Father’s Day in China, like many other countries, falls on the third Sunday in June. It is not an official holiday in China, nor is it widely observed, especially in comparison to other similar holidays such as Mother’s Day and Children’s Day. Yet, for those working among Chinese (in any context) it does provide a unique opportunity to generate gospel-oriented discussion given the central theme of God the Father in the Bible.
Reading Kathleen Lodwick’s How Christianity Came to China (Fortress Press 2016) was disturbing for two reasons.
Last week millions of Chinese high school students took the annual two-day college entrance exam know as, the gaokao. For these students and their families, much of their young lives have led up to this moment. Many of their future hopes and dreams also ride on their exam scores.
While stress ran high, Chen Fengsheng, a Three-Self pastor in Wenzhou, offered this prayer for the gaokao season.
Last week Brent wrote about a Christian serving among China’s Muslims who joined in the Muslim celebration of Ramadan. Given the fact that we are now at the halfway point of the month of fasting, I thought it would be a good time to highlight some recent articles and resources about Islam in China.
The film Beijing Taxi, directed by Miao Wang, a Beijing native who immigrated to the US in 1990, begins two years before the Olympics and follows the lives of three taxi drivers. Each of them shares their own perspective on Beijing’s transformation, China’s rise, and most importantly, what it all means to them. Is China hosting the Olympics really all the glitz and glory that it was dreamed to be? What price economic growth and development?
Last year, in order to better understand those whom he has been called to serve, Pastor Mark, a Chinese Christian, joined in the Muslim celebration of Ramadan. He learned some unexpected lessons.
One of the growing challenges for the contemporary church in China is the swelling tide of secularism. Several Chinese Christians shared this concern with us in conversations at the Reformation 500 and the Gospel conference in Hong Kong last month. China’s increasing affluence provides society with opportunities, but also ever-morphing ideals. New and shifting norms for marriage, worklife and careers, parenting, and education confront Christians in subtle ways that more visible challenges (e.g. arrests, lack of resources, funding, etc.) have not.
In this blog post, originally posted by Oak Tree Publishing, Wei Chen shares the personal sacrifices she and her family have made in the face of secular values. She describes the troubling expectations of society on her and her family, and how her Christian faith pushed her to say “No!” to following along with the secular norms.
Our friends at The Gospel Coalition recently asked me to review Ian Johnson’s book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion after Mao. Last week, it was published under the title "China’s God-Shaped Vacuum."
China in Our Midst: Reaching Chinese International Students in America by Glen Osborn and Daniel Su of China Outreach Ministries (COM) will help anyone who wants to get involved in serving and reaching Chinese students but is uncertain about how to do it or wonders if they are qualified.
What are people saying about China's new Overseas NGO Law?
Last week we posted the second part of an article from ChurchChina about the impact of Reformed theology on evangelism in “Y Church.” Part one discussed the current situation of Y Church. The second part described in more detail how the research findings describe the impact of Reformed theology on Y Church’s evangelism. The third part gives recommendations for Y Church’s evangelism. This is part three.
This week ChinaSource is launching a China ministries cohort at Missio Nexus. It will be a place where those serving in China-related ministries can gather to discuss issues relevant to our work. Come join us!