God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper

As China has risen from the ashes of the Cultural Revolution to have one of the largest economies in the world, the Chinese church has seen similar growth. And it has come at an amazing pace.

Some Chinese government officials have estimated the church in China to be as large as 130 million people. While it is very hard to gauge a realistic statistic, one thing is for sure; the church in China is growing by leaps and bounds.

While the bulk of this rapid growth has been in the underground church movement, there has also been a significant expansion of the sometimes-criticized Three-Self Church, the officially recognized and government-supported church in China. 

But recently there has been a new side to the Chinese church, a movement that has been coined “the urban house church.”  It is not part of the underground church which has historically been a rural movement and is also not registered or supported by the government. 

These new urban house churches are popping up in large cities all across China. Some meet in high-rise apartment buildings and some have even begun building large multi-purpose buildings for their growing congregations to meet in.

Last May, Christianity Today carried an insightful article about what is happening with the church in China and the explosive growth of the new urban house church movement. And last month the Chicago Tribune posted an audio slideshow called “Christianity Sweeping China,” which also gives a glimpse of the various faces of the Chinese church.

The overall atmosphere for our brothers and sisters in China still varies from day to day and region to region. While some believers face resistance, others are finding more freedom and opportunities to worship.

While many challenges still exist for Christians in China, God is growing his church and bringing about a major missionary movement through it. The Chinese church is poised to play a significant role in future missionary endeavors. Some of China’s Christian leaders have a vision to carry the gospel “Back to Jerusalem” through some of the most gospel-resistant lands which lie between China and Israel. 

Despite this increasing interest in spreading the gospel, the one consistent thing that we have learned from our partners working in China is that there is a significant need for God-centered, Christ-exalting resources and teaching.

Please pray that God would provide all the teachers and material that the Chinese church needs to continue growing. And pray that Christ would be the fuel and sustainer of this amazing missionary calling he has given to the Chinese church as he seeks to gather worshipers from all the peoples of the earth.