Walking with the Persecuted

By Michael Schafer
July 17, 2007

I have never known the fear of being pursued by the law, having neighbors or relatives inform the police of my activities, or being cast into prison. These fears are the emotions of criminals but for many it is reality of following the life of Jesus Christ. It is hard to connect to this reality here in the comfort of Washington, DC. Even as I write this article, there is breaking news out of China about two house church leaders being sentenced to “one year re-education through labor” for the crime of “using an evil cult to obstruct the law”.

How many of us worry about our pastors being thrown into labor camp?

China Aid Association is boldly active in the provinces of China exposing these stories to the world—being a witness to the oppression, imprisonment and torture of Christians. In addition to providing a window into a much concealed society, China Aid ministers to the suffering Church through prayer, education, financial support and intervention. In short China Aid has much need for God’s providence and security.

Silas Partners has the honor of working with the people of China Aid and recently we launched their new website. The goals were to appeal to a western audience, communicate the truth, be a news source for the media (whether it be CNN or a local church), and appeal to the generosity in people to aid the persecuted church in China. These goals needed more than an out of the box solution, so careful time was spent understanding the work and the intended audience.

The end result, we hope, will expand awareness and provide Bob Fu, the President of China Aid (Read his story), the resources to expand his work.

The solutions provided were a mix of technology strategy and visual communication.

First, with such a limited amount of time in a day and so many news flashes coming out of China, Bob and his team needed a tool for speedy site updates and search engines could easily find. Using blogging software not only achieved both goals, but also enabled the audience to comment on the stories and ask questions. This blogging structure turns passive readers into participants who can encourage the CAA team, learn more, and tell their own stories.

After the technology evaluation, we began work on restructuring the image of CAA which was misperceived by many as strictly a news organization. We needed to convey the service of reporting on the persecution while also walking with the persecuted. The new site architecture and design is a constant balance of these two actions. By both informing and prompting action, our prayer is for a website that provides an answer to the question: “what can I do about the persecuted in China?”

You can learn more about China Aid and view their new website by visiting www.chinaaid.org.