SAN FRANCISCO- The Chinese delegation of the China Christian Council/Three-Self Patriotic Movement (CCC/TSPM) has opened an official press conference in San Francisco today.

Held at the Far East Caf in Chinatown at noon, CCC/TSPM leaders have first given official address to San Francisco churches and Christians before they depart to Atlanta tomorrow. Rev. Cao Shengjie, president of China Christian Council (CCC), started off the speech by introducing the first ever China Bible Ministry Exhibition in the United States held in Los Angeles last week.

The China Bible Ministry Exhibition has successfully drawn the attention of local churches, both American-based and Chinese-based, around 7,000 have visited the exhibition this time, according to Cao. Besides the exhibition, the Chinese delegation has attended two seminars with the Fuller Theological Seminary and the Azusa Pacific University to discuss about the history of Christianity in China and the situation of the China’s Church today.

After the Los Angeles’s Exhibition, the delegation came to San Francisco, which she described as "important" because it has allowed CCC/TSPM to build a deeper relationship with churches here.

"These few days we have been welcomed by many churches here. We have visited the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) and the Chinese Christian Union (CCU) in San Francisco. Even today we have been visiting many churches, I think this is really helpful to us. Not only we can understand each other better, but we can also learn from each other," said Cao.

"In different places, we operate the church and ministry in different ways. However, the spirit is the same. We want to serve the church and we want to reveal that Christians in China can contribute greatly in their home country and in overseas," she continued.

Today, the CCC/TSPM delegation has visited a few churches with historical significance in Chinatown. For instance, the Presbyterian Church in Chinatown is the first Asian church in North America. And they visited the Chinese American Presbyterian Missionary Society, which has over 130 years of history and has been doing some mission works in Mainland China in collaboration with CCC/TSPM churches.

When asked what she want to speak to San Francisco churches and Christians, Cao said, "We are really touched for the San Francisco churches have welcomed us very well. I hope that we can have more communication with churches here. Actually many CCC/TSPM leaders have visited San Francisco many times in the past, some of them include Bishop K.H. Ting and Rev Bao Jia Yuan."

"I know that there are a lot of Christians who are really passionate to help us. However, if they do not understand the situation in Mainland China, the work that they do will not be very helpful. Therefore, I hope the churches here can understand our situation better and we can enhance our cooperation," she continued.