December 2004

THINGS ARE CHANGING IN CHINA

Many years ago, we landed in Shanghai, China on December 31 and were introduced to the spectacle of Christmas decorations and Santa Claus and his sleigh, but no manger scenes or anything about the true meaning of Christmas. It saddened us to realize that the commercial Christmas had outstripped the church. Now several decades later, something unusual is happening in China. By some estimates there are as many as a hundred million believers in the country- an increase of more than 70%!  

WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE

The Washington Post printed an article on November 28^th by reporter Joshua Kurlantzick who stated, “growing numbers of Beijingers pack the capital's government-registered Protestant churches with as many as 5,000 worshipers each. Some are so crowded that believers who don't arrive early must huddle in the basements, watching services on closed-circuit televisions.

Excerpt’s from Kurlantzick’s article goes on to say the Chinese government has limited the number of registered churches in Beijing and other cities, but millions of other Christians worship underground. Though the Communist Party all but destroyed the Protestant and Catholic churches when it took over in 1949, scholars estimate that the country now has at least 45 million Christians. Dennis Balcombe, pastor of Hong Kong's Revival Christian Church and an expert who has studied Chinese Christianity for two decades, believes that there may be as many as 90 million Christians in China.

But while the state-sanctioned Protestant church is growing, most Chinese Christians are joining underground "house" churches. These churches are generally found away from city centers, in outlying regions, hidden within communal areas and marked only by discreet signs of faith. (It is estimated that there are more than 50,000 house churches.) Many of them hold prayer meetings, at which they recruit new members and affirm their relationship to God. Some reasons house churches are experiencing such phenomenal growth is because evangelical Christianity is flexible enough to tailor its message to both the poor and the wealthy. What's more, many Chinese, particularly in poor areas, associate Christianity with miracles. Furthermore house churches are not tainted by being registered with the government, which makes the state-linked church leaders appear to be party hacks.

Beijing has developed two methods of handling the rise of Christianity. On the one hand, the government has permitted worship at registered churches and increased the state budget for official houses of worship. At the same time, it has cracked down hard on house churches that have outspoken leaders who attempt to build a national membership. Last fall, Chinese police reportedly closed 10 house churches in Daqing and this summer, according to U.S.-based groups, the government arrested 100 Christians who attended a house church. Yet this repression actually has encouraged many house church worshipers, who see those arrested as suffering a kind of martyrdom equivalent to that of early Christians.

GROWTH AMONG MINORITY PEOPLES

Hmong believers in China are increasing in numbers, much as they are here in the USA, with churches with as many as 200 in mountainous rural communities. One of the amazing things about these people is that some walk over 7 hours to get to church! In several villages, the churches operate government-recognized elementary schools each with more than 100 children in attendance. In another location, a Bible School is under construction including church and classrooms with teacher/student dormitories. 

HUGE HARBIN CHURCH OPENS

From “Church Around the World” comes the report that in Harbin, a growing church in the city is having a tremendous impact for Christ. Their church seats 2,500 and is presently baptizing some 2,000 believers a year! While the Chinese government does not allow Christians to proselytize children under 18, the church has multiple Sunday School rooms that are filled every Sunday.

NEW CHINESE CHURCH OPENS IN BERLIN

Calvin and Pearl Lai, working with The Christian and Missionary Alliance, started a new Chinese church in Berlin last month with three core couples that have been praying for a church in the city. They request prayer that the group will be committed to the vision of bringing the gospel to Chinese in Germany and then on into China. A Bible study is held every Friday night and prayer is requested that more people will be reached. The pastor is praying for a car that will help them be more effective.

TAIWAN EE CLINIC

The 70^th Adult EE Clinic was held in September in the Kee-Lung Church with six pastors and one lay leader in attendance. As the result of their outreach 16 people prayed to receive Christ. The greater impact will develop as these pastors train Christians in their congregations to share their faith. This on-going ministry will reach hundreds of people in the year ahead and result in growing churches.

BACK TO JERUSALEM CONTINUES TOWARD GOAL

From “Asia Harvest” comes the report that senior house church leaders continue to pursue the goal of taking the gospel back to Jerusalem through all the Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim lands located in the 10/40 window. There are powerful adversaries and opposition to the goal, but the leadership believes that they will succeed and be blessed of God. Instead of announcing “elephant-like plans with a lot of fanfare, the leadership believes God would have them be like ants and insects. They say the Chinese church is not strong in human terms with lots of money and grandiose plans. Instead they see themselves as ants and worms that know how to work underground. With decades of training in the school of suffering and persecution, they expect to infiltrate these lands, unannounced. Elephants can easily be detected, but ants move unannounced and travel anywhere almost unseen. The report states, “We will not make much noise, but will secretly and quietly do the Lord’s work underground. We will be quite difficult to detect. You may not hear many victorious reports of church growth coming back from the Middle East or Southeast Asia, but be assured that our ants, worms and termites are already there, quietly working away, slowly loosening the foundations of Islam. Buddhism and Hinduism. We won’t build a single church building anywhere, but the Lord will be building His church of living stones.”

THE CHALLENGE FOR THE USA CHINESE CHURCH

More than 50,000 Chinese people immigrate to the USA annually. Another 25,000 are born to naturalized citizens. By the year 2005, it is anticipated that there will be more than 2 ½ million Chinese living in the States, but only about 7% attend church. Chinese churches of all denominations are reaching out to evangelize their countrymen and establish strong congregations. Dr. Philip Teng, president of the Chinese Churches Association of the C&MA said, “When you approach your own people, you know what to say to them, how to preach the gospel through their pattern of thought and cultural emphasis.” China also sends 500,000 students a year to US universities. Pray that each one will hear the gospel and respond to the message of life in Christ.

ASSIST NEWS SERVICE PUBLICIZES “RED RUNS THE RIVER”

Assist News Service carried the radio interview their reporter, Jeremy Reynalds, did on my book, Red Runs The River , at the end of November. He reported that this book about China’s persecuted church “is a page turner. It’s also a book that once you finish reading, you’ll be glad you spent the time it took to do so,” said Reynalds.  “The book,” he continued, “combines personal experiences with a gripping writing style that will keep your heart pumping vigorously throughout.”

Chapter one can be read on the web site http://www.bollback.com along with other comments on the book. Many have taken advantage of the offer of bulk copies to the same address. One book costs $16.00 postage paid. Five books costs $65.00 postage paid, a savings of $18.10 above the single copy price. Ten books costs $120 postage paid, a saving of $40. Order your copies for Missions Conference and family members. Please pay by check to address below.

PASS IT ON

Your prayer interest in China is appreciated, and by forwarding this report to your friends, the prayer volume is constantly increasing. Anyone may request to be added to the mailing list by sending an e-mail address, and likewise, anyone may request to be deleted in the same way.

Yours on behalf of China’s Millions,

 Anthony Bollback, Editor (Former Missionary to China)