ACCCN Mission Conference 2026 

Author: Yunhai Wu, Gabby Zhong
Date: 03/22/2026
Category：Missions Beyond Borders

Headquarters：
2 Padstow Avenue Fishermead
Milton Keynes MK6 2ES, UK
Tel： +44 (0)1908 234 100
Email： cocm@cocm.org.uk
Web：www.cocm.org.uk

Dear prayer warriors: 

Peace in the Lord. We apologize that this letter has been long delayed. The draft had been in mind for quite some time, but only now are we finally putting it to paper. Yet, during this period of delay, God’s grace has given us some very good news, which brings us comfort and compels us to testify to His great power. His faithfulness is worth sharing, and we want to tell you how He has been at work in our lives and ministry.

I. Drawing Near to God Daily—Guided in Life and Ministry

Over the past few months, we have made it a daily habit to draw near to God through His Word. What used to be a routine task to check off has now become our source of strength and joy. Earlier this year, our church gave us more opportunities to preach. At first, that was very intimidating for Gabby. She worried about misinterpreting Scripture and poured most of her energy into studying commentaries. But in the process, she often neglected prayer and waiting on God for His message. As a result, her sermons often lacked personal conviction, which made her even more tense and pressured while preaching.

Yunhai, on the other hand, approached it differently. He first spent much time in prayer and waiting on God to give light and a message from the text, and only afterward consulted commentaries to confirm the accuracy of his understanding from a historical and grammatical perspective.

We thank God that before each sermon, we shared our thoughts and helped one another. Through this, Gabby recognized her shortfall and gradually changed how she prepared. Her preaching last Sunday was a turning point for her. She no longer feared preaching. During her daily devotions, while meditating on Scripture, she was often deeply moved — even to tears — as she communed with the Lord. The passages would settle in her heart, and as she continued meditating, the message and structure naturally unfolded.

This experience allowed her to share God’s Word naturally and powerfully. She no longer felt nervous, and listeners could sense the impact of the Scripture, because the Word had already gripped her first. Praise God — and thank you for your prayers!

In June, our Mandarin Fellowship carried out an outreach mission. COCM sent a short-term mission team to help us connect with new immigrants from Fujian province in China. According to statistics, among the Chinese in the UK, 270,000 are from Fujian. Most of them work in the restaurant business. Weekends are their busiest time, making it hard for them to attend Sunday services. Many are believers, while others have heard the Gospel back in their hometowns in China but have not yet believed. They are the “lost sheep.”

The COCM team came to help us inspire and assist the local church to start ministry among Fujianese people. Together, we visited homes and invited people, and the next day we held an evangelistic meeting.

Although it was a Mandarin outreach, Cantonese-speaking brothers and sisters also actively helped, distributing flyers, visiting takeaway shops, and inviting people to join the meeting.

Through this process, members of our Mandarin Fellowship were moved by the Holy Spirit. They overcame personal limitations and boldly invited their friends. Some were deeply touched by seeing so many “lost lambs,” which ignited a renewed passion for evangelism.

About 50-60 people came to the meeting. Amazingly, one Cantonese-speaking sister made a decision for Christ that day! This was far beyond what we had asked or imagined. The work of the Holy Spirit was real. All glory be to our God who is with us!

There is another piece of good news. Our church has been without a full-time pastor for over 30 years. About 10 years ago, the church began praying for one. This year, God’s timing came. On September 1, 2025, a pastor officially began serving our church. Please pray for him and for the newly formed deacon board as they work together.

These two pieces of good news have strengthened our faith and reminded us of God’s faithfulness. The more we serve, the sweeter it becomes!

II. Ministry Updates

We are still serving as missionaries at Portsmouth Chinese Christian Church, focusing on supporting the development of the Mandarin Fellowship and serving as advisors for the student and young adult fellowship.

1. Mandarin Fellowship

Our discipleship direction continues to be: “Forget what is behind, strain toward what is ahead, and press on toward the goal.”(Phil. 3) Two weeks ago, we restarted treading the “Bible in One Year” plan, and 15 brothers and sisters are already checking in daily.

In earlier letters, we mentioned that our fellowship coworkers hoped for a Mandarin worship service, and the church leadership also supported this. About a year and a half ago, our fellowship set three goals:

• Resume weekly in-person Bible study on Mondays (previously online).

• Try a monthly in-person worship with live piano and singing, no longer relying on YouTube.

• Extend Sunday Mandarin fellowship by 15 minutes and turn it into a Mandarin worship service.

The first two have already been carried out. Monday Bible studies have been running for over four months, attended regularly by four to five families and individuals, not only Fujianese but also other Mandarin speakers.

As for the third goal, we currently lack space and manpower. After the new pastor arrived, he met with us to understand the needs of the Mandarin ministry. One of the greatest needs is indeed Mandarin worship. Shared language and culture can draw people of similar backgrounds to Sunday services. He wholeheartedly agrees. Leading by example, he shortened his own preaching so it could be translated into both Cantonese and Mandarin from the pulpit. We are now encouraging Mandarin speakers to attend the bilingual morning worship. While resources are insufficient for a separate Mandarin service at this time, this is a good step forward. Please pray that more Mandarin brothers, sisters, and seekers will join worship.

In 2026, Gabby’s home church in New Jersey will send a short-term mission team to help us. This will soon be on our planning agenda. Imagine — a small island like the UK has 270,000 Fujianese people! The harvest is truly plentiful. We greatly need partners to help advance the work of evangelism. Most importantly, we ask for prayer: that, through the short-term team, the Holy Spirit will stir and inspire local believers to rise up and serve their own people, seeing the wandering sheep with the eyes of Jesus and leading them back into His flock.

2. Student and Young Adult Fellowship

The summer break has ended, and we are now busy with Freshers Month activities. In the past two weeks, we’ve been on the streets handing out flyers. Amazingly, almost all the Christian students — not just the fellowship leaders — joined in. Praise God!

During our summer retreat, the leaders decided that this new school year we should focus more on reaching Mandarin-speaking students, most of whom come from mainland China. In our fellowship, only one Christian student is from mainland China. Though just one, he is like a seed. Other Christians who can speak Mandarin gladly worked with him to hand out flyers. One young brother, who was handing out flyers for the first time, was very nervous at first and didn’t know what to say to strangers. But after a short while, his fear faded away. Young people can change quickly, if they are willing; they will surely experience the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

This year, for the first time, the fellowship elected a chair and vice chair to create accountability and help the ministry grow more effectively.

All of these were voluntary commitments by the students themselves, which greatly encourages us. In the weeks ahead, we’ll continue Freshers activities for over a month, followed by a gospel camp in early November — both led and organized by the student co-workers themselves with other Christian students invited to help.

Please pray earnestly that, through serving, these young people will keep experiencing God, growing in holiness and becoming vessels fit for the Lord’s use.

III. Prayer Requests 

1. For family 

Our eldest daughter’s family traveled through Spain and Portugal this summer, sending us many photos of cathedrals, historic sites ,and Christian landmarks. We pray that God would use these to speak to them.

Recently, in the U.S., the shooting death of Charlie Kirk shocked the nation. Our daughters, knowing that we are gospel missionaries, are concerned for our safety. This reminds us: Mission work is spiritual warfare, but also an opportunity to reclaim ground for Christ. We must have courage and boldness to proclaim the Truth.

In America’s current turmoil, how can we share with our two daughters and with confused young people around us who Jesus Christ truly is? We reflect that we are indeed living in the end times with false teachers, false prophets, and antichrists spreading everywhere. People pursue their “rights,” and some even promote violence under a so-called “spiritual authority.” Many forget that our Lord Jesus Christ came as a humble servant, selfless and sacrificial.

We must return to our “first love” — the self-giving love of Christ. Without true repentance, there can be no real revival. Pray that God would give us wisdom and boldness to proclaim Christ alone: who He is, what He has done and what His crucifixion means for us. The message of the cross is not foolishness, nor should it be distorted by “worldly teachings.” It remains the true answer to all confusion. Please pray for us.

2. For the Mandarin Fellowship

• Pray for families where the wives are believers but the husbands are not. May the wives endure patiently and remain steadfast. One brother we have been visiting with his wife recently attended the evangelistic meeting hosted by the short-term team. He has now started attending Bible studies and Sunday worship. Last week, he made a decision to accept Jesus as Savior! Praise the Lord for His mercy. Please continue to pray for him, his wife, and their eldest daughter’s health.

• Pray that believers will continue to grow through the outreach, worship, Bible studies and the read-the-Bible-in-a-year plan in 2025. May they set aside their own interests, pursue God more fervently, actively join Sunday worship, and serve in the fellowship. Pray also that God will raise up new coworkers.

3. For the student and young adult fellowship

They still need much discipleship, mentorship and growth-learning teamwork, humility, servanthood and readiness for new challenges. Pray for God to raise up new leaders next year.

Pray for the September 26th Welcome Meeting. On the one hand, Christians will break through their original limitations in reaching out to new people; on the other hand, new people will be able to feel the love of Christ and find a warm home.

4. For Gabby’s health 

She has been struggling again with her recurring stomach pain, along with seasonal allergies, insomnia, and discomfort for over a month this spring and summer. Now that autumn has come, we hope she will gradually recover. Please pray for the Lord’s healing mercy.

Thank you for your faithful support and care. Finally, please let us know your own prayer requests so that we can also remember you in prayer. May God watch over you and bless you, making you His holy and faithful servants.

With love in Christ, 
Yunhai & Gabby 
September 21, 2025 
gabbyzhong@gmail.com I yunhaiwu8@gmail.com  

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