They call by the hundreds from Mainland China, with questions, wanting to talk. They text or email. Who is Jesus and can He help me with this problem and that one? Distraught, depressed or lonely, they hear the message of hope over the internet or by shortwave radio. They hear the voice of Yvonne Chou, sitting at a microphone in the Hong Kong studio of the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC).
For decades, first broadcasting into China from FEBC Korea, Yvonne has encouraged listeners from all over Mainland China and now, with internet broadcasts, she ministers to Chinese speakers all over the world. Coordinator for “Nurturing Programs,” working with her husband, FEBC Program Director, Chris Chou, Yvonne, Chris and their team receive so many responses from listeners they simply can’t keep up.
Yvonne’s programs apply the truth of God’s Word to issues in listeners’ lives such as marriage and family problems, ethics and prayer. Then she takes calls on both live, call-in shows and off-air, recorded for later broadcast. But there are many more calls, more texts and emails than can be answered during her program. The fields are white with harvest; pray, ask the Chous, for God to send more workers to take phone calls (who speak Mandarin)!
The Chous will now be including Darlene Sala’s Encouraging Words, 2-minute commentary in FEBC’s China programming. They will also be using Guidelines’ new Family Study Series recently released in Mandarin, in the “Marriage Camps” they conduct with listeners who travel to Hong Kong from Mainland China. This 5-part, interactive video study for small groups covers practical topics such as God’s Blueprint for the Family, resolving conflict and handling finances.
As we travel the world in ministry, we hear the same thing—whether in Poland, the Philippines, Ecuador, China or Albania: people are hurting in their marriages, their families, their interpersonal relationships. We are excited because so much of Guidelines’ ministry and our programming has focused on these needs of people everywhere! The core needs of people do not change over time and place and the truth of God’s word forever reconciles.