About YD

President’s Letter

  1. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
Pastor Edward Shih

God loves China. The people there and those in the world represent around one-fifth of the world’s population. Its history has endured for more than 5,000 years. God loves the Chinese, wouldn’t you say?

If the Chinese people could receive the words of truth with their hearts, how would China change, and how would the world change?

In recent decades, China has experienced tremendous economic growth and is often dubbed the “world’s factory.” Yet,  it is a country with many non-believers. While many may have heard about Jesus as the founder of Christianity, that’s the extent of their knowledge of God. As a fellowship that started in China, Young Disciples has the mission to see the evangelization of the Chinese, but also people of all ethnic backgrounds worldwide. 

In 1996, the fellowship started from a small bible-study group at a Chinese university. As the bible-study groups grew in number, the bible-study students participated in scattering the seeds of the Gospel. For example, they invited other students who were seeking to find out the meaning and purpose of their lives to studying the Bible. As a result, the campus fellowship spread quickly throughout the provinces of China. 

With many new chapters established and many choosing to put their faith in Jesus Christ, the leadership of Young Disciples decided to expand internationally. As a result, students in China and outside of China were introduced to the Gospel, and many of them decided to live their lives as disciples of Christ and as Kingdom-builders. With the formation of many chapters internationally, the fellowship officially incorporated Young Disciples International in 2002.  

From the 1800s to the early 1910s, the famous protestant missionary Hudson Taylor led thousands of Protestant missionaries from the United Kingdom, and the United States, to China, where they evangelized and established mission centers in all provinces of China. In appreciation of the sacrifice of the western missionaries, Young Disciples International aspires to return that Gospel debt by bringing the Gospel to the rest of the world.   

It has been 18 years since officially incorporating Young Disciples International and 24 years since Korean American missionaries started the campus bible-study fellowship in Shanghai. YD International now has chapters worldwide, ministering not only to those with Chinese heritage but also to students and young adults of all ethnic backgrounds and languages.  

James Hudson Taylor famously said:

“If I had a thousand pounds, China should have it- if I had a thousand lives, China should have them. No! Not China, but Christ. Can we do too much for Him? Can we do enough for such a precious Saviour?”

Continuing on the baton race of the Great Commission, Young Disciples International prays and seeks to change the world with Christ through the evangelization of the young people in this generation and beyond. 

Edward Shih
President
Young Disciples International

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