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The National Prayer Breakfast (NPB) is held annually in Washington on the first Thursday of February. The event - a series of meetings, luncheons and dinners - started in 1953. Some 3000 guests, including international invitees from over 100 countries, typically attend.
ACCTS China Ministry and the National Prayer Breakfast (Due to the sensitive nature of the China Ministry, please do not publish this story further on the Internet.)
NPB 2004
The ACCTS China ministry has participated in NPB events since 2004 when ACCTS hosted a Chinese professor of international relations and Director of the American Studies Program at a Chinese university. The professor, who had also served in the Chinese Army, became a supporter of our China ministry. He was the featured speaker when ACCTS co-sponsored a 2004 workshop at the University of Denver on "Chinese and Western Values: Is International Cooperation in Fighting Terrorism Possible?"
NPB 2008
 At the 2008 NPB, ACCTS hosted one of China's top city planners and his wife. Afterwards he said, "This trip changed my life." He then invited the leader of our China team to speak in 4 Chinese cities at "communities of interest" events on such topics as academi cs, business, banking, professional, government, NGOs, urban planning, cultural, media, etc.). There were 50-100 Chinese at each event, and he has hosted ACCTS events in China nearly every year since! RECENT ACCTS NPB EVENTS More recently, ACCTS' NPB Ministry has focused on bringing Chinese students and their parents to the National Prayer Breakfast. This effort has centered on Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC), and has been facilitated by the Chaplain / Director of Character Development there. This relationship has also made it possible for VFMAC cadets to travel with ACCTS in China during the cadets' summer vacations. NPB 2014 The first VFMAC Chinese cadets attended NPB events in 2014. The NPB staff graciously allowed them to participate in the Student Leadership Program, which provided a great introduction to the NPB, and was a spiritual growth experience for them. One of the US Senators sponsoring NPB 2014 asked to meet the cadets, and then scheduled a tour of the capitol and a visit to his office for them. Later, during a visit to Mount Vernon one of the cadets received a Chinese-English Bible from a Chinese registered church. He then shared it with his mother, and she became a Christian! NPB 2015 Two VFMAC cadets came to NPB 2015, along with a recent graduate who also brought his parents from China. Neither of the cadets was an official delegate, but the slow process of obtaining invitations was accelerated because the 2014 VFMAC graduate had attended the fall NPB Student Leadership Conference. NPB 2016 Tuesday Feb 2, 2016 The first event was a China Ministry luncheon hosted by the director of "Great Dads", a ministry that has helped over 50,000 fathers improve their relationships with their children, both here and in China. His wife was a China specialist at the Department of State for many years before becoming a professor at George Mason and a senior associate at the Global China Center. The couple was hosting an NPB 2016 Chinese delegate who works to educate village youth so that they can be accepted into Chinese colleges. The second event was a dinner hosted by local ACCTS staff for a number of China Ministry supporters and a Chinese pastor who had started an international church in DC, and now teaches at a Chinese seminary. ACCTS was able to link the pastor with an American who provides leadership materials for use in China, and will speak to a group of Chinese businessmen on ethical leadership at West Point next fall. Wednesday Feb 3, 2016 The 2014 Chinese graduate from VFMAC and his mother were delegates to NPB 2016 and attended the international luncheon at the Washington Hilton. After lunch, several of the wives attended the congressional wives function, and our VFMAC cadet attended the Student Leadership Mixer. That evening an ACCTS China dinner at a local restaurant included a number of China Ministry supporters as well as several current and former VFMAC cadets who had participated in ACCTS Exploration Asia trips. In the course of the day, the China Team met a businessman from Nepal with military contacts, a pastor from Rwanda who has military members in his church, and a lawyer from Ulan Bator who remembered ACCTS pioneering the military ministry in Mongolia. Their contact information was provided to the appropriate ACCTS and other international ministry staff. Thursday Feb 4, 2016 At the National Prayer Breakfast the president remarked, "What better time than these changing tumultuous times to have Jesus standing beside us, steadying our minds, cleansing our hearts, pointing us toward what matters." (www.whitehouse.gov) Our VFMAC cadet and a recent VFMAC graduate then joined the group for the NPB luncheon in the Hilton ballroom, where we were able to network with a number of China contacts that may begin new relationships in China, as well as renew acquaintances with many friends. Praise God for the wonderful ways in which He links his servants together to accomplish His works around the globe!
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