In mid-July 2026, Chinese Christian scholars and pastors from various denominational backgrounds in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the three-day Third Public Theology Conference.
What was most noteworthy about this congress was not only what it said, but also how it was experimenting with new ways to speak, lead, communicate, and understand the next generation.
I have been reminded that if the tree wants to bear fruit in season, it must stay by the streams of water.
Disciples are made to need one another, and in their interdependence they reveal God's glory.
After leaving Kuala Lumpur, one question stayed with me: were we, throughout the conference, actually speaking about the same thing when we used the term ‘public theology’?
Fieldwork among the Bonan in Gansu begins with stamps, permissions, and a search for somewhere to stay, revealing along the way how differently a researcher and his hosts can understand hospitality, access, and an “authentic” experience.
Does the gospel of Christ also concern a nation's public life: justice, poverty, corruption, the environment, refugees, and people suffering in disasters? I believe the answer is yes.
We long for every article and resource we produce to serve as a catalyst that helps us pray with greater depth and focus.
Those who want to walk alongside the church in China need to understand not only the suffering it produces, but the architecture that produces it.
For ChinaSource readers, the story invites us to remember Chinese Christianity not as a simple one-directional story of Western missionaries going to China, but as a deeply interconnected history of receiving, translating, indigenizing, and sending.
We rejoice with Pastor Jin and his family and join him in praying for those remaining in prison, along with the families of those detained.
To serve effectively in a Chinese American church, pastors must address a more fundamental issue: securing a legal status that allows them to live and minister in the country.