Editor’s Note: Prompted in part by Sam Ren’s recent article, “The Displaced Minority,” these brief vignettes offer glimpses of ordinary Christian life in Mainland China that often remain unseen. They are drawn from long-term observation, pastoral conversations, and trusted relationships. Details have been changed and, in some cases, combined to protect those involved. They are not meant to represent the whole church in China, nor do they offer easy conclusions. Instead, they invite readers to see some of the pressures, compromises, questions, and quiet perseverance that shape the everyday lives of many Chinese Christians.
A Pastor’s Kid
A lead pastor in a large urban registered church is distraught over their teenage child. This shy youth has only recently discovered that exercise gives them joy and helps them handle stress.
Unfortunately, other students are making fun of the child for being athletic and sweaty and not “acting like the other kids.” The bullying has become so severe that it manifests in physical symptoms, and now the young person refuses to go to school. The teacher is unwilling to help, as the youth is only an average student. Recently, the pastor has noticed small cuts on their teenager’s arms, along with comments that refer to suicide.
When the child was born, the pastor focused on shepherding their flock and putting the church first, leaving their spouse and others to raise the child. The current crisis has made the pastor realize that they do not have a relationship with their rapidly growing child, bringing overwhelming feelings of guilt and hopelessness.
The pastor is afraid to seek professional psychological help for their teenager because they know older coworkers at the church see all mental illness as a lack of faith. The pastor also believes that if the congregation finds out that their child is struggling, they will lose respect for the pastor as a leader, and that they will judge the pastor for spending money on their own family’s health instead of “trusting the Lord.” Perhaps most troubling, the pastor fears that any attempt to adjust their work-life balance to allow more time to care for their teenager may cost them their job as a pastor.
An Unregistered Registered Church
A lead pastor in a smaller house church of professionals is unsure how to grow their ministry. For several years this church has rented property in an office building for their services and church office, while holding small group meetings in a few other empty properties owned by people in the congregation.
For many years now, the pastor has also been serving in leadership on the local Protestant Twin Committees and has actively sought to have this congregation registered. Previously, the pastor cooperated closely with many of the registered church pastors within the city; however one senior registered church pastor has blocked the registration over the question of how much of the comparatively wealthy professional congregation’s tithes will be shared with the local Twin Committees.
The pastor of the professional congregation believes that, given the environment in China today, it will be difficult for churches to have a witness in Chinese society without some kind of formal, public recognition such as registration. To strengthen their case for registration, the pastor petitioned the elder board to release funds to purchase the property where they currently meet.When the elders voted against the purchase, stating the current market and the ongoing difficulties with their registration application, the pastor was furious and went ahead and made the purchase without their approval. This caused some to leave the church, while others are unable to attend as their ministry activities outside of the church have led to official “tea parties” and surveillance that could place this entire unregistered church at risk.
Social Media Bible Study
A recently retired believer is now leading a Bible study on social media with hundreds of regular attendees.
As a young professional, this believer was discipled by several expatriate Christians who trained her in various Bible study techniques. At their urging, the believer then took the bold step of leading her own small weekly study with trusted friends. Over the years, the study matured as the believer gained confidence and competence in teaching.
Several years ago, this believer began experimenting with continuing their study online as a way to allow friends spread across the country to stay connected. The study grew quickly, developing in response to the security environment into its current form: each week, a series of short files are uploaded to a chat group. Participants are not allowed to make any comments and are not allowed to forward or repost the content. Others also take turns with the teaching, using simple exposition to lead the group verse by verse through Scripture.
Expecting to be shut down quickly, they initially focused on what they viewed as the key books: the Gospels, Romans, shorter epistles, the Pentateuch, and the Major Prophets. They are nearing the end of one of the prophets, and after a brief rest, the teacher plans on taking the group through some of Paul’s letters from prison.
With excellent language skills, this teacher is also able to make use of a wider range of online commentaries and study aids. They have also chosen to be cautious about participation in local church life in order to avoid any official scrutiny that might jeopardize the study group and to protect the hundreds who participate in the studies.
