Christianity in Yan'an on the Loess Plateau

by Tony Lambert, OMF China Researcher

Yan’an is one of the poorest areas in China. Some of the people still live in cave—homes dug out of the yellow soil known as loess. It is the old revolutionary base area for Mao and the Communist Party before they triumphed in 1949. It is therefore especially interesting to read of the progress of the gospel in this region. In September 2006 the Three Self magazine Tianfeng published an article, the bulk of which I have translated. The article, as is to be expected, has a political tone to it, but also contains some valuable information about the church in a little-visited area of China.

A VISIT TO SEE THE CHURCHES IN SIX COUNTIES OF YAN’AN

Yan’an is situated on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in the southern part of the Shaanxi plateau. Yan’an now comprises one city and 12 counties. The total population is 1,938,800. Yan’an is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization and a sacred heartland of the revolution. Yan’an, the Yellow Emperor’s tomb and the yellow loess landscape are the main tourist attractions. Yan’an has a total of 15,000 Protestant Christians.

THE SITUATION IN THE CHURCHES

Huangling County: This is at the southern extremity of Yan’an. The Jixian meeting point at Diantou Township is the only one in the county and is still unregistered. There are not many Christians here. In 1987 meetings began to be held in private homes by four or five people. Now there are 130 people who have been baptized and about 30 people regularly attend worship on Sundays. They serve one another and, praying in faith, in 1998 purchased a courtyard to meet.

Luochuan County: In the south of Yan’an, it is the only city on the plateau and famed for its apples. It now has five quite large meeting points, none of which have formally registered. We went to three in Anmin, Xijie and Shuixiang. Anmin church has 185 baptized believers with many active young and middle-aged people. On Sundays they get 120 people. They are responsible for pastoring several rural meeting points such as Yangshuxiang, Yongxiangfengjia Village etc. In 2003 they bought a property. The Xijie (West Street) church is situated in an old quarter of the city and is rather cramped; it was built in 1993 and has close to 100 people on Sunday. Most are elderly women who are not very mobile. The church in Yongxiangfengjia Village is near the No. 210 Highway, so communications are good. Every week they have worship, choir etc. There are more than 90 believers and an average of 50 on Sunday.

Fu County: Also in the south of Yan’an it is known as the “Green Pearl” of the Loess Plateau. It has three churches at Guzhou, Qiujiagou and Beixiaochang. The church in Guzhou began meeting in 1993. Brother Chang was already in his seventies but was very lively and spoke clearly when he preached. In 1998 they bought their present courtyard and have over 100 believers with 30 attending on Sundays. The church at Beixiaochang is already registered and, according to Elder Zhang, in 2001 a sister donated 30,000 RMB [a huge sum] to buy the property half way up the hill. Brothers and sisters united in prayer and erected a church with three rooms holding 150 people. Now they have more than 180 Christians, with two trainers for Christian work; on Sundays they regularly get over 80 people.

Yan’an County: To the east of Yan’an City, it has 140,000 inhabitants and is one of the poorest counties in China. The first oil well in the entire country was dug here in 1904. Ninety percent of the population are farmers, and average annual income is under 1,000 RMB [U.S.$125]. It now has four meeting points of which three are registered. The church at Nanhegou 70 kms from the town is unregistered. Elder Cui told us that all the brothers and sisters prayed fervently and used their “widow's mites” to raise 10,000 RMB purchase a loess house with six caves. More than 100 brothers and sisters meet in one of these cave-dwellings to worship the Lord. Sijiahekou church has more than 100 Seventh Day Adventists meeting in a cave-dwelling. Fengchegou church is situated by the highway on a little hill. It has more than 300 believers with an average Sunday attendance of 70. They often have Bible studies and are very hungry for God’s word which fills them with joy.

Yanchuan County: In northern Shaanxi and to the northeast of Yan’an City, it has 187,000 inhabitants and is famed for its dates. The only church is the meeting point at Donghe. They moved here in 2004 and paid 28,000 RMB to buy the property.

Zichang County: It is in the center of the loess plateau north of Yan’an City with 233,400 people. It has produced nine army generals over the years. We attended Sunday worship and communion when over 100 were present. They started to meet in 1994 with only 20 people. In October 2005 they bought a new property and now have 157 believers.

Baota District: We went to the Yangounanshan church which has just set up its Three Self organization. Elder Huang Xiuling told us that the new church built in 2003 has a three-story training center, fully equipped. Because of railway construction, they have not moved in yet. The financial burden on the church is great but she believes that the glory of the future church will outshine the old!

RESULTS OF OUR INVESTIGATION

The need to train pastors: All the churches we visited stressed this need. Nearly every church had sent someone to receive training from the provincial Christian training center or from local training classes. Some churches do not have many believers, but have quite a number of pastors and trainers. Yanchang has 100 Christians and four of its leaders have done the Nanjing seminary correspondence course. Zichang County has 157 believers and five have received training. Even some urban churches have not achieved this result.

The need to establish a system of regulations: Many churches have fine regulations so have avoided disruption. The Luochuan Anmin church can develop steadily because of its trained workers and the harmony between its members. The church has set up a healthy management system with everyone knowing what to do. There are many young people.

The need to take part in social service: The region where these churches are placed is very poor. The churches themselves are poor but they have not forgotten the duty of Christians to be light and salt and serve society. In their own neighborhoods they are a fine witness for Christ. For example, in Luochuan County Anmin church they only collect 10,000 RMB per annum but they take active part in social services helping the poor and those hurt in various disasters. In recent years they have given away close to 10,000 RMB. The Zichang Church has helped repair roads, aided the army and made more than 3,000 pairs of shoes for the annual army festival. Thus they contribute to a harmonious society.

The need for fixed periods of study: All these churches have regular study sessions. They actively study the Three Self Principles and the “Religious Affairs Regulations” and other religious policies. They share experience and ways of managing the churches.They are able to uphold the Three Self principle. They consciously oppose “free evangelists” (ziyouchuandaoren). [MY NOTE: This is a reference to independent house-church evangelists, and evidence they are also active in this area as well as the “official” churches.] They oppose infiltration from outside and keep the faith pure. They have fixed places for religious activities.

REMAINING PROBLEMS

Rampant heresy: Several places we visited have suffered incursions from heresy due to lack of training in the faith. The Shouters, The Disciples (Mentuhui), Eastern Lightning etc. are all a threat to church growth.

Management chaos: Because of unhealthy systems in place and poor quality of church workers, as well as people arrogating power in the church to themselves and lack of unity etc., God’s name is not glorified.

Lack of church workers: Some meeting-points are very short of workers. Believers are unable to receive the Lord’s supper. Some church workers have not received formal training. Many elderly workers have died and not yet ben replaced by younger trained ones.

There must be improvement in religious knowledge. In some places the local cadres do not sufficiently understand the importance of the policy of religious freedom. They are very indifferent to upholding Christian’s legal rights and managing religious affairs according to law.

Through this investigatory visit of the churches on the loess plateau of northern Shaanxi we have much to thank God for, but we also have seen some remaining problems. There is a need for continuing prayer and for the provincial TSPM and Christian Council to maintain its direction and urgently deal with these problems. Our studies have also contributed valuable material towards this year’s work to register places of worship in Shaanxi province and the work of inspecting newly built places of religious activity.

With the call to develop the Western areas of China (xibukaifa) and the work of the TSPM and CCC, we hope the future of the church in Yan’an will be even more glorious.

Copyright 2007 OMF International