Church History

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A kerosene lantern burning brightly. In northern China, there is a large family that has followed Christ for nearly a century and has given birth to preachers for four consecutive generations.

The Lamp That Never Went Out

In northern China, there is a large family that has followed Christ for nearly a century and has given birth to preachers for four consecutive generations.

Woman in church praying, Surveying the fraught relationship between church and state in China, the late Chinese church historian Daniel Bays asserted that government control of religion has been a constant feature from Imperial times to the present.

State Dominance of Religion

Surveying the fraught relationship between church and state in China, the late Chinese church historian Daniel Bays asserted that government control of religion has been a constant feature from Imperial times to the present.

A young woman holds a crucifix while praying. At this crossroads, perhaps Wu Jingxiong points the way forward… In an era when conflict threatens to dehumanize us all, Wu Jingxiong’s Christian humanism remains to this day a beacon of hope.

A New China and a New Catholic Church

At this crossroads, perhaps Wu Jingxiong points the way forward… In an era when conflict threatens to dehumanize us all, Wu Jingxiong’s Christian humanism remains to this day a beacon of hope.

An illuminated Gospel of John, hand-written in Greek, lies open behind glass. There is an icon of St. John on the left. Viable parallels exist between ancient Christian learning and life with Chinese Christianity, and part of the purpose of our writing these series of presentations is to identify what those are in the best way we know how.

The Legacy of Ancient Christianity for China

Viable parallels exist between ancient Christian learning and life with Chinese Christianity, and part of the purpose of our writing these series of presentations is to identify what those are in the best way we know how.

Several Chinese students sit on the steps of a schoolhouse reading. Mayfield highlights…the essential continuity that bound the early Pentecostal missionaries together with their evangelical contemporaries; the way in which the “heat and noise” of Pentecostal worship, which often repelled Europeans, actually served to attract the Chinese masses; and the strategic role that women played in the founding of Pentecostal churches.

The Appeal of the Pentecostal Movement in Hong Kong

Mayfield highlights…the essential continuity that bound the early Pentecostal missionaries together with their evangelical contemporaries; the way in which the “heat and noise” of Pentecostal worship, which often repelled Europeans, actually served to attract the Chinese masses; and the strategic role that women played in the founding of Pentecostal churches.

A photo of the top of the Stele in Xi’an, China. It is inscribed with an Assyrian cross and Chinese characters. Readers [of Jingjiao] will not only be equipped with the fascinating history of Jingjiao, which helps overcome the anti-Christian narrative that Christianity was brought into China by European and American colonial imperialists. Christians and missionaries in various global cultural contexts will also benefit from this book by learning from the Church of the East missionaries’ creative strategies of inculturation.

The Earliest Chinese Christianity Brought Back to Life

Readers [of Jingjiao] will not only be equipped with the fascinating history of Jingjiao, which helps overcome the anti-Christian narrative that Christianity was brought into China by European and American colonial imperialists. Christians and missionaries in various global cultural contexts will also benefit from this book by learning from the Church of the East missionaries’ creative strategies of inculturation.

Robert Ekvall explored Tibet and brought the gospel to the Tibetan people.

Robert Ekvall: Living on the Edge

Robert and Betty went to the untamed Tibet and built relationships, preparing for themselves and others to move and live in these new areas. Robert was a visionary with deep understanding of the cultures, but also brave, as the title says, facing local robbers, politics, and later, war-haunted China.

Chinese Christianity Endures, Part 2

Given China’s place in the world order today, it is very unlikely that they will completely ban all foreigners.... We can be confident that no matter how few the foreigners or how persecuted the flock, our God who makes the rocks cry out in testimony will ensure that his witness is never silenced, and his kingdom continues to advance.

Chinese Christianity Endures, Part 1

The study then takes a closer look at the brief emergence of a comparatively Chinese underground church…before concluding with a fascinating reflection on martyrdom, comparing the Chinese notion of suffering perseverance motivated by filial loyalty to the saints who have gone before with the European concept of sacrificing one’s life for the gospel.

Mapping China’s Christian Legacy

At a time when the study of Christianity in China is becoming more difficult, the CHCD opens a new portal to explore China’s Christian past. The tool might be different than rummaging through a traditional archive, but by repackaging archival materials into an online tool it invites anyone to ask, “What could be discovered if…?”

Learning from the Larger Story

Menzies discusses his belief that the Pentecostal churches in China have an important contribution to make to the larger, global body of Christ, and that the Pentecostal movement, in China and globally, need the larger body of Christ.

How Should the Church Respond to Government Control?

The maintenance and advancement of Christianity is highly correlated to three main factors: government control, social receptivity, and culture. Comparatively, China is not the most difficult place for Christianity to develop.