The 'Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China' sponsored by the official church in China will begin today in Los Angeles as its very first time in a foreign country.
An opening ceremony is set to be held at 5: 00 p.m. at the Crystal Cathedral. President of the China Christian Council Rev. Cao Sheng Jie, founder of Crystal Cathedral Dr. Robert H. Schuller, and other important Chinese delegates will attend the event, which is only opened to the press or invited guests. The Exhibition will be opened to the public at 10: 00 a.m. tomorrow.
The unprecedented exhibition in the United States organized by the China Christian Council and the National Committee of Three-Self Patriotic Movement (CCC/TSPM) has drawn the attention of both Christians and secular people. Many churches and Christian leaders in California have encouraged their congregation to visit the exhibition.
The theme of this year’s exhibition is "A Lamp unto My Feet, A Light unto My Path". This theme reflects Chinese Christian’s faith in the Word of God and their desire to share the Word with other Chinese, according to CCC/TSPM.
In order to show the various stages of the Chinese church’s Bible ministry and their use of the Word to establish the China Church, there will be a total of six galleries at the exhibition namely "The Early History of the Bible in China," "Exciting Bible Publication after 1980," "Dynamic Bible Distribution after 1980," "Bible Ministries for Minority Churches," "The Bible and Church Life," and "Christian Artwork."
A similar Bible Ministry Exhibition was held in Hong Kong successfully in August 2004 and around 30,000 people attended. In the United States, the three exhibitions are to be held on April 28- May 4 in Los Angeles; May 19-24 in Georgia and June 5-10 in New York.
Rev. Cao Shengjie spoke in Beijing last Tuesday on a press conference for the Exhibition. She lamented that there is a misunderstanding among Christians in the world- especially those in the U.S.- about religious freedom in China.
"The exhibition is also intended to bring new understanding between Americans and Chinese, and to create a greater dialogue between Christians in China and the United States," she said, according to state-run Xinhua news agency.