China is big! This is a simple fact, yet it is difficult to grasp even for seasoned China watchers. Why? Because it is too big. Stagnant, confused, and gloomy? True. Vibrant, determined, and optimistic? Also true.
Since 2017, China has gone through dramatic political left-turning, with stricter laws and regulations regarding media and online spaces, and sudden and violent economic conflicts with major economies, not to mention the incomprehensible COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged lockdowns. Life is difficult for anyone living in China, but probably true to say it is even more so for Chinese churches.
Also, since 2017, foreign missionaries have flooded out of China, mostly involuntarily. It didn’t matter if you had been there for over 15 years, had a successful business, or were even married to a Chinese national. Once tagged, you were likely forced out within one week or, by God’s grace, one month.
The government places a particular focus on religious facilities. For all legitimate facilities, prominent crosses could not be observed outside. Within the facilities, the national flag was raised, the core values of socialism and other slogans were hung conspicuously on walls, and HD cameras were everywhere. Unregistered churches were all closed... at least, in theory.
Between 2018 and 2023, Christian gatherings were harassed by police officers, brothers and sisters were taken into custody for up to two weeks, and pastors and publishers were sentenced to jail from seven to fourteen years. An exodus of Chinese Christians and pastors was noticeable. In the US, South Korea, Thailand, and elsewhere you can easily recognize passionate Chinese Christians eagerly attempting to start a new life and ministry for the Chinese diaspora.
Does this drain of Christian leaders and educators result in a Chinese church meltdown? Does it all crumble into ashes? Far from it. What God has called us to do for the past forty years is not a mirage but a true manifestation of the kingdom of God.
It is true that from 2019 to 2022 Chinese churches, in general, went through a period of panic and confusion. Various ideas and prophecies appeared and disappeared. Warnings, false hopes, and drastic suggestions overwhelmed many. The lockdowns, Zoom gatherings that spread fear, and turbulent domestic and international events all continue to fuel this frenzy.
Under tremendous pressure from outside and inside, registered and unregistered churches are shaken, and some have disintegrated. So we now see waves of Christian refugees wandering from WeChat groups to Bilibili videos, Zoom meetings to TikToks, searching for spiritual and biblical nourishment.
Not just Christians, but the whole of China is shaken and crumbled. Broken businesses, broken families, and broken hearts are everywhere. People have never been so eager to hear about the gospel because their lives and hopes have never been so dampened in the past four decades.
From an outsider’s perspective China looks horrible, like hell. Can you imagine your emails and social media constantly being watched? Or police officers showing up at your front door because two months ago you bought a Christian book or are in a WeChat group that you barely checked? Or having your job and social security threatened if you attend a church service or share your perspectives about current events?
Yet, from the insiders’ perspective living in China is simply life. Like a deep-water creature, we get used to the darkness, cold, and pressure. If you live in the surface water, the deeper conditions are unbearable. But we have learned how to share the gospel, pastor our churches, and advance God’s kingdom in deep water. Some might think that deep water is not fit for life, but if you find yourself there, you might be surprised by how resilient life can be, and how resilient you can be. You simply need to do it, and you can.
Around 2022, we started to sense a rebound from the depths of despair. People began to accept reality. We could not give up on the commission Jesus gave us. We could not leave God’s sheep to die. And we simply cannot stay paralyzed despite what has happened. So, what should we do? What are our responses? Or, more to the point,what is God’s response?
First, a wave of new warriors are responding to God's call. These young, energetic, and creative young men and women of God are quite different in appearance, philosophy, and practice from the older generation. They stand upon and continue previous works but are drastically transforming the demography of spiritual leadership.
Second, the Lord forces us to invent and try previously unimaginable ways to do ministry. The combination of online and offline ministry, community building across a city or a province, the mobile church that can be relocated at any time, and flexible but integrated training systems for young leaders are only a few examples of the creative explosion of ministry methods over the past few years.
Third, primarily due to online ministry but also due to the mobility of Christian refugees, Chinese churches have never been so interconnected in all its history. Many pastors become nationally well-known. Ministries easily jump from one city to another city, one province to another province. New ideas and methods spread like wildfire. In early 2020, Zoom was practically unknown to the vast majority of Chinese Christians. But by May 2020, a grandma in a remote area of Sichuan province taught her eleven group members how to download, install, register, and log into Zoom for daily Bible classes.
Of course, creative endeavors involve high risk; many will fail. But we will learn, and eventually, some methods will stick. Some might even become classics.
This wave of new leaders, methods, and interconnections has just begun. Its true effect on Chinese churches and society may not be established and recognized until 2030, with its main impact climaxing and apparent around 2035. It is indeed an exciting and transformative period for churches in China.
Is it all bright in China? Far from it. We are in deep water—that’s a fact. Yet it is my firm conviction and hope that out of ashes, new life will arise. Darkness is real, but so is our living Lord!
Originally published by ChinaSource. Republished with permission.
ChinaSource is a trusted partner and platform for educating the global church on critical issues facing the church and ministries in China, and for connecting Christians inside and outside China to advance the kingdom of God globally. ChinaSource's vision is to see the church in China and the global church learning and growing together, engaging in ministry that powerfully advances the kingdom of God.
The views expressed in this or any other opinion article do not necessarily reflect the views of Christian Daily International.
