One of my favorite scenes from the fictional “Master and Commander” series is when Captain Jack Aubrey retells a story of the renowned British naval hero Horatio Nelson. When a young seaman offered Lord Nelson a cloak on a cold night, Nelson responded he didn’t need it. He was quite warm. His zeal for his king and country kept him warm. After a brief pause, Captain Aubrey added, “I know it sounds absurd, and were it from another man, you’d cry out, ‘Oh, what pitiful stuff!’ and dismiss it as mere enthusiasm. But with Nelson… you felt your heart glow.”
Over the last six years through my work with China Partnership, I have had many conversations with Chinese house church pastors on the gospel, prayer, church planting, and persecution. Quite often, their theology and philosophy of ministry resemble our own in the West, particularly for those of us in the Reformed tradition. However, when I hear how they have contextualized and applied the Reformed faith in their own cities, I felt my heart glow, because I see in their work the power of the gospel that I have not seen before.
In lots of ways, China is not too different from the United States. Both nations are economic superpowers, teeming with young talent and cutting-edge technologies. Both countries boast of megacities that exert great influence in their regions and around the world. Just like in America, in China there’s a generation of young and restless Reformed pastors who are turning away from moralism to gospel-centered theology. As a result, there is a growing urban church-planting movement in China that is grappling with the rising challenge of secularism.
Of course, there are also significant differences that separate these two nations. Two of them are particularly noteworthy. Although China is deeply secular, it is a pre-Christian culture where the Christian faith is still foreign and fresh to most of its citizens. Therefore, many Chinese people, particularly young people in cities, are open to hearing the message of the gospel as they seek meaning in the midst of materialism, social upheavals, and political uncertainties.
However, this also means that the Chinese house church has no allies in the broader culture, no parachurch institution to amplify its missions, and limited resources available to help local churches disciple believers and train new leaders.
The other major difference between China and America is the relationship between the church and the state. Contrary to popular belief, religions are not wholly banned by the atheistic Communist government, and there still exists within China a certain level of religious liberty.
Three-Self vs. House Churches
There are legal, Protestant churches in China, but those churches – commonly known as the Three-Self churches – must submit to the theology and oversight of the Chinese government. That means all the pastors within the Three-Self system must be educated in the government’s liberal seminary. Core Christian doctrines such the kingdom of God and Jesus’ divinity, miracles, and resurrection are sensitive topics that pastors are discouraged from teaching from the pulpit. Three-Self pastors and church members must receive regular patriotic training, and there is an organized, top-down campaign to make Christianity more compatible with Chinese and socialist values.
The Chinese government seeks to control not simply what Christians believe, but also where their allegiance lies. Does their primary allegiance lie with Christ and the Word of God, or does it lie with the government’s directives? Is Jesus Christ the Lord, or Xi Jinping? Churches who willingly submit to the Chinese government and fly the Chinese national flag experience some freedom and autonomy.
These nationalistic regulations are why many Chinese believers refuse to join the Three-Self movement. Their theological foundation is the Bible, their Lord is Jesus, and their hope is in the kingdom of God. They cannot in good conscience proclaim the Lordship of Christ while also subjecting themselves to the governance of the Three-Self system. These churches outside the Three-Self system are known as house churches, not because they all meet in private homes, but because that’s the name that has been traditionally adopted by underground churches back in the 1950s.
These house churches may meet in private homes, as well as office buildings, hotel conference rooms, parks, and some even have their own church buildings. But depending on their region and the local law enforcement’s disposition, house churches face varying degrees of government pressure, from regular questioning and surveillance to raids and imprisonment.
In this environment of increased pressure the house church in China exists and grow in the gospel. As traditional values continue to recede in Chinese society – a process that began with the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s – the government encourages people to focus instead on material wealth, stability, quality of life, and loyalty to political leaders.
But when material wealth cannot satisfy people’s hunger for meaning and fulfillment, stability means strict surveillance by the government, and quality of life is easily disrupted by pandemic controls and unrealistic economic policies, the Chinese people are hungry for a fresh message of hope. The ancient gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection is living water to millions of thirsty Chinese souls. Although the Chinese government continues to stoke the fear that Christianity is a Western religion that can corrupt centuries-old Chinese values, many people have begun to recognize that Christ is indeed light to the nations.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions of people died and many millions more suffered under the government’s draconian “zero-COVID” policy, a message of resurrection was a powerful resistance.
One house church pastor conducted a short funeral for an elderly sister who died of COVID. The funeral lasted about 10 minutes on the walk from the morgue freezer to the crematorium, but the pastor took these few precious minutes to share the gospel of resurrection with her unbelieving family and the workers at the funeral home. This simple message not only provided comfort to the mourning family, but it also humanized the entire experience for them. The Chinese people might feel like powerless citizens in a totalitarian state or statistics in a population of 1.4 billion people, but they are sons and daughters of God who are not forgotten when they cease to exist on earth.
Persecution Lessons for the Western Church
In the spring of 2018, the Chinese government released a new set of religious regulations, which unleashed a level of pressure and persecution on the house church not seen since the end of the Cultural Revolution. Pastor Wang Yi of Early Rain Covenant Church, a Presbyterian minister, was arrested in December 2018 and sentenced to nine years in prison. His arrest sounded the alarm bell to house churches across the nation.
This latest round of pressure and persecution is certainly limiting the house churches’ ability to share the gospel more widely, but God has also used it to sanctify his church and drive home the message of grace. Here are a few lessons that the Western church can learn from our brothers and sisters in China.
First, persecution provided the house church an opportunity to be a light in darkness. Although it is technically illegal in the eyes of the government, most Chinese people and even many law-enforcement officers know that the house church is no threat to society. Christians are generally kind and loving neighbors who are known to care for the marginalized in their cities. Their courage to face the government’s unjust persecution is plain for all to see.
One house church pastor asked a visiting non-believer why he chose to worship at this church, even though they were facing pressure from the government. The visitor answered, “Everybody faces trouble … I’d rather face the trouble with people who meet it boldly, rather than with fear.”
Second, persecution has removed certain temptations that ensnare many American churches and pastors. Almost all urban house churches have to wrestle with the balance between being public and private. They need to be visible enough that sinners and seekers can find them, but they need to be private enough to evade government detection. This is a difficult balance to strike. Flashy programming, popularity, huge followings, and political influence are particularly harmful in the Chinese context.
Once the house church gets to a certain size, it will certainly attract the government’s attention so many house church pastors choose instead to focus on the ordinary means of grace. Particularly during the COVID years, house churches really focused on prayer, teaching the Bible, worship, and the sacraments. This focus has sustained the steady growth of some house churches while deepening the resolve of many others.
Third, persecution has motivated churches to plant more churches.Pressure from the government has forced house churches to remain small, flexible, and creative. Wanting to avoid government attention, many house churches must plan ahead before they even hit a growth spurt. Small groups have to prepare to become a church plant in the event the church is raided; pastors must add extra worship services to keep the gatherings small. Discipleship courses prepare lay-leaders to consider full-time ministry because they may be called upon to lead a congregation.
These initiatives make the church more intimate. Local churches move toward non-believers; new believers are discipled to face pressure; and lay leaders are encouraged to enter ministry for the sake of continuity. Church growth begets persecution, but sometimes, persecution also leads to growth and new church plants. Through planning and pressure, God’s church expands.
Lastly, persecution provides the house church an urgency to fulfill its calling. House church pastors have experienced the transforming power of grace; many of them speak openly about God rescuing them from moralism into his steadfast love. They have seen many unbelievers come to Jesus because the field in China is ripe for harvest. As Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is plentiful, but laborers are few.” Many laborers are facing the constant threat of arrest and imprisonment, yet they push ahead in their work, not knowing how much time the Lord has given them. As one pastor said, “We give thanks to God for one more Sunday, and we prepare as if it is the last one.”
Of course, persecution also creates problems for the Chinese house church. Pastors are stressed and burnt out, and many churches are under staffed. The future is uncertain, and every step of growth can draw unwanted attention.
This has been the most heart-warming lesson I have received from the house church pastors: They are not afraid to embrace the way of the cross. They know that, “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him” (2 Timothy 2:11).
The church and its leaders are walking the downward path of the cross in China because they trust that God will one day lift them up with Christ in glory. As one pastor told me, “Persecution is their reality, but it is not their calling. Persecution is only the backdrop against which they do their ministry, but their calling is to share the gospel with their neighbors and their children.”
The heavier the pressure grows, the more urgent their work becomes. The darker the society gets, the brighter the gospel will shine.
Ryan Zhang moved from Guangzhou, China, to Ohio at the age of 12. He is the pastor for neighborhood ministries at New City Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the translation manager for China Partnership. He is also a fellow at the Center for House Church Theology.