China Ministries International

The Protestant church in China exists and prospers in two fairly distinct forms. One is the officially registered churches under the Three-self Patriotic Movement and the China Christian Council, and the other is the diversified house churches. The registered churches conducts worship in church buildings that were in existence prior to 1949 or newly built structures. The house churches usually worship in private homes, though house churches in Wenzhou area have built church buildings like churches in the West. It is difficult to say just how believers there are in the house churches. A rough estimate would be 70-80 million. House churches have been the mainstream of Protestant Christianity in China since the revival of house churches in the late 1970s.

Since 1989 there has been a noted growth of the number of believers and church goers in both the TSPM churches and house churches. The rate of growth became more rapid during the last two years, in spite of the nation-wide pressure for registration and persecution. In most of the provinces north of the Yangze River, such as Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Shandong, Jiangsu, Sichuan, and the three provinces in the northeast (Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning), Christian growth in the rural areas has been so significant that I have personally heard from local house church leaders or have seen with my own eyes that there are Christian "meeting points" in practically every village. Coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian in the southeast have also seen remarkable growth. Even in hitherto "hard to reach" provinces like Ningxia, Qinghai, and Tibet, significant progress has been made in evangelistic outreach and church planting. Minority "nationalities" in the southwest living in Yunnan, Quizhou, and Guangxi are also turning to Christ at a rate unknown before. Some villages have become "Christian villages" as believers make up 50% to 80% of the population.

This rapid growth of Christian population is causing some alarm among senior officials in the government. They fear that what happened in Eastern Europe might be repeated in China: the erosion of atheism and Marxist-Leninist ideology and worldview. For this reason, since 1991 the State Council has issued a document instructing the Religious Affairs Bureau to exercise control of the expansion of Christianity through legal means. In 1993 President Jiang Zhemin gave a three point guideline in the control of religion, namely, (1) implement the religious policy of the state as stated in Document 19 of the Party Central issued in 1982; (2) control and manage religious activities through legal means, and (3) make religious persons and organizations to suit the development of Chinese socialist modernization.

This policy of control has been transformed into the promulgation of state regulations such as Decree No. 145, "Regulations Relative to the Management of Places of Religious Activities" issued by the State Council on January 31, 1994 which has the function of law. These regulations were followed by "Methods for the Registration of Places of Religious Activities" issued by the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB), a special agency under the State Council, in April of 1994. In September the same year a further document followed: "Seriously Do the Work of Registration of Places of Religious Activities" by the RAB. Between 1992 and 1996 various provincial governments also issued regulations on the control and management of religious activities, especially those on the registration of places of worship or religious activities, passed by the Executive Committees of provincial People's Congresses. In July 1996 the RAB issue another decree on "Methods of Annual Inspection on Place of Religious Activities."

With these regulations for registration came a nation-wide pressure for house churches to register with the prefectural offices of the Religious Affairs Bureau, which the places all registered churches under the ecclesiastical control of the Three-self Patriotic Movement. Registration gives a registered church legal status for conducting religious activities, but it also confines them to state control in the selection of pastoral personal, in the limitation of worship or fellowship meetings only to registered church buildings, and the limitation of preaching within the registered churches or places of worship. Pastoral personnel and the committee for the management of local churches must also come under the approval of Three-self Patriotic Movement and the Religious Affairs Bureau.

While some house churches have registered under pressure, the majority of them refused to register so as to maintain their freedom to choose their own pastoral personnel, to conduct local and distant evangelism, and to carry out their church affairs according to the teachings of Scripture rather than strict regulations of the state. Most importantly, they want to honor Christ as the head of the church, believing that the state should not have the final say on matters relative to the church of Jesus Christ. For this position, house church leaders who refuse to register have to suffer persecution since early 1996, and this pressure continues to this day.

In implementing the above regulations for registration, even house meetings under the TSPM churches must register, which results in the termination of prayer and fellowship meetings. TSPM church leaders were also told to investigate the leadership and location of non-registered house churches. Since early 1996 many of the top leaders of organized house churches have been arrested and, after a week's interrogation and beating, were sent to "Labor-education Camps." They are not tried in due process of law. In a female labor camp in Zhengzhou, Henan, 49 out of 300 labor reformees are Christian evangelists. In another male labor camp in Pingdingshan, 79 out of 600 reformees are Christian pastors and evangelists.

Organized house church which are not registered according to the regulations for the registration of association are labeled as "cults," and their leadership condemned as cult leaders. The most well-known house church leader so condemned to three years of labor reform is Peter Yongze XU. Others in many provinces who are less well-known are equally condemned as "cultic leaders." In the process of interrogation, Christian leaders so detained suffer much physical and mental abuse. One evangelist was slapped 360 times during the first week. Another one was forced to drink his own urine and eat his own dung mixed with washing powder.

In spite of such persecution and pressure, most house churches refuse to register, and they are forced to relocate their meeting places or training grounds. This has resulted in splitting up larger groups into smaller meeting points, which in turn produced an increased need for new leaders to take care of the newly groups. This is true of both rural and urban churches. The persecuted church in China needs the understanding and prayers of Christians overseas. As they choose to "walk the pathway of the cross," and suffer for Christ's sake, it hurts them to know that some overseas churches take the side of their persecutors.

Along with the rapid growth of the church in China also come the emergence of heresies and outside interference. One heretical group is called "Eastern Flash of Lightening," (Dongfang shandian), originating from Zhengzhou, Henan. This groups believes that a female Jesus has come to China and that one out to believe in her. Another group insists on multiple-faith and multiple-salvation. They are opposed to the idea of "once saved, always saved." One of their leaders wrote a booklet entitled "From the saved apostle (Judas) to the demons that betrayed the Lord - the tragedy of one whose heart changed." His theme is that Judas was a saved apostle who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him and exercised the power for exorcism, but because he lost his faith, he became a demon. The idea that one can loose his salvation is he stops believing in Christ has become a nation-wide problem in China today. What is needed is a solid explanation of the perseverance of the saints.

More recently charismatic groups from Singapore, Taiwan, and the U.S. are making significant inroads into house churches in China. Almost everywhere they went, they cause division within existing evangelical house churches. One group from Singapore in particular emphasizes the general application of Mark 16: 17-18, "And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." The divisiveness of these charismatic groups is causing much pain in the hearts of the believers. In addition to verbal spreading the charismatic movement, their literature also spread far and wide, especially one set that comes from the U.S.

The most urgent need of the church in China today is that of pastoral training. This need comes from the fact of rapid expansion of house churches and the need for teaching the Word of God to young believers and pastoral care for the flock. In one case, an Christian woman returned to her village to recuperate from her illness. She decided to pray for her home village, while her sister went out to witness Christ. Within half a year, a house meeting of over 50 was formed. Then in another two years most of the neighboring villages have established meeting points. Her daughter who had just believed two years ago, has to do the work of itinerant teaching and preaching. Fortunately she was able to get hold of a copy of "Training Manual for Church Workers," published by us, and with this as her source, she is teaching leaders in several dozen of house churches. To meet local pastoral leadership needs, most house church leaders are able to organize local training sessions taught by their own leaders or neighboring leaders.

House churches in China are organized in terms of large groups like a denomination in the West with several million members with organizational structures of county level, prefectural level, provincial level, and national level, very much similar to Presbyterian or Baptist structures of multi-national nature. Other groups are smaller ones with only 300 to 500 house churches spread over several prefectures in neighboring provinces. In such organized groups, they need systematic training of full time pastors and evangelists lasting one to two years with a curriculum very much like Bible schools in southeast Asia or America. More recently, the request is for teachers training so that they can train their own pastoral leaders. This is where overseas Chinese pastors who have received formal theological education and have ten or more years of pastoral experience as well theological teachers can help. For pastoral leadership training, pastors are better qualified; for teachers training we usually make arrangements for theological seminary teachers and some pastors to do the teaching. This is the most urgent need of the church in China today.

In light of the above pastoral needs, especially in view of the various theological problems and heretical eruptions, there is a great need for overseas Christians to conduct studies on some of the following problems to the benefit of the church in China. The first and foremost need is to identify the various heretical sects and show in what ways they are wrong from a Scriptural point of view. The next important item of literature work is to identify and solve some of their theological problems, such as the prevailing view of trichotomy, mostly as a result of the ongoing influence of Watchman Nee's Spiritual Man, the problem of the security of the believers' salvation, the lack of commentaries for the pastors, the lack of appropriate literature on the history of the church in the West and in China, and the confusion caused by the charismatic groups, which requires a sound study of the teachings of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. For the intellectuals in the cities, a different type of literary need exists, especially the problem of Christianity and science and Christianity and cultural issues.

1. Pastoral teaching: pastors, elders, and theological educators in North America and elsewhere can help by working with existing China ministry groups in providing Biblical, theological, and pastoral training among the pastors, itinerant evangelists, and prospective teachers. Some of the most needed courses are: Biblical theology or History of Salvation, Principles of Biblical Interpretation, major books in the Old and New Testament, especially Romans and Hebrews; Systematic Theology covering the major topics; Apologetics, Heresies and Cults; History of the Church in the West and History of Christianity in China; and pastoral courses such as Homiletics, Pastoral Care, Marriage and Family, and Children's and Youth Ministries.

2. Sponsoring systematic training programs: providing one to two years of systematic training for house church leaders is very costly both in terms of providing the personnel and funds. CMI has designed a 12 course curriculum for one year's training, and 24 course curriculum for two years training. Some pastors are able to secure financial backing from their churches; others need to be subsidized, likewise those China ministry staff who are engaged in training. On the average it takes US$1,000 per person when going from Taiwan, and $2,000 when going from the U.S. A church can sponsor one or two teacher's travel and ministry expenses, or sponsor a year's training program. There are more needs than can be supplied. Therefore, we need to recruit and training theologically trained personnel to carry out professional missionary-teaching ministry in China. Sponsoring a training program or such a missionary is a very strategic way of helping the church in China.

3. Lay people involvement: China welcomes business investments, especially if it involves setting up a factory with a sure outlet for exports, factories that can employ a good number of workers and hence help to solve China's present problem of national unemployment as the government dismantles state enterprises and so laying off millions of workers. Christian investors can have the freedom to employ workers of their choice. China also welcomes medical, educational, and social projects, like building a primary school for poor villages that are unable to help themselves, establishing a private medical clinic with Chinese doctors in charge, and helping out with social needs of a village such drilling wells, providing water, etc. These are all ways that help to change the negative impressions people have learned from their anti-Christian textbooks with regard to Christianity as opium of the people or as cultural arms of foreign aggression.

Christian Business people can also do a lot in terms of leading people in their field to Christ and in providing discipleship training of the new converts. Christian companies can also help to introduce Christian ethics to Chinese people with whom they engage in business and thereby mold a positive image of what Christianity stands for. Many business families have also contributed significantly to the advance of the Gospel in China by providing hospitality to missionary workers. But the most significant way that they can be used of God is to introduce Christ to senior party members and people in the business world, which otherwise cannot be reached by local Chinese believers.

4. Literature production and distribution is another way overseas Christians can help. It is now possible to print some Christian literature in China in a public manner, though the majority of them are still printed in a private manner by private presses. Although this is considered illegal, yet the church in China needs good Christian literature for pastoral training and general Christian introduction. While people still carry Bibles and literature in by hand when they travel into China, the amount of literature that can be carried in is relatively small when compared with the demand. So local believers even print overseas books on their own to meet local needs.

One strategic way of helping the church in China is to provide a package of books, such as Bible study tools, commentaries, major theme books, and tapes for a house church training center so that they will have a wider range of books available. Stephen Tong's books video and audio tapes are especially popular and deserves special consideration as items for giving churches.

The last ten years have been years of golden opportunity for evangelism and church growth in China. Now urban churches are feeling a snag, as most people go for financial success and give their energies to money taking. Many believers who would like to enter into full time ministry find it hard to do so because as volunteer workers, they cannot provide for their families. The government frowns upon house churches receiving offering, calling that "extracting money and exploiting the people." As a result many churches refrain from teaching or receiving offerings, and so deprive themselves of church funds for pastoral and evangelistic work. Rural workers can live on the farm and can use non-farming seasons for full time ministry. But they too find it hard to provide funds for travel to carry out mission work. Recently I learned that some of the evangelists sell their blood in order to get some cash to come back home after a season of ministry afar off. Others don't have the money to send their children to school. Hence careful giving to these full workers is another strategic way of helping the church in China, though one must be careful not to create dependence for the church in China.

The Chinese people are still open to the gospel. This openness might last another five to ten years. Then the golden opportunity for evangelism and church growth will be lessened considerably. If the Chinese churches in American want to do China ministry, this is the decade to do it. In another ten years one might want to go or give, but by then the hearts of most of populace could be closed, even though politically the door might be more open.

By Jonathan Chao, Ph.D., CMI Founder