Safely Home is one of the best books that I have ever read. It really creates a picture of Heaven and earth in a powerful and highly impactful way. I have never read a book like this one before. It definitely changed my perspective on Christianity in communist countries and also made me much more appreciative of the freedom that we have in the United States to worship and study the Bible. Absolutely one of the best books I have ever read. — P. J.

Safely Home is a book that I could not put down. Randy Alcorn’s account of the Church in China has opened my eyes to what Chinese Christians endure for the sake of the cross. This book has burdened me (in a good way) to pray for the persecuted church. I was in tears by the end of this book—praying, rejoicing and worshipping a victorious God. — R. H.

I read Safely Home and it messed up my life. Since then I have adopted twice more, taken four teams to China, have connected with pastors over there, and am getting ready to plant our first cleft palate healing home. — S. A.

I think every Christian should read Safely Home. Even though it is fiction, it made me think about my lack of dedication to Christ and examine my walk. One of the most thought-provoking books I’ve read in years. — G. C.

A wonderful view of Christian persecution in China and the Christians who believe anyway. I loved this book. — J. T.

Safely Home made me cry. I couldn’t help it...this is a really unique book. I was completely unprepared for where this book took me emotionally and found myself completely unwound more than once. Before reading this book, I would not have thought that a work of fiction could go where this book goes. It is not perfectly rendered, but it is amazing in its reach and scope. Read it. — B. P.

Thank you for changing my life. Your books, beginning with Safely Home, then Heaven, then The Treasure Principle have been used by the Lord to refine my priorities, passions and purpose for my life. — S. G.

Letter from a reader who lives in China: I have been working and living in China since 1992 teaching English, studying Mandarin, and sharing the Gospel with Chinese. I have lived in NE China for half of that time and most recently I have lived in NW China. I am currently home on a one-year furlough, living in the States.
    I just finished reading your book, Safely Home. I am impressed with your accuracy as to Chinese life and culture. You did a great job of letting folks know that China is a big place and what is happening in one place may not be happening in another. I have read many books on China, both fiction and non-fiction, and am often frustrated by the biased picture they give of China being the same all over and often unfair portrayals of life there and the people and officials. Thank you for bringing a balanced and accurate viewpoint to the novel. — C. S.

I just wanted to say thank you for the book Safely Home. I must say that God used it to draw me back to Himself, as well as rekindle a fire in my heart for cross-cultural missions. I was also incredibly pleased to read a fictional book that is so grounded in biblical truths; I can rarely read books without feeling like I need to scrutinize the theology they present, but this was on-target. Thank you for your extensive work and research on China to be able to write such a work, and for opening the eyes of American Christians to the reality of our persecuted brothers and sisters. — L. W.

I can’t imagine Safely Home failing to put a burden on the hearts of all who read it—at least for prayer—for all the Christians who are being persecuted (often in horrifying ways) around the world. I also couldn’t help thinking maybe such persecution here is exactly what it will take to destroy all the “false doctrine- Prosperity Preaching” churches, and the appalling apathy of many Christians here in America! This book grabbed me from the beginning and never let go until the end. Would love to see this made into a movie. — R. D.

Safely Home kept my attention like any well-written book, but the story provided insight into the suffering of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world in a way that profoundly affected my thinking.
    Using an American businessman and a Chinese house church pastor as his main characters, Alcorn describes the realities and challenges faced by the persecuted church in China as a window into the life of the suffering church throughout the world. Along the way Alcorn provides a sound theology of the wisdom and providence of God in bringing people through suffering, even when that suffering ends in martyrdom. The book has several great lines: “Never believe a man who says God must do a miracle the way a man wants him to. God is God” (191). “[Is] Yesu…a stranger to suffering? He wept for the sisters of Lazarus. On that hill He took upon Himself the anguish of all men. He was despised by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with grief. Even now when His people are persecuted, He feels their suffering. Who knows better than [God] what it is like to lose His only Son?” (192). The final words of a martyr to his wife and young son were “Never forget Yesu is King. Never forget your home is in another world. Never forget your father will be waiting to see you again” (335). “The sons of Adam try so hard to be satisfied with so little—which keeps them from ever being satisfied at all” (377). The last sentence of the book describes the sentiments of the worshippers of Jesus in Heaven: “What they knew in that moment, in every fiber of their beings, was that this Person and this Place were all they had ever longed for…and ever would.”
    My thoughts about the trials and challenges of my own life diminished greatly in significance as I was forced to ponder the horrific suffering of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. My prayers for the persecuted church have been much enhanced as I have been reminded of the oppression, fears, deprivation, and torture meted out by the godless opponents of Christ’s church in lands where the mention of Christ’s name is outlawed. And my zeal for Christ stands challenged: Would I be willing to love my Lord to the death?
    Read this book and receive the intended challenge. You too, will find your thinking and prayer life changed—for good. — J. P.

My students are about to begin studying Safely Home in our college composition class. The Lord is using it mightily; first to do a work in my own heart and as is my prayer, I hope He will use it to do a work in the lives of my students. Thank you for reminding me of how precious God’s Word is and to pray for the faith of our persecuted brothers and sisters. – A. G.

I have followed your ministry for a long time—ever since you wrote the article “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God ...” after you had to give up your position as a pastor, trusting God to lead you in His direction. My, has He. One of the ladies in our Book Club bought copies of Safely Home for one of the classes at the public school my son attended. Several years later when he had to write a report on something that had impacted him more than anything he (surprisingly to me) wrote about Safely Home. — M. W.

This is one for the soul. This book was a eye-opener. I read this on a cruise and I was so impressed at Randy Alcorn’s vivid imagination on how he interpreted the Bible and it’s meanings of Heaven and beyond. Safely Home is a must-read. — Anonymous

I am glad I read Safely Home. It is a work of fiction, but this story is powerful. It touched me deeply as it touches on a lot of subjects on which I feel God has been dealing and ministering to me. It dealt very bluntly with true devotion to God and why that is often so difficult here in America. Sometimes I think it is more difficult here in America than in areas where being a Christian could mean your life and will definitely mean persecution. While I am grateful for the freedoms in America to serve our God, I know that those freedoms and our prosperity have made it very easy to be comfortable or apathetic.
    I think most American Christians do not realize how blessed we are, and how we are letting our blessings be stripped away. As I read about the lives of Li Quan and his family in China, I was struck by how devoted he was. Getting up in the middle of the night, sneaking to a house church, getting arrested, tortured, not being able to find a good job despite an incredible education…all to follow Yesu (Jesus).
    So many American Christians find so many excuses to stay out of church on Sunday mornings. I hear a lot about how hypocritical church people are and how you can be a Christian without going to church. The Christians in this story would love to meet in a church without fear of their government and learn and worship. They figure their job is to pray for those who hurt them. Their enemy isn’t the gossip or the hypocrite; it’s the ones that could take their lives. Yet, they worship with joy and they pray for their enemies. A fake in their church could be a spy that could cost them everything.
    I realized that, like many of us, even when it was plain that God was real, turning to God as Lord is more of a struggle against our minds and our flesh than we can admit. It’s difficult to relinquish control over those parts of our lives that we think we need or have control over ourselves.
    One last thing that struck me about this book was how close we are in America to some of the realities in China. How many laws have been proposed that limit or quench our rights as Christians? If speaking out about what is in the Bible becomes illegal in any way, then we are on a quick slide into the Bible being censored, the actions of Christians being monitored, and eventually Christianity being illegal. Sadly, Christianity in America has become sort of a joke to most non-believers. — C.

Without a doubt, Safely Home has touched me unlike any other novel I have ever read. After devouring the book and wiping my tears, I promptly kicked myself for allowing that gem to remain on my bookshelf for so long unread.
    What spoke to me the most was what it showed me about my personal life. Before I read the book my friend told me it almost makes you wish you could be a martyr. I thought he was crazy. But then I read the book. He’s right. No, I don’t relish the thought of pain, torture, imprisonment, and loss of freedom, but to have something to give back to the One Who gave Himself for me would make it all worth it. Quan faced all this without complaint or grumbling. I was convicted, how easy it is to whine about insignificant little things. So many times people throw out the term “life changing” with such flippancy, but this book honestly deserves that description. I agree with Steve Green—“It should be required reading.” — H. M.

The focus on the house churches and Christian persecution in China that Randy Alcorn stated in Safely Home was a real eye-opener to me, but even then I thought it surely couldn’t be this way now. It’s a thing of the past...but is it?
    Christians in China have more readily popped up in my daily life in various ways: a news article on the radio yesterday, a speaker at my Bible study mentions Hudson Taylor, etc. Safely Home expands the bubble of what little world I know and is a great reminder for me to pray for believers in other areas of the world. It sets my mind on the eternal rather than the temporal, remembering that this world is not my ultimate destination and that one day I will safely arrive at my real home. — K.

Years ago I read a book called Safely Home by Randy Alcorn about a persecuted Christian in China. Every time circumstances were unbearable, he would remind himself that “real gold fears no fire.” He knew that times of testing would come but it was necessary to prove what he was made of.
When you find yourself in one of the “fires” of life, whether it be financial, relational, or physical, If you belong to Christ, you can rest assured that you are not alone. God himself is with you. After you are delivered from the fire you will be refined. The only things burned off will be the chains that previously had you bound. As a refined instrument of God, you can now be used more effectively and your faith in God will increase. Hard, difficult times are the conditions needed for miracles and God is in the miracle making business. If you never had any problems then you would have no need for faith and you wouldn’t know the awesome power of God to solve them. — W. F.

“In America, you have much to hope in besides God.” Randy Alcorn’s novel, Safely Home is full of lines that made me stop and ponder. It serves as a great awareness to the persecution happening to Christians in China. I found myself often-times feeling the way the character of Ben Fielding felt—completely shocked by a culture that could imprison, torture, even kill you for your faith. We Americans enjoy so many freedoms. It’s hard to imagine everyone in the world doesn’t have the same luxury. We’ve come to believe in human rights and decency and assume the rest of the world is on the same page.
    As far as writing style, I loved how he wove in Heaven and Hell and how the Chinese culture became alive to me. His characterization was good. I empathized with the characters and could identify with them.
    I believe it is a book all Christians should read. We should get out of our bubble and realize how big the world is out there. We should be aware of the persecution other Christians face just for reading their Bible, worshipping, praying—all the things we take for granted. And we should ask ourselves, are we taking advantage of these liberties to the fullest? And if we weren’t able to do these things would we still do them, even at the expense of our own lives? Heavy questions, but telling answers… — A. L.