Members of the Highland China Missions Team recently spent two weeks in three cities in China: Beijing, Qingdao and Wuhan. We visited church leaders and Christians in house churches, Three Self Patriotic Churches (the government approved church) and in other types of Christian churches. In this series I explore how the trip shattered myths I once held about China, its people and its faith.
China is a godless nation.
That’s what I once believed about this nation of about 1.3 billion (all statistics in this series come from Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation). After all, only 2.7% of the population is Christian. And the nation is ruled by a political party for whom atheism is a core tenant. The U. S. and other Western nations are where God’s activity are clearly seen and God’s people are abundant. In fact, prior to traveling to China, I confessed to a good friend that I was wrestling with a heavy sense of dread about the upcoming journey. I couldn’t shake a deep-seated anxiety. I think it was rooted in this unstated belief in my mind that China was a godless nation, our visit would be opposed by the Chinese, and danger would lurk around every corner.
But what I found in China shocked me. Down every street, around every corner, in hearts and homes God was on the job and his people were plentiful. It reminded me of that moment when Jesus spoke to Paul, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” (Acts 18:9-10 ESV). Indeed, God has many in the cities of Beijing, Qingdao and Wuhan who are his people.
Among groups associated with Churches of Christ, we found a mature network of three house-churches in Beijing with a nine-member preaching team with plans to start a fourth location soon. In Qingdao we discovered a “dream team” of church leaders with a vision to create one church of eight house-churches of eighty Christians each. The worship service there on Sunday was packed with hungry worshipers and was as inspiring, if not more inspiring, than any I’ve experienced in the U. S. In Wuhan we met with a healthy house-church in which the majority are first-generation Christians. Among groups outside Churches of Christ, we discovered a house-church network in Beijing of over 1,000 (the model is similar to the multi-site model so popular in the U.S.–one church, one leadership, multiple locations); a church of about 150 young adults meeting in a cinema and reaching the political and educational elite in Beijing; a Beijing church with 5,000 members and a staff of 8; and a church in Wuhan with 2,000 worshipers, 5 ministers and an active outreach into the community.
In Beijing we met a brother who came to faith in Christ even though he was a high ranking member of the Communist Party. In Qingdao we met a young married couple who came to faith in Hong Kong and now lead worship for the church. In Wuhan we met a sister in Christ who is a wealthy business woman using her talents and treasures to serve the church. Another sister in Christ travelled two hours from her home outside of Wuhan to tell of us the sixty people baptized over four years in her house church.
God’s busier than I could have ever imagined. His good news is being embraced by more Chinese than I could have dreamed. And His church is not only surviving but thriving. Yes, there are hundreds of thousands who still do not yet know Christ. The need remains critical. Yet were were encouraged by what we saw: faith rather than faithlessness, reception rather than rejection.
Perhaps one young man in Beijing captured it perfectly. Long Long is in his twenties and volunteers with a house-church in Beijing. Last year he travelled to the United States and spoke to several groups. He told me this: “I was surprised to find so many in America turning from Jesus when so many in China are turning to Jesus.”
