With over 800 million Han Chinese in China (and over 1.2 billion in China as a whole, including minorities), it's one thing for a church or mission group to "adopt" or "engage" the Han - and another to figure out what that means. This is the situation of many groups in the world that are huge in size. "Who to adopt" can be addressed by websites like the Joshua Project. But "where to go" requires a different approach.
China's Christians embrace commitment to world evangelization.
Christian leaders from China made history at the 2010 Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, not by their participation, but by their absence. Although some 200 leaders had made preparations and raised the necessary funds to attend, the vast majority were stopped at the airport and prevented from leaving China.
Nearly three years later, about 100 of these leaders were able to join their counterparts from around the world in Seoul, Korea, for the Asian Church Leaders Forum.
Chinese house church leaders commit to engage as partners with the global church in world evangelization.
Evangelism is something that is increasingly emphasized in Chinese churches, both official and unofficial. Christians are being encouraged by their pastors and by one another to look for creative ways to share the gospel with those around them, whether at home, in the work place, or in society.
A recent article in mainland-based site, The Christian Times, highlights some of the unique challenges of doing mission work among the Tibetan people.
Editor's Note: This editorial originally appeared in "China's Indigenous Mission Movement" (CS Quarterly, 2013 Spring).
The role of the church in China as it increasingly becomes a missionary-sending church is explored based on past experiences and lessons learned. The article considers the importance of developing a missionary strategy, providing adequate cross-cultural training that goes beyond the classroom and developing a comprehensive field coordination infrastructure. It also takes a brief look at the church in today's China.
The author describes, from his observations and experiences, several often overlooked areas in China's early involvement in international missions. These include visa issues, language learning and missionary supervision and care. Prototypes for ministry are also suggested. The writer hopes that the self-reflection and sharing with fellow workers will result in intercessory prayer from members of Christ's Body and in their enlightenment.
The traditional definitions of missionary are not adequate for missionaries being sent from China; a new definition is needed due to the unique circumstances involved with those sent from this nation. Following this discussion, the author provides an overview of the current situation surrounding missionaries being sent from China.
For more than a century, there have been many indigenous mission movements from China, from Chinese, as well as from Central-coastal China that have experimented with mission endeavors. This article looks briefly at the most important of these undertakings by individuals and by groups.
Some things cannot be learned from books; they must result from the gospel that has been deeply formed in the heart of the individual. The author tells us of a life-changing experience from his past and then identifies the differences between God's servants who trust in "functional saviors" and those who are deeply at rest in what Christ has done for them.
Christian business people and entrepreneurs are increasingly looking for opportunities to use their enterprises for outreach. In this article, translated from the Christian Times, a Mainland website, a reporter interviews Brother Long, proprietor of the Gospel Inn in Dali, Yunnan Province.