The Solution:
Despite these gigantic human needs, God has placed His church in each nation to be the salt and light and to bring hope through the Gospel to their lost people.
Let us pray that God will use the Church to fulfil its Mission.
1. The Church:
The Church in China:
The survival and growth of the Church in China are awesome events in our generation!
- The atheist government strictly controlled religious groups and banned all religious activity during the Cultural Revolution.
- The Three-Self Patriotic Movement and China Christian Council (TSPM/CCC) together form the only state-recognized Protestant Church.
- It can legally print and distribute Bibles, and can register and build church buildings. But the government limits its teaching, outreach, and discipleship activity.
- Since its restoration in 1978, it continues to grow. In the past, the atheist regime imposed some doctrines and practices on the TSPM/CCC that hindered its impact on society. Pray for revival and renewal, and future growth.
- The traditional house-church networks formed the core of the Chinese Church for many decades.
- Christians started underground house-church networks designed to survive the persecution.
- Through radio ministries, Christian workers, and believers devoted to outreach, the Church did more than survive; it grew!
- Since 1996, persecution has increased against house churches unwilling to register with the TSPM/CCC.
- Arrests, heavy fines, forced closures, and destruction of church buildings are increasing in some key area.
- The state says this is because house churches are illegal and a potential political threat, not because they are Christian.
- But the unregistered churches just continued to grow. In fact, there is no growth story like it in all of church history. 2.7 million evangelicals in 1975 grew to over 75 million in just 35 years!
- Persecution remains a present reality. This is a measure of the government’s fears of such a large movement they do not control and of the majority of the Church operating outside the government-sanctioned church bodies.
- Preachers traveled far and wide across China. The intense persecution isolated them from the global Church, and forced them to adopt indigenous ways.
- They focus strongly on prayer, revival, simple living, and on Christ! Most house-church Christians love their country, but their first loyalty is to God. They do not want to register with the government. Their illegal status leads to persecution.
- Take a Moment to pray and identify with the Suffering Church in China.
‘Keep on remembering those in prison. Do this as if you were together with them in prison. And remember those who are treated badly as if you yourselves were suffering.‘ Hebrews 13:3.
The Church in India:
The Indian Church is highly diverse, with a long legacy.
Much of Indian Christianity has resulted from people’s movements over the last 300 years, often started by local revivals. Some Christian groups today have remarkable growth, while other groups have declined in numbers.
Persecution of Christians has been steadily intensifying in recent years, and shows no signs of abating. Pray for our brothers and sisters in India to endure in the midst of this increasing pressure.
- The Orthodox Churches trace their origin to the tradition of the Apostle Thomas, who was said to minister here in the 1st century.
- Orthodox Christians (over 2.2 million) have the strongest presence in Kerala and southwest India.
- Catholics represent the largest Christian group in India (nearly 20 million). People respect their charity work, especially Mother Teresa’s care for the poorest of the poor.
- Catholics run more than 5,000, healthcare facilities. The charismatic movement in the Catholic Church began in 1972. It spread to almost every congregation, and brought both new life and increased outreach.
- Evangelical denominations and congregations multiplied. God uses several networks and alliances to mature and mobilize believers through prayer, pastors’ retreats, and conventions.
- They also coordinate training, literature production, missions, and outreach (the Evangelical Fellowship of India links over 224 denominations, the Pentecostal Fellowship of India links the major Pentecostal groups, and so on).
- Newer Pentecostal and charismatic fellowships sprang up quickly, and spread throughout India, especially in the last 15 years.
- The Yesu Darbar gathers tens of thousands of Jesus’ followers in North India. They model biblical worship and fellowship patterns in an Indian style.
- Millions of followers of Jesus (Yesu Bhaktas) are secret believers, or unbaptized Christians outside the established denominations. Pray for discipleship for these people as their numbers increase.
Within India, public opinion is growing hostile to Christian social work and conversions
resulting in anti-conversion legislation. And while India’s government is technically secular, Christian ministries, evangelistic efforts, and missionaries experience constant attacks from it.
2. Missions.
Both nations had a strong Missions history of Missionaries from the West:
Hudson Taylor to China said: “True Christianity is like smallpox – If you get it, you give it to others, and it spreads!”
Mission’s vision is strong, and the Chinese Church sends out workers to both unreached minorities within China and unevangelized nations beyond.
- Some house-church networks have supported missions outreach to other provinces and to ethnic minorities for a long time.
- The Back to Jerusalem vision aims to send up to 100,000 missionaries from China throughout the unevangelized world.
- Some think China may become the greatest sending nation of the 21st century!
- Pray for good preparation to equip Christians and churches for this cross-cultural task. Pray for sensitivity and humility, especially for the dominant Han Chinese.
- Foreign Christians are not welcome in China as missionaries. Yet, the ideological oppression of the Cultural Revolution is all but gone, and China’s global interests, exchanges and relations make it possible for many Christians – both foreign-born Chinese and other expatriates – to contribute to Chinese society.
India missions
William Carey, the missionary to India said: “Expect Great things from God – Attempt Great things for God!”
The growth of Indian cross-cultural outreach agencies – in number, size, and maturity – is remarkable and has occurred despite increasingly intense opposition in many cases.
- In 1973, there were 420 missionaries. In 2023, the India Missions Association (IMA) alone represented 243 organizations and 60,000 missionaries.
- Encouraging progress has also been made in upgrading training, improving the quality of ministry, planning strategically, setting goals, initializing research and partnering with others.
- The Assemblies of God in India sends hundreds of missionaries to north India.
- The church in India also presents challenges to the growth of missions. Traditional and emerging churches and their institutions face challenges in nominalism, casteism, regionalism, nepotism, and corruption at different levels.
- While charismatic churches show growth, established denominations are declining. Still attrition overall among first-generation Christians remains high – about 30%. This is even higher in house churches – estimated to be between 40% and 60%.
- Rural churches in India experience additional obstacles. Poverty, debt, and migration impact them internally.
- External pressures like persecution, social discrimination, and unfriendly laws and policies also create complex problems.
3. The Diaspora:
Both China and India has some of the largest diaspora scattered around the world.
Being strategically placed, God is able to use them as a significant force in the end-time harvest!
The Chinese diaspora, present in nearly every nation in the world and numbering as many as 40 million.
- In many countries, they are a very strong Christian community, but in others, they remain unevangelized.
- Emigration from China has occurred for centuries; changes occurring in China today witnessed new populations moving to new areas.
- Sparsely populated Russian Siberia is one possible destination for potentially millions of Chinese.
- The Arab Gulf states employ countless Chinese laborers.
- And new Chinese-sponsored economic activities in Africa and Latin America bring many to these lands.
- In Africa alone are an estimated 750,000 Chinese laborers and business people.
The Indian diaspora now numbers nearly 30 million and is spread across 130 countries.
- Large numbers have emigrated to the Americas: USA (2.2m, where they have built over 500 Hindu temples) to Canada (1.0m), Trinidad (500,000), Suriname (150,000); others to Europe:
- UK (1.5m), France (290,000); many to Africa: South Africa (920,000), Mauritius (870,000); to the Pacific: Fiji (310,000), Australia (225,000);
- In Asia: Nepal (5.5m), Malaysia (2.1m), Myanmar (2.5m), Sri Lanka (1.5m), Singapore (400,000); and to the Middle East: Saudi Arabia (1.4m), UAE (1.4m), Kuwait (560,000), Oman (385,000).
- They are influential in their adopted lands, especially in business, technology and culture.
- They are likewise a great influence on their relations and communities back in India. Many are open to the gospel – especially first-generation immigrants – and
- in some countries, there has been significant outreach and response (South Africa, USA, Canada, Mauritius, Middle East).
- Outreach by Indian missions to diaspora communities is overdue, as is the envisioning of diaspora Christians to reach out to India.
Prayer to Awaken the Real Giants.
Let us Pray that God will send Revival to China and India and awaken the real Giants – The Church – to reach their nations and beyond!
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- Sources:
- Operation World.
- Asian Missions.
- Human Rights Watch.
- tandfonline.com
- Ancientorigins.com