Hearing from China’s ChurchÂ
While hearing from the church in China is undoubtedly more difficult than it was even 10 years ago, God is still creating unexpected channels that connect believers the world over.
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Using New Media for Digital Evangelism on Chinese Cyberspace
Long-time internet missionary, Sean Cheng, discusses the ways that digital evangelism has changed over the last 28 years—from bulletin boards to online forums to blogs to social media. He also addresses the ways that government regulations have created both challenges and opportunities. Finally, he talks about the calling to internet ministry.
Changing the Rules of the Game
The author explores the opportunities as well as negative effects brought by increased freedom of speech allowed in China in recent years. He then discusses why communication ethics and public theology need attention. Finally, he addresses the more recent, stringent regulations and overall tightening of freedom of expression and what is being done to respond to these changes.
Using WeChat for Evangelism
Last month, we ran a series of blog posts by Joab Meyer about social media in China. He gave a helpful overview of the various platforms and tried to show how they (particularly WeChat) are useful for engaging with Chinese friends and building online communities.
Later in the month, the mainland site Christian Times published an article about how to use WeChat for the purposes of evangelism. The article is a report of a talk given by a pastor in Beijing. It is translated in full below. Please note that the terms Weixin and WeChat are interchangeable. Weixin is the official Chinese name of the app. WeChat is the English name.
Social Media in China (Part 3)
The first two parts of this series outlined the importance social media tools in China and drilled down into what makes the WeChat messaging platform so innovative. This post will focus on practical tips for using any social tool to drive deeper connections and more effective interactions with your Chinese colleagues.
Social Media in China
Social media is impacting societies across the globe, but China's social technology landscape is unique and largely unknown to those outside China. Honestly, how many people outside of China have ever heard of any of the popular social technology brands listed in the image below?
Churches Respond to the Earthquake in Yunnan
On August 3, a 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck a remote region of Yunnan Province, in China's southwest, killing more than 600 people. The Chinese government quickly launched rescue operations and continues to provide relief for those affected. But what about the churches in the area? A reporter from the mainland site Christian Times talked with a local pastor in the area about how the churches in the area are responding. The article is translated below.
Christian Netizens React to Boston Bombing
This is cross-posted at our Chinese Church Voices site.
As news that a Chinese student had been killed in the Boston Marathon bombing broke in China, netizens took to Weibo to react and comment, and Christians joined the conversation. Some of the comments reference other tragic events in the news this week, such as the earthquake in Pakistan, the poisoning of a university student in Shanghai, and the spread of the H7N9 flu virus.
One noted that both the student who died in Shanghai and the one who died in Boston had either attended seeker Bible studies or attended church. They all either call for prayer for the victims families, or urge people to put their trust in Christ.
Christian Netizens React to the Boston Bombing
Chinese Christians react on social media to the death of a Chinese student in the Boston Marathon bombing.
Easter on Weibo
Sina Weibo is China's most popular micro-blogging site. In fact "weibo" means "micro-blog." It's a Chinese version of Twitter that claims to have 300+ million subscribers.Christian subscribers took to Weibo on Sunday to comment on Easter.
A Pastor Encourages the Use of Social Media
Recognizing the prevalence of internet use among Christians, this article encourages pastors to use social media to connect with their congregations.