NEW YORK- The leading Chinese evangelical leader Rev Thomas Wang challenged church leaders in New York to face the growing crisis of homosexuality in the United States.

Last Friday evening, Wang, met with the Chinese churches pastors and congregation in New York at the Oversea Chinese Mission Center, to discuss about how churches should respond to the worrying trend of homosexuality in the western world. He was accompanied by chairman and vice-chairman of the nationwide Chinese Church-based campaign "Defend Traditional Marriage Association".

"For those true Christians who are reborn by the salvation of Christ, if they think they can live freely and comfortably in the United States, then God must be in deep agony," Wang started the speech with a heart-warming statement.

"As the children of God, we should feel sad for the sins of this world. The modern world becomes so terrible and it affects the next generation," continued Wang, referring to the discussion theme on homosexuality.

By quoting the story of how the army of Joshua successfully captures the city of Ai by strategic ambush behind the enemies, Wang lamented that in the spiritual battlefield nowadays, the situation is totally reversed.

"Rather than the people of God ambushing behind the enemies, they have fallen into the ambush of Satan and its followers," Wang warned. "While the modern churches are at the forefront of pioneering the world, the Satan and its followers go to the back and secretly attack the Christian countries in the West, which are the centers of world mission."

The situation has been deteriorating, according to Wang. As many mission organizations are weakened and many churches become secular, the Christian nations in the West have lost their faith in God.

"Even the Christian countries in the West have become Sodom and Gomorrah, what is the meaning of world mission?" Wang raised the challenging question.

Wang further cited the sharing of a former missionary from an Islamic country, "When I was evangelizing in the Islamic country, what was the matter that I worried the most? It was not religious persecution or my personal safety, because I already knew the possible danger.

But I was most worried that the Muslims would tell me to go back because my own country even needs the Gospel more than they do. In the Islam world, at least they have a much higher moral values, so there is no problem such as homosexuality or homosexual marriage."

Wang pointed out the attitude of churches towards homosexuality. Many churches have been overemphasizing the personal training in Christians' spiritual life, but they have overlooked the Satan who is "swallowing up the world." Therefore, he urged all churches to be awake and raise their voices to stand against homosexuality, leading people in the world to repentance, so as to become the true light and the real salt.

Currently, in many western countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, the United Kingdom and Canada, the legislation allows homosexual marriage. In addition, even many heterosexual couples choose the form of cohabitation rather than civil marriage. Therefore, there is a huge challenge to traditional marriage across the world, according to Wang.

Joseph C. Mann, a Chinese Christian lawyer active in speaking against homosexuality, said that the Chinese churches will soon be able to unite with the American mainstream churches to launch campaigns defending traditional marriage.

On Sunday, a fundraising event was held at the Flushing Hall, New York, for the "Defend Traditional Marriage Association". The "Defend Traditional Marriage Association" was first founded on March 18 in New York with an aim to raise the awareness of people for the damaging impact of homosexuality on the society.

[Editor’s Note: Jonathan Quan reported from New York for this article and Eunice Or from San Francisco.]