Brent Fulton is the founder of ChinaSource.
Dr. Fulton served as the first president of ChinaSource until 2019. Prior to his service with ChinaSource, he served from 1995 to 2000 as the managing director of the Institute for Chinese Studies at Wheaton College. From 1987 to 1995 he served as founding US director of China Ministries International, and from 1985 to 1986 as the English publications editor for the Chinese Church Research Center in Hong Kong.
Dr. Fulton holds MA and PhD degrees in political science from the University of Southern California and a BA in radio-TV-film from Messiah College.
An avid China watcher, Dr. Fulton has written and taught extensively on the church in China and on Chinese social and political phenomena. He is the author of China's Urban Christians: A Light That Cannot Be Hidden and co-authored China's Next Generation: New China, New Church, New World with Luis Bush.
Dr. Fulton and his wife, Jasmine, previously lived in Hong Kong from 2006 to 2017. They currently reside in northern California.
He is currently facilitating a network of member care professionals serving missionaries sent out from China. He also consults with other organizations on the impact of China's religious policy.
Rather than assuming their long experience, carefully honed strategies, and ready resources will carry the day, leaders from traditional sending nations need to learn to listen to others at the table whose ideas may seem foreign, perhaps even misdirected, and whose available resources pale in comparison to the perceived task at hand.
May the recurring message of hope amidst difficulty conveyed in these articles spark the imaginations and encourage the hearts of all who seek to stand faithfully with their brothers and sisters in China.
Much of the program at last week’s Fourth Lausanne Congress was structured around 25 issue areas, or gaps. Yet some have pointed out that this granular approach to the overall mission effort ignores the context of each of the gaps, as well as the ways in which they interrelate.
The availability of the Bible in China has long been a contentious topic. Whether it’s China “rewriting the Bible,” scripture apps disappearing from the…
Rather than seeing government regulations as a constraint, the authors urged NGO leaders to take these regulations as a guide on their journey toward greater opportunities.
Deeply committed Syrian Christians traveled thousands of miles to plant a church in China, enjoyed a season of imperial favor during which the gospel took root and spread, and succeeded in communicating the essential message of Christ’s suffering for the salvation of the world and his resurrection from the dead.
As with many Christian China narratives, the questions we ask shape the storyline. If “Who’s in charge?” is not the right question, attempts to answer it will undoubtedly prove unsatisfactory. Perhaps a better starting point would be, “How shall we lead together?”
Addressing his readers in China, Ren Xiaopeng asks, “If American evangelicalism is in such an intellectually vacant state, where would Chinese Christianity, deeply influenced by American evangelicalism and fundamentalism, go next?” Their answer will be critical for the future of the Chinese church—and, if we are willing to listen, for the church in America as well.
Today it is difficult to talk about the church in China without referencing China’s church outside China. Many leaders operate with one foot on Chinese soil and the other abroad, either by virtue of their frequent international travel or via offshore organizations through which their voices are amplified, making them spokespersons for a movement that transcends China’s borders.
The changing migration patterns discussed in this issue of the Quarterly take on eternal significance when viewed in light of the great repositioning taking place within the global Chinese church. The Lord of the Harvest is sovereignly at work, raising up laborers and sending them into new fields for his glory.
“If the… global body of Christ can be there and say, ‘We are together here with you. I have my struggles, and you have your struggles, but we are together, praying to God together and seeking his guidance and help together,’…that can be very comforting and can be an encouragement.”
The cultural and political aspects of the Sinicization campaign go hand in hand. At its core, the campaign is all about political control. Yet, given China’s culture of political dominance, it is also very much about culture—a culture of obedience in which religion serves the interests of the state…