China: A land of paradoxes

China is a land full of paradoxes that appear very baffling to the outsider. It is a nation in transition and so is its Church. The experience of individual Christians is shaped by their age and by their location. As rapid economic growth hurtles China into westernised globalised modernity, the Church feels its impact.

The US government now officially describes China as 'an authoritarian country undergoing economic reform and rapid social change that continues to deny its citizens basic human rights and fundamental freedoms'.

The Open Doors World Watch List published in 2008 rated China as the tenth most difficult country in the world to be a Christian - in 2007 it was 12th - noting that in many parts of the country "it remains difficult for many Christians to practise their faith".

The new Church

The revival that saw the house church movement grow in China’s rural villages has moved on a generation and is now focused on young people based in cities, whether factory workers or university students. An increasing proportion of China's 60–80 million Christians live in the cities.

What is more, the old antagonisms and distinctions between the government-recognised Three-Self Church and the illegal house church movement are blurring and breaking down. This is one of the factors that makes assessing the number of Chinese Christians difficult, as many now identify with both strands. More importantly, there are significant numbers of Three-Self Church pastors who care deeply about serving the Lord and serving their congregations.

Changes in society are reflected in new types of Church. Many who have become Christians as students—inside or outside China—are now in positions of influence. Their Christian fellowship may be found in home groups, outside of church structures altogether. Some have formed as independent churches; faced with official harassment, they are thinking of trying to be legally registered without becoming part of the Three-Self Church.

The new generation

They are part of a new generation of Chinese Christians. There has been an explosion of education in China and the Gospel has found fertile ground among students.

Open Doors’ Johnny Li emphasises just how much this generation presents a new challenge. Educated young people need an intelligent articulation of the Gospel. Young Christians need to be able to know how to grow as disciples where the main enemy is materialism. Open Doors is committed to resourcing this generation so they can know Christ and live for Christ. As Johnny explains “You can change a situation, or the situation can change you.”

The new persecution

This new generation did not experience the Cultural Revolution and know little of the kind of persecution experienced by their forebears. Yet there are Christians still being imprisoned:

China is an enormous country and there are significant regional variations. In some provinces Christians experience considerable freedom; in others, restrictions can be draconian and the consequences severe. Thus there are places where house churches are small because gathering in large numbers brings unwanted attention; there are also cities where visitors will join hundreds of Christians in worship.

Those who openly engage in evangelism still risk harassment and arrest. But now when a Christian is imprisoned it is less likely to be for a religious offence such as ‘distributing Bibles without authorisation’; recently charges have usually been linked to illegal business practices and other economically related crimes. Sentences are also shorter, usually between one year (light) and five years (heavy).

The future?

China is experiencing one of the fastest and most phenomenal transformations the modern world has ever seen since the 1980s. The Church is changing too. The distinction between the government-recognised Three-Self Church and the house churches is less clear, and the line between registered and unregistered churches is blurring. Please pray for the Church in China and the ministry of Open Doors as they face new challenges in this vast country with diverse needs.