According to China Aid Association's 2013 Persecution Report, a total of 7,424 Christians were persecuted in China last year. This is not an insignificant number; 7,424 believers facing persecution is 7,424 too many. However, it is worth looking at this number a bit closer in order to put it into perspective.
In the week since the Sanjiang Church was demolished, netizens in China (both Christian and non-Christian) have taken to social media to comment on the incident.
As far as most of our readers go, probably the biggest story out of China this week was the demolition of the Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou.
The biblical way of handling advice and counsel lies in stark contrast to my foolish responses and is, I believe, something the Chinese Church models fairly well.
On Saturday night, April 26, 2014, Brent Fulton and I gave a talk at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, titled "The Chinese Church and the Global Body of Christ."
In his work report at last month's annual meeting of the National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang, citing the growing toll which China's environmental crisis is taking on the economy, pledged to "declare war" on pollution.
As of this morning (Monday, April 28) there are wild rumors floating around regarding the situation at the Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou, but what is not in dispute is that the church is, in fact, being demolished.
In response to the situation at the Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou, a Chinese believer posted an open letter to Christians world-wide to pray for the Church in China.
Moving to China is both a great adventure and a daunting task. Here are ten ways you can prepare yourself, your family, and those who care about you.
Late last week The Telegraph published a story about the rise of Christianity in China under the attention-grabbing headline "China on course to become the world's most Christian nation within 15 years."
China today has been variously described as an emerging superpower, an economic miracle, a totalitarian regime, a corrupt kleptocracy, a regional hegemon, a bellwether of the future, and a victim of its past. Each of these narratives contains a kernel of truth, yet none by itself begins to do justice to the complexities of China.
Many people in the West are familiar with the Back to Jerusalem Movement, which refers to a movement of Chinese Christians to take the gospel to Central Asia, and then "back to Jerusalem."
Fewer people, perhaps, are aware of the fact that this movement, or vision, is not something new; it really began in the 1940's when God called a group of Chinese believers to take the Gospel to Northwest China (Xinjiang) and Central Asia. They formed a team called the "Preach Everywhere Gospel Band," and fanned out across Xinjiang.