College campuses in China are highly controlled and monitored. It is more difficult than ever for a believer to be a witness for Christ on a Chinese university campus. Chinese Muslim students also face challenges to their religious freedom. Students are taught to embrace the twelve core values of Chinese Socialism and Xi Jinping’s ideology. Nationalism is not a choice. Any personal faith and practice must yield under loyalty to the government powerfully controlled by the Communist Party.
On the other hand, the college years give many Hui students a unique opportunity to encounter a Christian and hear about the Christian beliefs about Jesus. Some may hear the gospel for the first time through new friends and classmates. College students also hear about Jesus in classrooms as they listen to lectures about world history, literature, and Western culture. Some students are surprised to learn that Christmas is actually a celebration of Jesus’ birth.
Just like with other students, college often introduces new challenges for Hui young adults to face, such as social pressure, depression, addiction and abuse. These issues are typically dealt with sternly yet quietly and are hidden from public view. Let’s pray for Hui college students who are struggling with various issues, to receive help and healing, and to find faith, strength, and hope in Christ.
Although this video is clearly propagandist, it reveals a reality of life on a Chinese university campus. Individuality is suppressed, and Chinese students, especially from minority ethnic groups, like Hui, are pressured to conform to a Han Chinese model that is fully loyal to the Chinese Communist Party. As you look at the faces of these students at a university in Northwest China, some of whom are probably Hui, pray for what is being shaped on the inside: their hearts and minds. May they discover God’s Word and instead be shaped by the gospel of Christ, full of grace and truth.
And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17)
Please pray this week for Hui students:
- That God would give them friendships with Christians who will share their faith in love
- For Hui students to learn about Jesus in their classes, and investigate the claims of Christianity
- For Hui students who are struggling with addiction, relationship issues, or mental issues, to receive help, healing, and the message of hope in Christ
- For Hui Muslims who are being persecuted or are facing identity crisis, to be given the gospel of grace, and an invitation to receive salvation through Jesus
- For Hui Christian students to persevere in their faith and be encouraged by a community of believers