China’s Christians Thrive, Despite Increase in Persecution

from Stand Firm by Sarah

Encouraging from NRO, where there is more:

Some Chinese Christians attend unsanctioned churches on principle. But the growth of unofficial churches is also, quite simply, a function of demand. State-run seminaries turn out too few pastors for China’s growing Christian population. The unofficial churches have met this need, supplying their own training and churning out leaders. And many Chinese Christians attend both official and unsanctioned church events; they have an almost insatiable hunger to participate and learn about their faith as a group.

ChinaAid reports that in the last year, Beijing has focused especially on eradicating underground and house churches.

That’s a spectacularly counterproductive policy. The vast majority of Christians who worship in house churches or underground churches are not political; they love both their God and their country.

Beijing’s eradication effort places Christians in an untenable situation, forcing them to choose. That politicizes believers who would otherwise be happy to ignore politics, read their Bibles, and quietly and peacefully worship.

Though persecution has worsened, Christians have made progress in the last year, too—a fact that many Chinese Christians want their brethren in the West to know. More and more spiritually hungry Chinese are converting. As I’ve noted before, their charitable activity has won them admiration, even in government circles. Christian literature is being published and distributed to an unprecedented degree. And churches have not been inhibited by persecution. This English-language blog gives a platform to Chinese pastors, revealing an unexpected sort of ordinariness; the Christian church has matured to the point where it can worry about theological training, music services, marriage counseling, and other routine services.