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Helping to develop Christian leaders of character is one of ACCTS' major objectives, and it often starts with very junior cadets. This God Story comes from the ACCTS' China Ministry as they traveled to China last summer. The ministry is titled "Love the World" and involves listening to, learning from, and loving the Chinese people.
It all began with a Chinese cadet at Valley Forge Military Academy (VFMA) finding God. Another Christian Chinese cadet went with this new believer to the OCF Army-Navy banquet in Philadelphia, where they were introduced to the ACCTS China ministry. Follow up by VFMA Chaplain, CAPT Jerry Hale, USCG (Ret.) led to ACCTS partnering with VFMA in a summer vacation discipleship and leadership development program in China. God grew the group to eight VFMA Chinese cadets and two West Point Christian cadets, "Team China."
The bi-national team gathered in Beijing where they presented six leadership seminars to Chinese secular executives, school teachers, university professors, and Christian leaders. Each cadet spoke about one aspect of character and virtue, and how they were learning to apply it in their development as leaders at West Point and VFMA. In the course of the presentations, they also addressed the spiritual aspects of virtuous character. The Beijing Youth Daily even ran a short article about the team's "Leaders of Virtue'" seminar at the national Green Middle School (high school).
God was truly at work on this trip as one of the Chinese cadets asked his parents' permission to be baptized, and another realized that God had not given up on him. The trip changed and encouraged him, and he felt his faith growing as the Holy Spirit worked in his life: "God was speaking through many tongues, even through our Christian van driver," he said. Along the way the team met many of the Chinese cadets' parents, who were uniformly amazed and sincerely appreciative of the spiritual growth and character development in their sons, a new generation of virtuous Chinese leaders. Pray that God will continue to open Chinese hearts and minds to the Gospel, and bring spiritual revival across China.
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