In part two of our podcast “Mentoring in the Chinese Context,” we’ve brought back the same group of speakers to continue the conversation. In this episode they discuss what it means to be effective in ministry in the context of a changing China. They also explore the cultural complexities that should be noted when mentoring in China.
A new blog connecting you to the cities of Changchun and Siping.
The big news out of China last week was, of course, the Party’s decision to alter its longstanding family planning policy.
The online publication Territory recently published a piece titled “In a Pluralistic Society, How are we to deal with those who hate the church?” Writing to an audience of Chinese Christians, the author presents the current religious landscape in the United States, particularly as it relates to issues such as so-called same-sex marriage and religious liberty. It’s a good reminder to Chinese believers that, even in a land known for religious liberty, there are (growing) tension points between the church and society, and that Christians need to be prayerful and wise in managing these tensions and divisions so as not to further alienate people from the church and the gospel.
Rumors were swirling all last week that the Chinese government would announce a major relaxation of the 35-year-old “one-child policy.” Sure enough, on Thursday, October 29, it happened.
If you live near a major university, chances are you will meet a student or researcher from China. In the 2013-14 academic year there were 274,439 students from China studying in the US at the university level. That is 31% of all international students studying in the US. This year there are 600 freshman at the University of Illinois—nearly one out of every ten new freshmen. No wonder they have started Mandarin broadcasts of their football games!
Reading Cao Nanlai’s classic Constructing China’s Jerusalem in light of the highly publicized attacks on Wenzhou churches, the obvious question is whether the “Wenzhou model,” as Cao describes it, is still intact, or whether government intervention has significantly altered the formula of church growth and cultural transformation.
As more Chinese businessmen and businesswomen turn to Christ, they are increasingly looking for ways to be salt and light in their communities. In one community in Shandong Province, local Christian businesspeople have formed a fellowship to more effectively serve local churches and society.
A new blog in China called iWorship is giving voice to Wang Mingdao, one of the great evangelists and leaders of the Chinese church during the twentieth century. Last week, on our Chinese Church Voices blog, we posted a translation of one of their posts, called “Slow to Speak.” In it, Pastor Wang reminds us of the importance of using our words for God’s glory.
Many who return to China do not get deeply involved with a church but instead are greatly influenced by their surrounding secular culture. How can we equip them not only to survive as believers, but to be life-long, fruitful church leaders?
Are doors opening for Chinese Christians to be reaching Muslims with the gospel?
It is easy for the church to lose sight of her purpose in the face of today’s challenges. During a recent commemoration of Samuel Pollard, a missionary whose life dramatically impacted large pockets of southern Yunnan, Pastor Gai of Kunming preached on the nature of the church and the calling we must not lose sight of.