May 13, 2002

Singing Men of Texas
launch China partnership
___By Ferrell Foster
___Texas Baptist Communications
___Enthusiastic crowds in four Chinese cities greeted Texas Baptist music ministers during an April trip launching an informal partnership between the China Christian Council and the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
___The north central

THE SINGING MEN OF TEXAS sing "O Worship the King," with accompanying handbells, in a church in China. The men helped launch a new partnership between the China Christian Council and the Baptist General Convention of Texas with their April 16-26 tour of four Chinese cities. (Photo by Stan Ford)

chapter of the Singing Men of Texas became the "vanguard group" for the new partnership, said Don Blackley, director of the chapter and associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Richardson. "We were able to say with excellence and love, 'Texas Baptists are here to partner with you, to encourage you and to learn from you.'"
___Their trip was intended to lay the groundwork for future ministry opportunities, said Joe Bruce, projects director for the BGCT's Texas Partnerships Resource Center.
___In addition to singing, the men and their home churches are contributing more than $10,000 for the legal purchase of Bibles in China.
___Amity Press will print Bibles for about $1.50 each, said Don Sewell, director of Texas Partnerships. As a result, more than 7,000 Bibles will be given to Chinese people in a culture where Bibles remain a rarity.
___Members of the Singing Men of Texas are or have been church music ministers. Forty-eight singers, plus some spouses, made the trip April 16-26.
___They encountered "great enthusiasm in packed auditoriums," Blackley said.
___Response to the concerts was tremendous, Bruce concurred. One Sunday morning, the group arrived early for a 7:30 service. "The building was already full, and people were sitting on benches in the courtyard," he said.
___"It was wonderful," said Don Orr, an 80-year-old retired music missionary and member of First Baptist Church in Burleson. Orr had served in China during World War II and wanted to return on a mission of peace rather than war. "We were so surprised at the strength of the church work there," he explained.
___Blackley noted an "immense appetite for worship and celebration" in the Chinese churches. "We were allowed to say and sing and do anything we wanted to ... with

WOODY Schober teaches the hand motions to "here's the church, here's the steeple, open the doors and see all the people" outside St. Paul's Christian Church in Nanjing, China. As the Texans' bus pulled away, the people bidding them farewell held up their "churches with people." (Photo & caption by Stan Ford)

in the bounds of the service."
___The Richardson minister also noted "the sheer immensity of the population."
___With 1.3 billion people, China has a billion more people than the United States. And the city of Shanghai alone has 18 million people, compared to 20 million in Texas.
___The large crowds in the churches, Bruce said, are "still only a small portion of the population."
___Lynn Yarbrough, an Amity Foundation teacher at Jiangsu Institute of Education in Nanjing, said of the Singing Men made an impact on some of her students. "The highlight of their being here was the fact that 17 of my Chinese friends and students, most of whom had never been in church before, attended over the two nights in the two churches in which the group sang in Nanjing.
___"This occasion was a super opportunity for me, and I am grateful that the group came," Yarbrough said. "Through the music and the introductions of the various pieces, the gospel message came through clearly."
___Faye Pearson, another Baptist contact in China, said: "The churches were filled with believers and non-believers. They were blessed by the giftedness and the training of the men. However, they were equally blessed by the sweet spirit of the men and their wives sharing themselves in unselfish ways."
___Some young professionals came to church for the first time to hear the Singing Men, and they were "impressed with the atmosphere, spirit and friendliness of both the Western and Chinese Christians," Pearson said.
___ The Singing Men of Texas "planted beautiful seeds of the gospel that others will water and still others will harvest," she added.
___A "needs list" has not yet been developed as part of the informal partnership, Bruce said. However, Texans interested in participating in China missions may contact the Texas Partnerships Resource Center at (214) 828-5181.
___

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend



News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ for FirstLook