Aug. 7, 2006--China’s “one child one family” policy has resulted in a generation of “little emperors” according to the letters Rev. Jimmy Lin receives from listeners in China. It’s these children we hope to reach with a new radio and Internet program, produced by The Back to God Hour.

“In recent years we have received more and more correspondence from our listeners and readers in China about the problems they face in raising up their sons and daughters, explains Rev. Lin, Chinese language ministry leader. “This is a direct consequence of the ‘one child one family’ policy that the communist government has adopted in order to curtail the explosive population growth of a country with 1.3 billion people.”

Statistics show that 22.3% of the Chinese population is under the age of 14, approximately 290 million children. They’ve grown up under an atheistic educational system. Even today, Sunday School is forbidden in order to “protect” children from being “brainwashed” by Christianity.

Letters to Rev. Lin reveal that children growing up in this culture, without siblings—and sometimes without cousins—become the “jewel’ of the family with very little moral foundation. “These children have become the spoiled generation and behavioral problems are abundant,” listeners write. They are asking for guidance in raising the next generation.

“Yes, these children need correct instruction and discipline, but most importantly they need Jesus,” expressed Rev. Lin. The Back to God Hour Chinese language ministry is responding to this need with a new children’s radio and Internet program called “Shepherd Boy of Qin Hai” which debuted in July 2006. In this unfolding story Yang Yang, a young shepherd, who lives in the scenic Qin Hai mountain region of China, is drafted to be a monk in the Buddhist temple.

“Yang Yang knows there is a God, but he doesn’t know who this God is,” describes Laisin Cheung, Chinese department administrator, whose husband Patrick is the main architect of the website. “Through his reluctant journey Yang Yang finds the God that he was always searching for.”

The first five episodes can now be heard on the new website www.kidswelcome.org, which also features games, sing-along songs, Bible stories, and an introduction to the cast. Volunteer children and adults from Chinese churches in the Chicago area provide the characters’ voices.

“Participating in the recording of this story is a joyful experience for me. I like this story a lot because it is full of adventure. I hope other children like it too and can listen to the end. My biggest wish is that through this story, they can be like Yang Yang, to know …the one true God,” commented the young boy who is the voice of Yang Yang.

And another participant added, “When Annie [Wong, program producer] approached me to play the part of the young monk, I immediately said yes because I want the children who listen to this story to know and believe in God.”

The children’s Chinese language website has already attracted some visitors, even though very little advertising has been done. The website is being introduced to worldwide subscribers of the Chinese-English TODAY devotional booklet, and www.kidswelcome.org, bookmarks are being sent to Chinese churches in North America, Hong Kong, and SE China. There is also a link on The Back to God Hour Chinese language website, www.chinese-goodnews.org. The program will be distributed to Chinese radio stations worldwide when production of all 20 episodes is complete at the end of this year.

Although “Shepherd Boy” is targeted to one-child families in China, the story has appeal to Chinese immigrants around the world. Pray that many Chinese-speaking children will come to know Jesus through this new ministry.