I suspect that many…have narrowed decisions about the future to one of two possible options: stay in China or return to one’s home country…. I see a compelling third option: relocate to an area outside of China to serve diaspora Chinese or train Chinese missionaries (or both).
Legislation may technically render a host of Christian activities illegal, but these activities do not suddenly cease. While we may hear that “China” is clamping down on unregistered meetings or websites or online gatherings, the reality on the ground may tell a different story.
Posters were the most common visual imagery of Christianity in China from 1919 to 1949. In his lecture, Dr. Daryl Ireland showcased some of his collection of nearly 700 posters from both Protestants and Catholics and discussed how they are changing the way we think about Chinese Christianity.
When pressure comes, Christians generally respond in one of three ways: fight, flight, or somewhere in the middle…. When praying for the Chinese church, we must not fail to pray...for the unity of Christians under pressure.
As Christians in China study biblical peacemaking, many have had personal aha moments…they now see that conflict starts in the heart and that avoiding addressing the root heart issues in order to “avoid conflict,” only results in the heart conflict remaining.
Like so many others who have wondered the past few years if returning to China might ever be possible again, the news that travel restrictions were being lifted gave me a glimmer of hope that it might actually be doable.
Wang Yi said, “We have an opportunity to demonstrate to society what the church is; why spiritual authority should not be in the hands of those who wield the sword; why we can…endure external governance but cannot allow our faith, worship, teaching, …and members to come under the state’s review and control.”
Wang Yi wrote, “The goal of disobedience is not to change the world but to testify about another world.”
Doubtless the vigorous development of theological education since the 1990s is one of the important evidences of the growth of Christianity in China. Besides reflecting the growth of the church, it was itself a factor in the further expansion of the church.
Paul yearned to return to visit his fellow believers but he knew there was a moment he would have to leave them to lead their churches without his help…. Likewise, many of us may not get to see our Chinese brothers and sisters on this side of heaven again.
In early December, the unthinkable happened. After three years of messaging to the Chinese people that “COVID will kill you and only we can keep you safe” (unlike those heartless bunglers in the West), the government suddenly seemed to be saying “never mind!”
The winter 2022 issue of ChinaSource Quarterly offers perspectives like a plane dropping from thirty thousand feet to ground level, as they shift from high-level and mildly optimistic…to close up, personal, and much more pessimistic. Together, they offer helpful insight on what’s happening in China after ten years of…political leadership by Xi Jinping.