Pastor Says China's Christian Movement Spreading Despite Communist Oppression
by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
November 17, 2003
(AgapePress) - A Chinese pastor says Christianity is flourishing in the Communist nation of China. Johnny Li, a Hong Kong-based minister-at-large with Open Doors USA, has been a witness to the explosive growth of China's underground house church movement and says not even the threat of persecution can stop what is happening.Li maintains close contact with leaders and members of China's house churches and says despite the threat of arrest and torture for their beliefs, these Christians are bold in their faith. He says many of these Christian are converts who start their mission life from the age of 16 or 17, "with little knowledge, little education, but [these believers] have a heart [and they] dedicate their lives to the Lord and go many places to evangelize."
Although the Chinese government's constitution officially recognizes "freedom of religion," the authorities force all religious adherents to register with the government-sponsored church. Those who refuse are often persecuted under legislation ostensibly designed to protect the citizenry from the influence of radical cults. However, this anti-cult legislation is frequently used to persecute believers who have avoided registering with the government-sponsored church for fear that Communist officials will try to control their religious beliefs or restrict their freedom of worship.
An estimated 90% of the Christians in China are underground church members. Hundreds of thousands of these men and women have been imprisoned, and many severely tortured or otherwise persecuted, in violation of international laws regarding human rights and religious freedom.
Nevertheless, Li says God has been moving dramatically, particularly on the hearts of young people throughout the Communist nation. He says many young people are converting to Christianity and standing for Jesus in spite of the threat of persecution.
According to Li, such faith has a big impact. He says a Chinese citizen will look at a person in his or her own village and realize these are people who "believe this 'foreign God' and they are in the jail." Li says people begin to ask why: "Why are you willing to go to jail for Jesus? And the Holy Spirit works, and miracles happen. You cannot stop people passing the message."
The Open Doors minister says there is even a revival taking place in China's government-sponsored church. He notes that more than half a million people were baptized last year in government-run churches.
Li is encouraging believers in the United States to pray faithfully for the Christians in Communist China, who continue to need and covet the prayers of their brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the free world. Li says there is also a great need for Bibles in China, as in many other parts of the world where the government is hostile to the truth of God's Word.
Open Doors delivers nearly three million Holy Bibles, Gospels, Children's Bibles, and other church teaching materials to Christians behind closed borders each year, using ordinary people traveling through those countries to deliver the scriptures to fellow believers they may never have met. A gift of only $40 can help provide as many as 10 or 12 Bibles to the front lines of the persecuted church.
Open Doors and similar ministries such as Voice of the Martyrs and the Bible League provide opportunities for Christians to learn more about their fellow believers in persecuted areas of the world and how to support them through prayer, action, and giving.
