong, Toronto, Auckland, or Kuala Lumpur, we are all part of a broader story God is writing—one in which the scattered are also the sent.”
I trust we’ll be faithful to pray for Jessie and her team, and for the other faithful women and men of God serving young people around the world, that he will answer the prayer Jessie offered in closing her post: “May we, the global Chinese church, continue to serve as vessels of grace, faithfully sent into every corner of the world.”
Kerry Schottelkorb
President
Ways to Pray
Praise
- Praise the Lord for youth ministry leaders like Jessie Yang serving with Ambassadors for Christ in Canada. Please pray for her as she prays for the fellowship teams of young people who are currently forming their leadership teams. Join with Jessie in praying that student leaders “will grow in wisdom, spiritual maturity, and unity as they step into new responsibilities.” For the full story be sure to see Called to Stay, Equipped to Go by Jessie Yang, June 06, 2025.
- Praise the Lord with us that Aaron Settle, our new Vice-President of Operations, has completed his first month with the team. Please continue to pray For Aaron as he becomes better acquainted with the ChinaSource team and moves confidently into his new role.
- We also praise God for Dan Kennicutt, who has been the ChinaSource Director of Finance for the last five and a half years, and is retiring soon. Dan is helping Aaron with his onboarding process, ensuring that the transition will be smooth and efficient. Dan won’t be going too far. He has consented to be on call as needed, and we are grateful for his friendship and help.
Prayer
- Please pray for God’s guidance in the hiring of the next ChinaSource Assistant Content Manager by the end of this month.
- Please pray that the Lord will raise up workers for the harvest, including prayer walking intercessors like JD. See Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life, by Joann Pittman, May, 30, 2025.
- Please pray for the city of Wuhan. See Wuhan: Verses for the City May 29, 2025, China Partnership.
- Please join us in asking the Lord for his abundant financial provision this summer.
News and Notes
ChinaSource Team News
- On June 2, Polycentric Leadership republished Brent Fulton’s article, “Who’s at the Table?”
- On May 26, in their June 2025 China Prayer Letter, Chinese Church Support Ministries republished CS’s October 14, 2024 article, “Do Chinese Christians Still Need to Study Theology Abroad in the Online Learning Era?”
In Case You Missed It
A selection of recently published items:
- The Three-Self Church in the Sinicization Campaign, ChinaSource Blog, June 17.
- Why I Left Protestantism—but Don’t Call It a Conversion, ChinaSource Blog, June 16.
- The Second Time, I Didn’t Come Alone, ChinaSource Blog, June 13.
- ZGBriefs, June 12.
- From Sticker to Sunday School, ChinaSource Blog, June 10.
- Reaching Chinese Students in Korea: Insights from a Groundbreaking Study, ChinaSource Blog, June 9.
- Called to Stay, Equipped to Go, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), June 6.
- ZGBriefs, June 5.
- From Seoul to Tokyo: A Korean Pastor’s Mission to the Chinese Diaspora in Japan, ChinaSource Blog, June 3.
- Chinese Christians “Looking East”: The Empirical Evidence (华人基督徒的 “东方情结”), ChinaSource Blog, June 2.
- Prayer Walking as a Rhythm of Life, ChinaSource Blog, May 30.
- ZGBriefs, May 29.
- Between Popes, Two Bishops: Observing China’s Moves and the Vatican’s Silence, ChinaSource Blog, May 27.
- Metaphorically Speaking, ChinaSource Blog, May 26.
- Crossing the Divide, ChinaSource Blog, May 23.
- ZGBriefs, May 22.
- Restoring Our True Face: From Cultural Survival to Christlike Peacemaking, ChinaSource Blog, May 20.
- Cross-Cultural Work in China Today, ChinaSource Blog, May 19.
- What the Chinese Diaspora Is Talking About, ChinaSource Blog, May 16.
- ZGBriefs, May 15.
