By Gustav Krös
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the world’s second most populous country after India, boasting a population of more than 1.41 billion people. It has been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1949, and 44.5% of the population is categorised as non-religious. As an officially atheistic party, the CCP attempted to eradicate any form of religion in the country during the Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966 to 1976. Today, however, more than half of the population still adheres to a religion of some sort, with ethnic or folk religion making up 31.5%, and Buddhism 12.7%.
Only five religions are officially recognised by the government: Daoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism. The number of Christians in the country varies between 5.1% and 9.2%, depending on the source. When translated into numbers, this is between 71.9 million and 129.7 million people. Should one lean towards the more conservative estimate of 5.1%, China would be the country with the eighth-largest Christian population in the world. If 9.2% is accurate, however, it would make China the country with the third-biggest Christian population in the world, with only the United States and Brazil boasting larger Christian populations.
The uncertainty regarding the true number of Christians in the country stems from the strict control of the government over the Church. The government is very cautious of any institutions or movements that could oppose it in any way, and thus the religious bodies that are officially recognised are very closely monitored. The government-recognised Protestant Church in China is known as the Three-Self Patriotic Movement or Three-Self Church. Its congregations are monitored to ensure that nothing is preached that could be interpreted as negative towards or in opposition to the government.
This level of control makes many Christians cautious of becoming members of the Three-Self Church, and thus there are many churches that are not registered with the government. These churches are known as the House Church Movement or the Underground Church. Since these churches are not registered, nor do they register their congregation members to protect themselves from government persecution, it is very difficult to determine the true number of Christians within the country.
Despite the reality that China potentially has the third-largest Christian population in the world, it still accounts for less than 10% of its total population. From a missional perspective, it is therefore important to recognise that out of the 545 distinct people groups in China, 441 are still considered unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One can thus celebrate the remarkable growth of the Church in China while also remaining mindful of the work that still remains for every tribe, people, and tongue to be reached within the country.
Within the context of global missions, the encouraging news is that the Church in China, and more specifically the House Church Movement, has embraced the calling to share the Gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). They are therefore not purely focused on sharing the Gospel solely with the unreached people within China but also actively participating in sharing the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
This outward-looking vision first took root in the 1920s and became known as the Back to Jerusalem Movement (B2J). Its vision was for the Church in China to share the Gospel with all the unreached nations throughout Asia, reaching all the way back to Jerusalem. Even though this process was largely halted due to the CCP’s persecution of the Church, the vision never died. While the CCP has attempted to halt the growth of the Church and even sought to completely eradicate it during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the Church has continued to grow to its current size.
With this vast mission force, new life was breathed into the Back to Jerusalem movement in the early 2000s, with the goal of sending 100,000 Chinese missionaries beyond its own borders. When one truly takes stock of this vision, it is impossible not to marvel at God’s strategic brilliance. In the context of missions today, the countries that remain among the most unreached with the Gospel are also predominantly the nations where Christians face persecution. God has therefore prepared a missionary force that has already endured persecution to go and serve within persecuted nations.
When missionaries from the West and Latin America travel to the unreached and persecuted nations of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, they need to adapt to the challenges of functioning as Christians within a persecuted environment. Chinese missionaries, however, moves from one persecuted country to another and therefore do not experience the same depth of transition. Additionally, Chinese missionaries do not carry the same stigma as Western missionaries.
In today’s world, the West is still predominantly viewed as Christian and, thus, when any Caucasian person visits Africa, the Middle East, or Asia, the local people generally assume they are Christian. In some cases, this may be viewed as a positive, but in many cases, it is a disadvantage. It often leads to Western missionaries being treated with suspicion from the outset, with the local people assuming they have only come to convert them to Christianity. Chinese missionaries, however, do not face the same problem. When they travel to the unreached nations of the world, they are not viewed with the same suspicion as Western missionaries, because people do not associate the Chinese with Christianity.
In contrast, there are testimonies of the exact opposite happening—when local people find out that a Chinese person is a Christian, they are surprised, as they do not typically associate the Chinese with Christianity. This astonishment often sparks curiosity, leading to questions about how the Chinese person came to be a Christian, and in the process, the Gospel is shared. Thus, as the unreached mission field has become more challenging for Western missionaries to access, God has raised up a new mission force to continue the work of bringing in the harvest.
Along with this reality, God has also blessed the Chinese Church with the necessary resources to fund this missionary force. China has the world’s second-largest economy, behind the United States, and over the past two decades, it has also experienced some of the fastest growth in its middle class. In 2000, the Chinese middle class comprised about 3.1% of the population, but by 2018, it had grown to 50.8%.
When we look back over the past three centuries of modern-day missions, we see how the Lord blessed the European Church in the 1700s and 1800s, enabling it to send missionaries across the world. Then, as the European mission movement overlapped with the American mission movement, we see how the American Church became the largest missionary-sending force, both in terms of personnel and financial support. In a similar way, we are now witnessing an overlap between the American mission movement and the Chinese mission movement, and we can already see how the Lord is blessing the Chinese Church to fund this new era of missions.
Alongside this financial blessing, God is also opening doors for the Chinese Church in unreached nations in miraculous ways. In 2013, the Chinese government launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), also known as One Belt, One Road. This initiative is a modern revival of the old Silk Route, which once connected Europe and China, and is focused on investment and trade with more than 150 countries. Notably, these are the very nations where the Chinese Church desires to send their mission force.
Through the trade agreements between China and these unreached nations, doors are opening to give Chinese people easier access to these countries. Not only does it help Chinese missionaries to get access to the countries, but it also helps to normalise the presence of Chinese people in these countries. As a result, when local people see Chinese individuals in their countries, it does not seem unusual, as they are aware of the significant investment and construction projects that China is involved in within their country. This familiarity makes it easier for Chinese missionaries to integrate into to their new environment, as the locals view them as workers or businesspeople.
Through this economic investment, the Chinese government is playing a long game of dethroning the United States as the world’s largest economy and ultimately establish itself as a global superpower. However, at the same time, God is using China for the expansion of His Kingdom. Within China, He is growing His Church into a vast mission force, preparing them for persecution, through persecution, while also providing them with the necessary financial support. Additionally, He is opening doors of easy access to some of the most unreached nations, and most importantly, He has given them a clear calling to participate in the Great Commission and take the Gospel back to Jerusalem.
As China continues to position itself on the global stage and we witness Chinese people moving to almost every country in the world, we need not fear Chinese dominance. They may well rule the world at some stage, but it will only be temporary, for we know that Christ will ultimately reign forever. Even now, we can see how He is using the Communist Chinese government to bring us closer to His return.
Please join us in prayer:
- Pray for the Chinese Church, that they will remain steadfast under persecution and that the vision to take the Gospel back to Jerusalem will not be quenched.
- Pray for more Chinese believers to recognise how God has prepared them to partake in the Great Commission and that more will take up the calling to bring in the harvest.
- Pray for the Chinese missionaries already serving in the harvest field —for their protection, provision, and perseverance.
- Pray that the global Church will recognise how God has positioned the Chinese Church and that they will partner with them in sharing the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Resources:
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/
https://www.joshuaproject.net/countries/CH
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/08/30/christianity/
https://lausanne.org/global-analysis/the-rising-missions-movement-in-china-the-worlds-new-number-1-economy-and-how-to-support-it#endnote-3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_China
https://chinapower.csis.org/china-middle-class/#:~:text=Based%20on%20Pew’s%20income%20band,of%20the%20population)%20in%202018
