Cross-Cultural Work in China Today

The Ongoing Call to China

While it is true that there are far fewer cross-cultural China workers than there were ten or even five years ago, we shouldn’t be surprised that women and men continue to respond obediently to God’s call to China. The same God who, with his blood, has purchased for himself persons from every tribe and language and people and nation, continues to send his people to the ends of the earth—even to the hated Ninevehs of our present world. The constricted environment within China does mean work looks different now, but for those who obey God’s calling, there is still much to be done.

From Big Projects to Personal Witness

The days of public projects in China reaching large numbers of people across a wide geographic area are for the most part in the past. It is certainly harder to find work in China, with more and more experience and qualifications demanded of each foreign applicant. And yet for the right professionals, China continues to offer meaningful work and opportunities for witness. What does this kind of smaller yet more intimate kind of ministry look like? Below is a list of the things I did on a Thursday earlier this spring. This list will look very different for people in other professions working in other locations, but I hope this gives at least a small sense of what it looks like to witness for Christ cross-culturally in China today.

A Typical Day: Ministry in Motion

• WeChat informed us that they were limiting the ability of our company’s official account to accept payments from foreign credit cards. They demanded contracts, proof of delivery of services, and receipts for a handful of recent transactions. We supplied the paperwork, and they accepted it, but then arbitrarily instituted a 500 RMB daily limit. We spent the morning looking for a way to challenge this decision (WeChat claims there is no appeal), as this affects our company’s revenue stream—and our ability to continue working in China.
• I called a former local colleague to connect her with an expatriate in another city who does similar work. The local sister is struggling to expand her ministry, and I am hoping that this expatriate will have some new contacts for her, enabling her to serve new communities across the country.
• I had a surprise visit from a rural pastor who has over the last year arranged for a dozen local Christian middle school students to move to another Asian country for schooling. He has organized a dormitory for them and arranged for a mainland pastor and his family recently settled in that country to serve as dorm parents while the children attend a local bilingual school. He is looking for English instruction for the kids (on and offline) and a summer VBS program for them—as well as seeking more children to join his program. I then wrote an email to an expat family that used to work in our city and is now in that Asian country to see if they would like to help these children.
• This same pastor then brought in a friend of his who runs a large private village school. He is trying to find fun things for his kids to do in the summer, and was hoping we could put on a basketball event for the kids. Over the past year, we have had several similar projects aggressively shut down by officials, who make it clear they do not want us interacting with school-age children. We spent some time discussing the feasibility of bringing a group of expatriate Christian college students on tourist visas next summer to visit the school. Remember when that happened all the time? He will go back and consider whether or not local officials would allow him to host such a group.
• On my way to lunch, I serendipitously met a nearby local pastor (we cannot text or call one another), and we had an impromptu conversation on the street corner about the role of liturgy in Protestant worship—all inspired by his comment that a local Catholic pilgrimage site has just installed stained glass windows. We plan on going for a hike together sometime to see the cathedral.
• I worked on the agenda for our upcoming company leadership meeting, going over the various issues and new initiatives we need to review as a leadership team.
• I finalized a presentation on a little-known China missionary who did some remarkable things in our part of the country 150 years ago. I will present this at our next company-wide gathering (locals and expats together). I confirmed that everything else planned for that event is ready, including a report on changes to our finance system to enhance local compliance and integrity and a closing time of corporate prayer.
• I talked to another expat about how my family could help his family deal with some minor health issues affecting their children.
• Finally, I checked in with my staff. An older employee was trying to get some good hearing aids through the local medical system and wanted help comparing models. I helped our HR representative who is trying to chase down a rumor that parents with a single child can receive a cash bonus from “the government.” Another employee who helps with children’s Sunday School at a church on the edge of our city asked to leave early to catch the end of a special Sunday School teacher training at the main church in town. Another employee is struggling to care for her aging, non-believing father, which has piqued her interest in ministry to seniors. She and I discussed the new business plan she is writing to encourage our company to begin offering “senior university” hobby and interest classes to China’s lonely and growing elderly community.

Alongside these specific activities, our days continue to be marked by interactions with neighbors, meals shared with friends, and opportunities to worship, pray and study with our local and expatriate sisters and brothers. Each day is different, and yet each day we experience God’s grace as we represent Christ before believers and non-believers alike in our city of many millions.

An Invitation to Obedience

It has always been the case that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. I pray for more women and men from around the world to view China—not through the lenses of journalists, internet celebrities or politicians, but as God sees it. Set aside fear and love of comfort, reject hate and prejudice, and in obedience to God’s calling come to China. For those qualified and called, there is still plenty to do for God’s kingdom in China!

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