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“God is Doing New Things in China!”

“Forget the former things, do not dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up: do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.“
Isaiah 43:18-19

True to God’s Word, we see new things and a changing Church in China!

1. What’s different about China?

China is 1.3 BILLION people, and the most important thing we have learned is that “most everything they say about China is true….somewhere, some place, sometime, for somebody”. It’s that BIG! Because of this, it is difficult to make general statements about China – it all depends on where you are  - the religious climate can be that different from area to area, even from district to district within the big cities. The government is communist and atheistic. Churches are either government registered “Open Church” or unregistered “House Church”. Our Mariners activities have historically been with the House Church or unregistered ministries, but now have begun to establish a partnership with a registered church partner as well.

2. What things show “change” in the Christian climate in China?

A developing spirit of unity between some Open and House Church Christians
  • Some people attend a house church in the middle of the week and the local Open Church for Sunday Worship, ie, house church functions as a “small group”.
  • Fewer people in Beijing and Shanghai are reluctant to the Open Church vs. the past.
Working with Local Government Authorities on the CEO Business Ethics conference have resulted in good relationship building.
  • A Business Partner had to interact a lot with the local authorities on the conference for approval. He is building a relationship of openness and integrity with them, and they responded well to the 2007 conferences and the future of the conferences.
  • A corporate VP of a major Christian-run semi-conductor company shared that working with the government as a known Christian has not been an issue. They agree to disagree on faith issues, but maintain respectful working relationships and agree in principle to ethical business practices.
Government does work with some Christian entities.
  • The Chinese Government does not like surprises (who does?). One leader of a “social service” ministry was the fourth non-government/non profit ever to operate in China. He openly told them he was a Christian and about his social service “ministry”, and he has been working there for 28 years. He said the key was to be open, transparent, obey the government rules, not hide his faith and beliefs and build relationship with them.   He obeys their rules to not directly share his faith or evangelize, but through relationship is able to be a Christian in a service non-profit in China.
Our Perceptions of Government Registered Church changed!
  • Just like in America, the quality of “Bible teaching” in China varies from church to church, whether they be government registered or not. There is a range of solid to weak Christian teaching across China, just like in America.
  • The pastor of our “Open” church partner teaches from the Bible and is a solid seminary trained teaching Pastor. He has studied in Canada and the U.S.
  • The overall structure of the Chinese Christian Council and Three Self Patriotic Movement (government registered church) feels very traditional, like a mainline denomination.
  • There are 50,000+ government registered churches in China – from smaller meeting points (registered house churches to large churches) serving est. 16 Million people.

3.  Does the China Team partner with both “Open” Church (government registered) and House Church, ie: non-government sponsored churches in China? Isn’t there a conflict of interest in serving with both?

Yes, we do serve and partner with both Open Church and House Church groups based on the integrity and solid Christian beliefs of their leaders. We are committed to serving where God is working, opening doors and leading us – whether it be in the unregistered House Churches or registered Open Church. We will support and serve God’s Work with Chinese believers without judgment of government registration or not. We want to support and pray that the believers will be unified on the main thing – Salvation by Grace through Christ, regardless of how / where they choose to worship.
 
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If you would like to serve here or in China, join our team of volunteers on various activities throughout the year, join our prayer team or have a question, call 949.854.7030 x220 or via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .