Hello, friend. When meeting new people, we tend to sort them into boxes without even thinking about it. We notice who speaks our language, shares our convictions, understands our customs, and who doesn't.

Some differences are ordinary, even necessary. Others quietly become reasons to keep our distance.

But the gospel tells a different story.

Jesus brings together people who might otherwise have little reason to belong to the same family. And he sends that family across the lines we've learned not to cross.

This week, we're considering the barriers believers face around the world, and the ones we may have built closer to home.

In today's edition:

🇨🇳 Two church leaders detained after seeking theological training

👣 What Jesus has done to the dividing walls between us

🇮🇩 When following Jesus crosses a family line

When Bible Training Comes at a Cost 🇨🇳

On October 18, police raided two house-church gatherings in Pingxiang, China, detaining 27 Christians. Most were later released. But according to an October 27 report from ChinaAid, two church leaders, Ding Xing'an and Liang Youping, remained in criminal detention.

Authorities reportedly accused them of illegally crossing a national border, linking the allegations to a weeklong theological-training trip to Indonesia. The precise alleged violation remains unclear.

For Ding, serving the church had already required a major change. 

In 2022, he and his wife left their careers and returned to their hometown to establish a congregation. They began ministering to the community—older neighbors, people facing illness, and those with disabilities. The church eventually grew to around 80 regular participants.

China has an established Christian community, but unregistered house churches can face significant restrictions on gathering and training leaders. Through partnerships, Radical supports pastoral training and indigenous missionaries working among hard-to-reach communities.

As believers seek to grow in God's Word and make Jesus known, pray that even serious obstacles would not prevent the church from taking the gospel further.

How to Pray

🙏 Pray for Ding, Liang, their families, and other believers under pressure to experience God's protection, endurance, and peace.

🙏 Pray for Chinese pastors and church planters to receive sound biblical training despite restrictions.

🙏 Pray for local believers carrying the gospel to communities with little access to it.

The Gospel Knows No Borders 👣

Life is full of boundaries. Some natural, some arbitrary. 

Ethnic, cultural, political, religious, social, linguistic. These boundaries exist all around us.

I don’t speak French, so I am linguistically excluded from groups that do. I don’t possess an engineering degree, so I’m excluded from conferences that require one.

I love soccer, so I’m socially included in watch-parties and pick-up games. And without a Vietnamese passport, I can’t vote in Vietnam’s elections.  

Some boundaries are natural. Some are arbitrary and morally neutral. Others serve the common good. And some are used for great evil.

The most obvious boundary in Scripture is between the Jews and the Gentiles.

Separated by culture, ethnicity and religion, these two groups were divided by hostility. But through the gospel, Christ has “broken down…the dividing wall of hostility” between them (Eph 2:14).

The gospel, it is clear, respects no boundaries (2 Tim 2:9). 

The good news about Jesus Christ is for men and women, young and old, rich and poor, the self-righteous and the unrighteous. It is for people from east and west. It is for all people (Gen 12:3, Rev 7:9). 

I love seeing this unfold in the New Testament. 

In Acts 2, people from across the ancient world heard the mighty works of God in their own languages (Acts 2:9–11).

The church at Antioch included a former murderer, a friend of Herod, a Jewish man and a North African man (Acts 13:1). 

The church at Philippi started with three people—a formerly demon-possessed slave girl, a businesswoman, and a jailer (Acts 16). 

What do all these different people have in common? 

What transcends their differences and unites them all?

Jesus.

The unity we have in Christ was purchased by his blood. It is stronger than any worldly boundary that could separate us and deeper than any worldly unity that might bring us together (Matt 12:48–50; Luke 14:26).

It brings Jews and Gentiles together. It unites the rich and poor. It brings peace between people from countries at war with one another.

I have an Iranian friend, a believer in Christ, who was recently witnessing to a Turkish man. Though separated culturally and ethnically, they shared a religious background in Islam. The Turkish man was lamenting the constant war in the Middle East.

This gave my Iranian friend an opportunity to brag on the boundary-crossing, peace-building gospel by sharing that his “church soccer team has one Iranian, an Iraqi, a few Afghans, two Mexicans, and some Americans!”

When we come to Christ, some things from our former way of life must be surrendered (1 Pet 1:18). Other differences, including aspects of our backgrounds and circumstances, remain (1 Cor 7:20).

The gospel promotes this unity amidst any remaining diversity. And highlighting our diversity while minimizing what unites us is anti-gospel and caused Paul to publicly rebuke Peter (Gal 2:11–14). 

The gospel tears down dividing walls rather than erecting them. Our unity in diversity serves to glorify the gospel of Jesus Christ, which could unite such diverse people.

But for the gospel to reach people, it must cross these boundaries.

Or better, the people who carry the gospel must cross them (Matt 28:18–20).

Because Christ welcomes all in the gospel—including us—we must welcome all also as Christ has welcomed us (Rom 15:7). 

God has always been sending his people across boundaries. 

He sent a lowly Jewish slave girl to witness to a Syrian military leader (2 Kgs 5:1–14).

He carried Philip by the Spirit to witness to an Ethiopian royal-servant (Acts 8:26–40). 

He sent his prophet Elijah to a Sidonian widow to minister during a famine (1 Kgs 17:8–16).

Now consider the people around you.

Do you have neighbors or coworkers with a different political view than yourself? People from different cultures or religions?

Have you begun to see those differences as boundaries you cannot cross with the gospel? Or worse, is there animosity in your heart towards other groups that you do not think the gospel could cross that boundary? 

Believe in the power of the gospel, in God’s plan to glorify his Son by crossing boundaries, by uniting that which the world divides. 

As the Lord said to Peter, do not call unclean what God has called clean (Acts 10:15).

Consider boundaries not as obstacles to the gospel, but as opportunities for God to tear down a wall.

—Jonny Atkinson

When Faith Crosses the Divide 🇮🇩

Indonesia's national motto is Unity in Diversity. Across its thousands of islands, mosques, churches, and temples reflect a remarkable variety of cultures and beliefs. But living alongside people of different religions doesn't always make it easy to cross those boundaries.

For many Indonesians, religious identity is deeply connected to family and community. Choosing to follow Jesus is legal, but it can come at a painful personal cost.

Anisa grew up in a devout Muslim family and was taught to keep her distance from Christians. Yet when she faced difficulties, a Christian friend continued showing her kindness, even when she treated him harshly. His friendship stirred questions about Jesus. Anisa began reading the Gospels, eventually placed her faith in Christ, and faced rejection from her family.

Across Indonesia, local believers are sharing the gospel and making disciples, including among communities with little access to it. Radical's partners help equip Indonesian Christians and church-planting teams to reach those communities.

How to Pray

🙏 Pray for Indonesian believers to build loving relationships and share Christ wisely across religious and cultural differences.

🙏 Pray for local church planters bringing the gospel to communities with little or no Christian witness.

🙏 Pray for new believers facing family pressure or rejection to find strength, peace, and belonging in healthy churches.

📍 Attention Worthy

• 🙏🏼 25 days. 25 names of Jesus. Make this Advent season meaningful with The Name of Jesus Prayer Cards. Discover a new name of Jesus in Scripture each day and pray for his name to be known among the unreached.

• 💼 God doesn't need your good works. Your neighbor does. What does your ordinary work have to do with loving others? A conversation on Christian vocation offers a fresh perspective.

• ❤️ What does conversion look like when life stays messy? Some testimonies fit neatly into a before-and-after. Others refuse to cooperate.