Global Chinese Ministries Newsletter - Dec. 2008

It is significant that the prestigious Economist magazine has again published a long article about the growth of Christianity in China. We publish extracts which show the ‘vast rise’ in the number of Christians, particularly among the house-churches.

“Xiao Zhao, a former Communist Party official and convert to Christianity, smiles over a cup of tea and says he thinks there are over 130 million Christians in China—far more than previous estimates. The government says there are only 21 million (16 million Protestants, 5 million Catholics). Unofficial figures such as given by the Centre for the Study of Global Christianity in Massachusetts puts the number at about 70 million.” [Editor’s note: this still seems the more credible figure; it is unlikely that 10% of the population is believers.]

“If true, this would mean China has more Christians than Communists (Party membership is 74 million), and there may be more active Christians in China than in any other country. In 1949, when the Communists took power, less than 1% of the population had been baptized, most of them Catholics. Now the fastest growing number of Christians is within Protestant ‘house-churches.’

“House-churches are small congregations who meet privately—usually in apartments—to worship away from the gaze of the Party. In the 1950s the Catholic and main Protestant churches were turned into branches of the religious affairs administration. House-churches have an unclear status, neither banned nor fully approved. As long as they avoid neighborly confrontation and keep their congregations below a certain size (usually about 25), the Protestant ones are mostly tolerated, grudgingly. Catholic ones are kept under closer scrutiny, reflecting China’s tense relationship with the Vatican.

“The Party, worried about the spread of a rival ideology, faces a difficult choice: by keeping house-churches small, it ensures that no one church is large enough to threaten the local Party chief. But the price is that the number of churches is increasing. The house-church in Shanghai is barely two years old but already has two offspring, one for workers in a multinational company, the other for migrant laborers. As well as spreading the Word, the proliferation of churches provides a measure of defense against intimidation. One pastor told the Far East Economic Review last year that if the head of one house-church was arrested, the congregation would just split up and break into five, six or even 10 new house-churches.

“Abundant church-creation is a blessing and a curse for the house-church movement, too. The smiling Mr. Zhao says finance is no problem. ‘We don’t have salaries to pay or churches to build.’ But ‘management quality’ is hard to maintain. Churches can get hold of Bibles or download hymn books from the internet. They cannot so easily find experienced pastors. ‘In China the 2-year-old Christian teaches the 1-year-old.’

“Because most house-churches are non-denominational, they have no fixed liturgy or tradition. Their services are like Bible-study classes. This puts a heavy burden on the pastor. Still, the teething problems of the church are minor compared with the vast rise in numbers. After the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 many disenchanted democrats turned to Christianity: 6 of the 30 or so student leaders became Christians. China’s new house-churches have the zeal of converts: many members bring their families and co-workers.

“Christianity also follows Chinese migration. Many Chinese studied in America, converted there and brought their faith home, as did Mr. Zhao. In 2000, says one Beijing writer and convert, most believers were in the countryside. After 2000 they brought their faith into the cities, spreading it among intellectuals.

“Europeans may find this surprising. In Christianity’s former heartland religion is associated with tradition and ritual. In China it is associated with modernity, business and science. ‘We are first-generation Christians and first-generation businessmen’, says one house-church pastor. In a widely debated article in 2006 Mr. Zhao wrote: ‘The market economy discourages idleness. But it cannot discourage people from lying or causing harm. A strong faith discourages dishonesty and injury’. Christianity and the market economy, in his view, go hand-in-hand.

“So far, Christianity’s spread has been largely a private matter for individual believers. The big question is whether it can remain private. The extent of its growth and the number of its adherents would suggest not. But at the moment both Christians and Communists seem willing to let a certain ambiguity linger a while longer.

“‘Christians are willing to stay within the system’, says Mr. Zhao. ‘Christianity is also the basis for good citizenship in China.’ Most Christians say that theirs is not a political organization and they are not seeking to challenge the Party. Formally, the Party forbids members to hold religious belief, and the churches say they suffer official harassment. The president of the Beijing house-church alliance, Zhang Mingxuan, was thrown out of the capital before the Olympics and told he was unwelcome when he returned. In early June the state government of Henan arrested half a dozen house-church members on charges of illegally sending charitable donations to Sichuan earthquake victims. China Aid Association claims harassment of house-churches is growing.

“In fact, the State’s attitude seems ambivalent. In December 2007 President Hu Jintao held a meeting with religious leaders and said: ‘The knowledge of religious people must be harnessed to build a prosperous society.’ ‘If you want to know what China will be like in the future,’ concludes Mr. Zhao, ‘you have to consider the future of Christianity in China.’ (Extracts from The Economist, October 4, 2008)

Editor’s Afterward

Is it not mind-blowing that one of the world’s leading secular financial magazines is now stating that “there may be more active Christians in China than in any other country”?—only 35 years or so after all churches had been closed and Madame Mao had boasted she had put Christianity into the museum! The Economist is certainly better informed than many churches! It is time for Christians in America and Europe to wake up to the immense work of God in China, and pray and strategize accordingly.

We might add that both the recent baby-milk scandal in China and the near collapse of the entire Western banking system show the truth of the Christian doctrine of original sin. The heart of man is corrupt and, unchecked, leads to selfishness and greed on a monumental scale. The Chinese house-church Christian who stated (see above) that “a strong faith discourages dishonesty and injury” was telling the truth. Whether East or West, only a vibrant Christian faith can provide not only the moral compass for the individual, but also the firm foundation for society and entire civilizations.

PRAYER POINTS

1. Pray for the 10,000 babies in Shanghai taken ill from China’s tainted milk scandal. All aged under three, they have symptoms of kidney stones (Daily Telegraph, September 27, 2008).
2. Nationwide, four children have died and more than 53,000 children have fallen ill after drinking milk laced with melamine (Daily Telegraph, September 27, 2008). Pray for the bereaved and panic-stricken families, and that the government will take stern action to restrain corporate greed.
3. There are one million disabled people in Beijing alone. Pray that Christians will show compassion and glorify God by their good works.
4. Recently in Shanghai a meeting of two dozen university students was surrounded by police, and two leaders were arrested and interrogated for several hours. Pray for the growing number of Christian students and faculty—that they may be allowed to meet undisturbed.
5. In the earthquake disaster areas in Sichuan, a school principal, who lost his own wife and child, faced tremendous pressure from rebuilding the school; recently a local official committed suicide due to stress. May God have mercy on these officials, teachers and principals who suffer from the earthquake themselves yet need to take charge in the reconstruction work. Please remember the many local and overseas Christians quietly serving among the afflicted people.
6. The 10,000 strong Baoan (Bonan) people who live in southwest Gansu province are one of China’s smallest recognized minorities and one of the least evangelized with no known believers. They are strongly Islamic. Pray for spiritual breakthrough.
7. Pray for the 500 Chinese Christians in Switzerland; may the Holy Spirit empower them to reach out more effectively to their compatriots.
8. The 5,000 Mozhihei living in western Hunan, are a sub-group of the Tujia and have their own language. They believe in a mixture of animism and Daoism, and there are no known Christians. (Operation China) Pray the gospel of grace will finally reach the Mozhihei.
9. The authorities have expressed concern about the number of Party members who hold religious beliefs—many are Christians. Pray for those struggling with the issue of whether to openly confess Christ and face possible dismissal and discrimination, affecting their families as well.
10. Pray for the training of Sunday school leaders in China to reach out effectively to over 500 million children—most without Christ.
11. Campus violence involving young people has increased sharply and young people’s moral values in China are spiraling downwards (Tianfeng). Pray for effective outreach in schools and universities despite continuing restrictions.
12. After the earthquake, thousands of men and women, young and old, have now become amputees. May God help them in their depression to stand up again physically and spiritually. May those around them learn how to live with people with disabilities. May God send his people, loving Christian orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists, to provide the much-needed support in rehabilitation.
13. “My team-mate and I often prayed together,” reports an American short-term worker in China. Pray for the spiritual life and unity of those from overseas serving Christ, sometimes under pressure.
14. Sub-tropical Hainan Island has many towns and villages where ancestor worship and folk-religion hold sway, and Christian witness is weak. Pray for effective outreach.
15. Pray for Chinese Christians who are teaching in various institutes of Religion or Christianity in several Chinese cities. They face many pressures and may lack fellowship with other believers.
16. As the Christmas season begins, pray for all the overseas Christians working in China. May they have wonderful opportunities to witness to friends and strangers. (January prayer-point): Pray for all those new friends and contacts made over Christmas by foreign teachers and workers, especially for new converts.
17. The new Penguin book Chinese Whispers unmasks the appalling conditions illegal Chinese suffer working in restaurants, DVD shops, agricultural work and brothels in the UK. Pray for effective gospel outreach and legislation to ban blatant exploitation.
18. “Our middle-school fellowship has 20 members, but we have come under investigation and our Principal has said we are a communist-run school meant to train up young communists and atheists and not rotten superstition!” (Letter to FEBC from Mr. Hu in Sichuan). Pray for Mr. Hu and his Christian friends. Pray that old Maoist attitudes will change.
19. OMF International’s Apologetic Literature program distributes tens of thousands of key booklets to Chinese scholars worldwide on a wide variety of subjects. Pray for the selection of material and for the workers in Hong Kong.
20. There are several hundred house-church Christians in some form of preparatory training (often rudimentary) for cross-cultural mission, mainly to unreached minority groups within China. Pray for perseverance in gaining difficult linguistic and cultural skills.
21. Of the 10,000 Chinese living in Switzerland, only 500 are Christians meeting in seven different fellowships. Pray for urgently needed pastors and preachers.
22. Possibly 30% of all businesses in Wenzhou have gone bankrupt in the last two years due to higher costs of raw materials (Sunday Telegraph, August 3, 2008). Pray for the many Christians in business in the ‘Jerusalem of China’ who are now facing hard times.
23. A sister in Inner Mongolia writes to FEBC: “The church is very short of pastors, so our leaders have recorded all of FEBC’s training material from the radio and used it for a six-day training course for all the Christian workers in our county.” Pray these workers will now be emboldened in their ministry and also for FEBC’s staff in Hong Kong.
24. For many in China, Christmas means Santa Claus and consumerism (no different from the West!). Pray many will be touched and convicted by the authentic gospel of the incarnate and risen Lord for the first time.
25. Pray for Christians across China as they celebrate the birth of our Lord. May they have great joy. Pray for relatives, friends and curious strangers who hear the gospel for the first time.
26. Pray for the Inner Mongolia Christian Training Center run at one of the large city churches in Hohhot. Pray for the young students and for outreach to the Mongols who remain largely unevangelized.
27. In Shanghai the Christian Council and Fudan University have designed a two-year course to improve pastors’ academic knowledge. But at 10,000 RMB, it is too costly for most, so short-term training for pastors with only junior or middle-school education is also now available. Pray all pastors in China will be equipped to minister to a rapidly changing society and especially to young people who think very differently from their parents’ generation.
28. In Yunnan there are about 2,000 deaf children aged 7-13 who have not been able to start their education. About 70% took incorrect antibiotics prescribed by village doctors. Pray for Christian work to help the children, retrain the doctors and share the love of Jesus.
29. The Chinese Library (Chinesische Leibuecherei) continues to lend Christian books to Chinese in 57 German cities. Pray for all those touched through this ministry that they may come to confess Christ.
30. Praise God for the continuing growth of the Chinese church. (See our main article.) Pray that restrictions on the house-churches will be eased and that the government will increasingly view Christians as making a positive contribution to society.
31. As a New Year begins, pray for the church in China that it may experience refreshing and revival from the Holy Spirit; that powerful preachers and loving pastors will be raised up; that children and young people will be challenged with their need of Christ as the only way of salvation.