China: the context of our work

“Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. For he loves us with unfailing love; the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.” – Psalm 117 (NLT)

China is a dynamic, diverse nation on many levels, both inside the church and as a whole.

Estimates of China’s Christian population range from 3 to 7 percent of the population. This deceptively small figure represents an astounding 40 to 90 million of China’s 1.3 billion people. The Chinese church is founded on miraculous works of the Holy Spirit, the humble and sacrificial faith of persecuted and disparaged believers, the revelation of Jesus to the culture, and the mercy and purposes of God for his kingdom in China through its past, present and future.

Providing a full account of the history and current forms of the Chinese church - official and underground, urban and rural – is beyond the scope of this website. Please refer to the following links for more information.

http://www.yutopian.com/religion/ provides an overview of the history of Christianity in China

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ctmag/features/international/asia/china.html provides current news relating to Christianity in China.

Similarly, China is a nation facing a great number pressures and challenges, not the least of which is the sheer pace of change – economically, culturally and socially. Environmental problems, widening income disparity, political tensions, corruption, public health threats, and unemployment (to name a few) are powerful forces plaguing the nation. Yet its people are eager to adapt and fully embrace their new place in the world. For a selection of sites tracking the state of China, check out the links below.

http://www.chinatoday.com is a China-published overview of general China information, also containing links to Chinese news sites like China Daily.

http://www.chsource.org/PeopleGroups.htm provides a good in-depth overview of China’s ethnic make-up and minority people groups

http://www.chsource.org/ChinaNews.htm provides a wealth of news options

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=China&btnG=Search+News for a Google search on China news