2014 Semi-Annual Report Mainland Scholars’ Work (MSW) 11/27/2014

I. Current Situation and Challenges

According to the latest 2013/14 report from the Institute of International Education, the number of international students in the U.S. has increased 8.1% to a record high of 886,052 students. Among these students 274,439 (31.0%) are from China, which is 16.5% more than 2012/13. In 2014 there are five times as many Chinese students in the U.S. as there were in 2000 (See Chart 1 below):

The number of students from China equals the total number of students combined from India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Taiwan, which respectively ranks from #2 to #6 (See Chart 2 below):

The five top U.S. institutions that host the most international students are New York Univ., Univ. of Southern California, Univ. of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign, Columbia Univ., and Purdue Univ.

The Chinese students and scholars continue to be open to the high gospel. However, the number of students gained by the churches in the past few years has been disproportionate to the increasing number of students because of the shortage of serving ones (see Chart 3 below). For example, the total number of Chinese students doubled in 2013 compared to 2010, but the total number of baptisms only increased 17.7%.

II. Annual Perfecting Training Before the 2014 Chinese-speaking Students’

Perfecting Training, a pre-training was held in Cerritos, Southern California, from July 18 to 24. Then a one-week perfecting training was conducted in Franklin Park (NJ) as well as several weekend extension trainings in six localities throughout North America: Arcadia (CA), San Jose (CA), Houston (TX), Richmond (BC), Atlanta (GA) and Chicago (IL). The general subject of the training this year is "The Dream of God-the Eternal Bethel" with its burden as a continuation of the summer training. These trainings helped the students to see the vision of God's building and to build up the church-the house of God. During these trainings, some elderly saints have been praying watchfully while the meetings were going on. The saints’ prayer issues in great blessings of the Lord.

After the annual training, serving and responsible brothers at various campuses and churches formed organic prayer groups according to their regions for continual prayers and fellowships via conference calls on a weekly basis. Simultaneously, more than a hundred elderly saints also continued steadfastly to pray in groups for campus gospel and for Lord's move on the earth.

III. Gospel for the New Semester and to All the Nations From the month of August through

November, 71 truth forums and gospel meetings were carried out by MSW serving ones in coordination with local churches and campus serving ones. In these meetings at least 969 gospel friends were contacted. Among them,140 were baptized right after the meetings (see Table 1).

MSW serving ones continued to coordinate with the churches and campuses to preach the gospel to all the nations. Through sweet fellowship with the campus serving brothers during this semester, we have conducted 23 English-speaking gospel forums/meetings in a way of blending. In these meetings at least 176 English-speaking gospel friends were contacted, and 15 of them were baptized immediately after the meetings.

IV. Shepherding by Visitation and through Vital Group Practices MSW serving ones continued to shepherd by

way of visiting the newly saved ones as well as the scattered saints at various campuses to encourage them to pursue the ministry and to practice vital groups. Once a week, at least 330 saints throughout North America have been practicing the vital groups and caring for new ones. Perfecting of new ones is carried out in the homes by some saints. Using the home as its base, the training in the homes is an exercise with vital group as its structure, the pursuit of

truth as its content, perfecting people as its goal, and preaching the gospel as its orientation.

V. Weekend Students’ Perfecting and Corporate God-man Living Since August, MSW serving ones have

carried out four weekend perfection in different places. Each time there were about 80-100 students. In these meetings the student saints practiced morning revival, praying, and Bible reading. Moreover, everyone participated in practical services such as preparation of meals and cleaning.

In these trainings we encouraged the newly saved saints to fully enter into church life, to participate in the practical building up of the Body through services, to join the 7 annual feasts, regional conferences and college conferences.

We also helped the students to practice the corporate God-man living to taste the sweetness and goodness of brothers dwelling in unity, and eventually to form brothers’ and sisters’ houses. So far, at least 80 corporate living homes have been established. We realize that corporate God-man living is an effective way to perfect the young students and to prepare them for the FTTA.

VI. Request for Prayers To raise up Bi-lingual young serving ones to

labor among the Chinese students and scholars to gain more proper and useful vessels for the building up of the Body of Christ;

To perfect more middle-age working saints and retired saints to join this labor.

 Mainland Scholars’ Work (MSW)

2441 W. La Palma Ave, Suite 506 Anaheim, CA 92801, USA PHONE: 714-827-8222 URL:http://mswe1.org 

EMAIL: mswoffice2525@gmail.com

Table 1: MSW-Related Gospel Forums/Meetings (August to November, 2014)

Campus/Church Dates

CH-speaking

Gospel Meetings

EN-speaking Gospel Meetings

No. of Gospel Friends

No. of Baptisms Right

After the Meeting

East Los Angeles College 8/9 1 23 2

Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa 8/22 1 11 1

Louisiana State Univ. 8/23 1 35 10

The Church in Honululu 8/23 1 1 0

Santa Monica College 8/23 1 16 4

Louisiana State Univ. 8/24 1 15 2

Rice Univ. 8/27 1 8

Univ. of Houston 8/28 1 10

Wright state Univ.& Urbana Univ. 8/29 1 24 0

Univ. of Houston 8/29 1 7 1

California State Univ. at Fullerton 8/29 1 10 3

Ohio State Univ. 8/30 1 12 1

Univ. of Texas at Arlington 8/30 1 8 2

Texas A&M & Sam Houston State Univ. 8/30 1 10 1

Santa Barbara City College 8/30 1 7 2

Lamar Univ. 8/31 1 2 0

Rutgers Univ. 9/4 1 22 2

Univ. of Louisville 9/5 1 0 0

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 9/6 1 31 4

Rutgers Univ. 9/6 1 40 3

Univ. of South Florida & Univ. of Florida 9/6 1 64 4

Univ. of Kentucky 9/6 1 3 0

Univ. of Victoria 9/6 1 7 4

Brown Univ. 9/7 1 0

East Los Angeles College 9/10 1 6 1

Iowa state Univ. 9/12 1 7 0

Johnson & Wales Univ. & Brown Univ. 9/13 1 0

Univ. of Minnesota & Mayo Clinic 9/13 1 29 1

Florida International Univ. & Univ. of Miami 9/13 1 7 0

Case Western Reserve Univ. 9/13 1 1 26 3

Pasadena City College 9/17 1 7 0

Fort Hays Univ. 9/18 1 11 0

Univ. of Nebraska 9/19 1 6 2

California State Univ. at Fullerton 9/19 1 10 2

South Dakota State Univ. 9/20 1 3 0

Santa Barbara City College 9/20 1 10 2

Pasadena City College 9/24 1 2 0

Kennesaw State Univ. 9/26 1 7 4

George Washington univ., Georgetown Univ., George Mason Univ. & John Hopkins Univ.

9/27 1 70 3

Emory Univ. & Georgia Institute of Technology 9/27 1 11 4

Univ. of California at Los Angeles 9/27 1 30 10

Auburn Univ. 9/28 1 14 5

City of Hope 10/3 1 9 0

Univ. of Wisconsin at Milwaukee & Blood Research Institute 10/4 1 11 1

Univ. of California at San Diego & Riverside & Los Angeles & California Institute of Tech.

10/4 1 50 8

Univ. of California at Santa Barbara 10/4 1 8 1

Arizona State Univ. 10/10 1 20 1

Calif. State Univ. San Bernardino 10/11 1 14 0

McMaster Univ. 10/13 1 14 7

Ottawa Univ. 10/17 1 30 3

Denver Univ. & Univ. of Colorado at Fort Colins 10/17 1 10 0

East LA College & Cal State Univ. at Los Angeles 10/17 1 14 4

Univ. of California at Los Angeles & Santa Monica College 10/17 1

Mississippi State Univ. at Starkville 10/17 1 10 0

Concordia Univ. 10/18 1 30 12

Yale Univ. 10/23 1 7 1

Univ. of California at Riverside 10/31 1 6 1

Kwantlen Polytechnic Univ. 11/1 1 12 2

Univ. of Southern California 11/1 1 17 1

Purdue Univ. 11/14 1 1 0

Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis (IUPUI) 11/15 1 2 0

City of Hope 11/18 1 0 0

New York Univ. 11/19 1 10 0

Rutgers Univ. 11/20 1 6 0

New Jersey Institute of Tech. & Seton Hall Univ. 11/21 1 8 1

Princeton Univ. 11/22 1 6 2

California State Univ. at Los Angeles & East Los Angeles College 11/22 1 30 10

Church in Eastvale 11/22 1 10 0

Church in Edison 11/23 1 12 2

Church in Piscataway 11/27 1

Total 48 23 969 140