A Bottom-Up Faith in a Top-Down Country
According to Rob Gifford, China Editor for The Economist, much has been written about the growth of the church in China, but to understand the church's impact we need to look beyond the numbers.
Ideas
Editorial reflection and analysis on issues shaping Chinese Christianity.
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Toward a Partnering Mindset
Recently I found myself in a discussion with several colleagues about what it takes to "partner well" in China.
Thinking the Unthinkable
When US Air flight 1549 landed unexpectedly in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, the pilot, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, III, became an instant hero. But there were other heroes on the Hudson River that day as well.
Consumerism and the Church in China
Most large consumer-facing companies realize that they will need China to power their growth in the next decade.
China and the Church: The Perennial Questions
"How many Christians in China?"
"Are believers still persecuted?"
Faith and Generosity
Generosity is an unequivocal characteristic of the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. It is the joyful life that flows freely and richly from a heart that has been set free by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the way Christians bear the image of the God who "so loved the world that He gave "
When Influence and Wariness Meet
A big part of observing China is trying to figure out what is really going on. For those following recent events regarding the church in China, this has been especially true.
China’s (Unfinished) Education Explosion
China is in the midst of an education explosion.
China’s Demographic Fork in the Road
Up until the beginning of this decade, China's elderly and young adult populations were growing at roughly the same rate.
Partnering with China’s Church in an Era of Global Convergence
We live in an era when partnership between the church in China and the global church is both desired and increasingly possible. The challenges facing the church in China have evolved significantly in recent decades A survey of these challenges may lead some to conclude that church life in China today is not that much different from church life in the West or among overseas Chinese communities in Asia. Postmodernism, urbanization, secularization, and family breakdown are endemic to industrialized and post-industrialized societies the world over. The difference for China is that it has experienced in thirty years what in most other nations has taken place over a century or more.
China’s Religious Policy: The Unfinished Mandate
China's current policy on religion is spelled out in Central Party Document no. 19, "The Basic Viewpoint and Policy on the Religious Question during Our Country's Socialist Period," issued in March of 1982.
The Difficulty of ‘Urban Missions’ in China
In this article, translated from the site jidutu123.com, the author looks at the challenges of doing urban missions in China. His main point is that doing urban missions, traditionally defined as ministering to the marginalized, is difficult in China because it assumes that Christianity is already part of the mainstream of culture, something that is not true in China. He then calls on the church to look for ways to engage with society rather than standing in opposition to it. Only by doing this will Christianity gain influence in Chinese society.