Resources from 2018

Chinese Church Voices

Chinese Church Voices—Top 10 posts of 2018

What caught the attention of Chinese Church Voices readers this year?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Sorting Rumor from Fact?

Look for the Red Chop

Distinguishing facts from rumors is never an easy endeavor, but it is even more difficult in China, where official information is often lacking.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | December 27, 2018

Beijing Expats Decry “Click-bait-y” Reports About a Christmas Crackdown (December 26, 2018, The Beijinger) Are the reports of anti-Christmas measures greatly exaggerated? 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Sinicization: China Only for the Chinese

Sinicization attempts to close the Chinese mind to all that is not CCP-approved and to once again shut the window on the world.

Chinese Church Voices

A Pair of Socks

A small gift given out of love.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

5 Things I Loved about Christmas in China

The act of sharing with students the richness of Christmas and the significance of God coming down to be with us is humbling and beautiful.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Red Lines

Seeking to understand and pray for Early Rain Covenant Church. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | December 20, 2018

China's staggering 40 years of change in pictures (December 18, 2018, BBC) Forty years ago, China introduced major economic reforms - lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and leading to it becoming the second-largest economy in the world. 

The Lantern

Sharing God’s Great Gift

December news from ChinaSource.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Who Will Be China’s Issachar Tribe?

 . . . those who have understanding of the times and know what should be done to reach the unreached.

Chinese Church Voices

The Way of the Cross

How ought Christians to approach suffering and persecution in their faith? How should Christians support others who are experiencing persecution? A Chinese believer responds.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The Challenge of Being the Church in China

Being the church in China is a growing challenge. Are registered churches affected? How are they responding?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

3 Questions: Julia Grosser

20 Years of CSQ

Observations on 20 years of involvement with the ChinaSource Quarterly.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | December 13, 2018

Chinese Police Detain Prominent Pastor and Over 100 Protestants (December 10, 2018, The New York Times) The Chinese police have detained one of the country’s most prominent Protestant pastors.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

A Meeting of Minds

20 Years of Publishing ChinaSource

Looking back at 20 years of the ChinaSource Quarterly.

Chinese Church Voices

Worship in the Mountains of Yunnan

A Video

Singing hymns and the testimony of a church leader. 

Supporting Article

Introducing Modern Chinese Education

Following a brief overview of the history of China’s educational system, the authors compare underlying Eastern and Western worldviews and then the practical implications these have for expatriates teaching in China.

Supporting Article

Views from the Classroom

Four expatriate teachers, from a variety of educational sectors throughout China, give their individual perspectives on the opportunities and challenges of teaching there. Their reflections from long-term experience provide helpful insights.

Lead Article

Professionalism and Witness in TESOL

Professionalism is a dimension of integrity and necessary for expatriate English teachers. Witness is an integral aspect of education. Neither should be neglected.

Articles

More Blessed to Receive

Expatriate teachers went to China to give. But often they ended up taking more of China with them than they had bargained for. The editor of ChinaSource Quarterly gives several suggestions for how to be a good reciever.

Articles

Resources about Teaching in China

The resources listed deal with the theology and practice of teaching in the context of Christian mission with authors representing a variety of viewpoints.

Articles

Teaching with Christian Values

After reviewing each of the three parts of this book, Ms. Jones suggests that while it would be beneficial for anyone, this book will be especially useful for people heading to a foreign country to teach and for those preparing them for this.

Supporting Article

A Chinese Perspective on Expatriate Teachers

Interview and Commentary

Professor Wang provides her views about expatriate, Christian teachers in China followed by the guest editor’s commentary on the key issues she addresses.

ChinaSource Quarterlies

Teaching in China

Vol. 20, No. 4

Winter 2018

Supporting Article

Teaching in China—the Early Years

Ms. Anderson, who began teaching in China in the early 1980s, reflects on how different—and often difficult—it was for English teachers during those early years.

Articles

Opportunities and Challenges

The guest editor's point of view.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

“The Mind of a Missionary”

A Book Review

A fast-moving and fascinating survey of missionary stories that doesn’t just tell what happened but also why it happened.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

2 New Christian Books

 . . . available now in China.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | December 6, 2018

Weibo’s Online Slang: 10 Chinese ‘Tribes’ & ‘Clans’ to Know (December 1, 2018, What’s on Weibo) A major part of this online slang culture is the categorization of people into ‘tribes’ or ‘clans’ (族); classifying those (urban) young Chinese people who share certain traits. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Big Name Leaders and Nameless Heroes

Two urgent needs of the indigenous missions movement from China.

Chinese Church Voices

The Church in China Prays

A look at some of the creative ways Christians are praying in China. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The Slippery Slope of English Teaching

Teaching English in China—does it isolate you or open doors into the community and culture? 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Old Rhetoric, New Normal

What's really new in the "new normal" of today's China?

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | November 29, 2018

How ‘Survivors’ Are Navigating the New Environment (November 27, 2018, The China NGO Project) A discussion on the state of play nearly two years after the Foreign NGO Law went into effect.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Speeding Up? Or Slowing Down?

A Study on the Current Church Growth Situation in China

Is the church in China growing as fast as we thought?

Chinese Church Voices

Reflections on the Writings of Louis Cha

Wuxia novelist Louis Cha died at the end of October. One of his readers remembers the influence his writings.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

A Reader Responds to "The Chinese Bible"

A reader with years of experience in rural Bible distribution responds to "The Chinese Bible"

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Advantages and Challenges for Indigenous Researchers (2)

The Challenges

Four challenges that indigenous researchers face in researching the church in China.

The Lantern

Moving Forward with Thanks

November news from ChinaSource.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

In Everything Give Thanks

The cultural pitfalls of saying thank you.

Chinese Church Voices

Giving Thanks in China

As Americans observe Thanksgiving this week, Christians in northeast China already took the opportunity last month to give thanks.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Shandong: The Revival Province

A Book Review

Beware of reading Paul Hattaway’s Shandong: The Revival Province . . . it will rock your rational, modern, stoic, predictable, boring Christian faith and turn it upside down.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Finding the “Pastoral Middle” in the Translations Debate

A reader shares his thoughts on the Chinese Union Version of the Bible. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | November 15, 2018

Forty Years on, Is China Still Reforming? (November 9, 2018, China File) What does this common but vague expression actually mean to Xi? And is Beijing actually reforming and opening up, or stagnating and closing down?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Advantages and Challenges for Indigenous Researchers (1)

The Advantages

Access, trust, and past immersion in essential related fields are three advantages enjoyed by two indigenous Chinese researchers.

Chinese Church Voices

Reflections from a Three-Self Pastor on the Challenges Faced by the Church in China

Chinese church development must work with Chinese culture, be grounded in Chinese society, and serve our Chinese brethren.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

China's Van Goghs

A Film Review

A look at the the oil painters in Dafen village, and at the creative process.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The Meaning of Gifts

A gift has meaning within a specific context. Focusing on the context of gift-exchange can shed more light on patronage and reciprocity than merely speaking of the word “gift.” 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | November 8, 2018

China's middle class: We're being picked like leeks by the government  (November 4, 2018, CNN) Wang is one of millions of Chinese middle-class men and women who grew up in a roaring economy… but the past year has been especially tough.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Search and Research

We continue our series on research and the indigenous Chinese church with part three—a look at some of the publically available resources for research in China.

Chinese Church Voices

Reflections from a Reformed Perspective on the Challenges Faced by the Church in China

Three challenges facing the church in China.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

How My International Fellowship Trained Me

An International Student’s Maturing in China

This is the last in a series of three blog posts based on an interview with “Tim,” an international student from Zimbabwe in China.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Hope for Today, and Tomorrow!

Good news and beautiful cards from Shanxi Province.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | November 1, 2018

Insights into the Social Credit System on Chinese Online Media vs Its Portrayal in Western Media (October 30, 2018, What’s on Weibo) Contrasting Chinese and Western media coverage of China’s Social Credit System

ChinaSource Blog Posts

When Counting Is Hard . . . in China (2)

Analysis

More on the challenges of determining the number of Christians in China.

Chinese Church Voices

A Shanghai Pastor Reflects on Challenges Facing the Church in China

Christianity in China is entering a new stage in the church-state relationship. How should the church respond?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

We Use Chinese All the Time

Why Chinese Is a Key Language for Reaching International Students in China

More on reaching international students in China from "Tim," a student from Zimbabwe studying in China.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

International Student Ministry in China—A New eBook

International students are no longer only going to the West to study; they are increasingly going to China. There are profound implications for this trend, not only for global international student ministry groups, but for the Chinese church as well.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | October 25, 2018

Buddha-mania: Understanding China’s Buddha Building Boom  (October 23, 2018, Sixth Tone) Is there such a thing as too many Buddhas? China may be about to find out.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

When Counting Is Hard … in China (1)

Considerations

Why is it so hard to estimate congregation size in China?

Chinese Church Voices

A Book for Dads and Their Children

Daddy, where does God live? Does He have a very big house?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

My Heart Burns for Them

An International Student’s Passion to Reach Others with the Gospel

An interview with an international student in China.

Ebooks

International Student Ministry in China

There are almost half a million international students in China, arriving from every corner of the globe. Here cultural complexity meets contextual limitations and gospel opportunities. Among this mixed, dynamic and growing field of ambitious influencers are the leaders of the future. How can the global church embrace this gospel...

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Shenyang!

Shenyang—the largest city in Dongbei (东北) and well worth a visit. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | October 18, 2018

How the Foreign NGO Law Has Affected International Adoption (October 16, 2018, China File) The Chinese government has prevented foreign adoption agencies from legally filing temporary activities in China, and has effectively shut down at least three major official programs.  

The Lantern

Beginning a New Season

October news from ChinaSource.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

A Look in the Mirror

Research and the Indigenous Church

How are Chinese researchers approaching the complex issues facing the Chinese church?

Chinese Church Voices

Responding in a Time of Testing

As Christians in China enter a "tumultuous time," a brother stresses the need for a peaceful stance towards authorities and the danger of spreading rumors.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

A Tool for Studying the Chinese Bible

A helpful reference work for those called to dig deeper into God's word in a Chinese context.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Religion Returning to the Center

For a deeper understanding of some of the issues facing the church in China today, check out this e-journal from Germany.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | October 11, 2018

Duck Tales: The Origin of the Birds in Beijing’s Famous Dish (October 4, 2018, Sixth Tone) Chinese breeders are looking to seize back some of the lean duck market and ensure that the country’s most renowned duck dishes are domestically sourced.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Shaping Christianity in Greater China

A Book Review

A book review

Chinese Church Voices

Thoughts on a Current Chinese Film

"In human history there have been countless times that have proved that people who try to obstruct this good news are only like praying mantises trying to stop chariots. People who enthusiastically try to replace the good news with something else not only lose their opportunity to get on the ship,...

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Why Every Returnee Should Read This Book

Very few returnees are informed realistically about the situations and challenges they will face both in the broader context and in the culture of the church when they return to China. This book can help.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

3 Questions: Being Theologically Prepared

A conversation with Dr. Carsten Vala of Loyola University on the current situation of the church in China.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | October 4, 2018

China Unbound: What An Emboldened China Means For The World (October 2, 2018, NPR) It's time to say it has risen. But what does an emboldened China mean for the world?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Responding to Restrictions on Children’s Ministry

The future of Christian education in China will require a shift in emphasis from the church to the home.

Chinese Church Voices

Peace and Preparedness

A brother in China shares from personal experience about one summer that taught him the value of being prepared.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Mending the Fractures

Celebrating and Grieving the TCK Story

A TCK responds with three ways she's learned to respond to feeling like "everybody leaves" and "no one understands."

ChinaSource Blog Posts

10 Books on Culture and Cultural Adjustment

Ten books that will help you thrive in the midst of cultural change. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | September 27, 2018

With Vatican Talks and Bulldozers, China Aims to Control Christianity (September 24, 2018, The New York Times) “The administration feels that the government had been too lax in the past and now wants to increase the pressure.”

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Entering a New Season

ChinaSource is entering its third decade with a renewed mission and vision. The opportunities we face and the times in which find ourselves call for new leadership to take ChinaSource into the future. 

Chinese Church Voices

How to Pray for and about Marriage

Pastor Chen Fengsheng shares how Christians can pray about marriage both before they are married and after. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Christians United For China

A call to prayer for the church in China.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Having Gone to China, I'm Thankful I Learned . . .

Recognizing, and being thankful for, what can be learned while living in China.

The Lantern

A Season of Change

September news from ChinaSource.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | September 20, 2018

Land of a billion road trips: Chinese tourists are ditching buses for their own steering wheels  (September 18, 2018, The Globe and Mail) On the rise of road-tripping in China. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Ownership and the Church in China

From Boss to Steward

The question of church property ownership points to a much deeper issue within the unregistered church.

Chinese Church Voices

Regulating the Internet

The State Administration for Religious Affairs releases draft regulations calling for strict control over online religious content.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Which Chinese Bible Should I Recommend People Read?

A helpful overview of the various versions of the Chinese Bible and the terms and abbreviations that are commonly used to describe them.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Things I Wish I Had Done

Life in China will be different than you expect. Here are possibilities to consider as you prepare for living in China.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | September 13, 2018

China cracks down on 'chaotic' religious information online (September 10, 2018, The Guardian) All organisations promoting religious messages on the internet will have to apply for licenses.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The Miracle of the Chinese Bible

Like the Chinese church itself, the Chinese Bible has not merely survived; it has flourished.

Chinese Church Voices

An Overview of the Translation of the CUV

Overseas Campus highlights key facts that Bible readers need to know about the translation of the Chinese Union Bible. 

ChinaSource Quarterlies

The Chinese Bible

Vol. 20, No. 3

Autumn 2018

Supporting Article

The Origins of the Chinese Union Version Bible

How did the Chinese Union Version of the Bible come into being? What individuals and teams did the translation work and what sources did they use? Strand provides history along with lessons that can be learned from years of labor.

Supporting Article

Word Choice Challenges

Translation is complex, and the words chosen to communicate concepts are crucial; they can significantly influence the understanding of the reader.  Strand gives examples of how translators struggle with this aspect of their work.

Supporting Article

Can the Chinese Union Version Be Replaced in China?

A Chinese lay leader gives his thoughts on the positives and negatives of using just the CUV and the impact of using other translations.

Supporting Article

Chinese Bible Translation by the Catholic Church

History, Development, and Reception

Translation of scripture portions by Catholics began over 700 years ago; however, it was not until 1968 that the entire Bible in Chinese in one volume was published. The author follows this process across the centuries.

Supporting Article

Bibles in China

A Question of Availability

The author points out key issues related to Bible availability in China including supply, demand, and distribution. She also addresses the impact of the Internet on this issue.

Articles

Be Amazed, Encouraged, and Challenged for Under $10

A Book Review

This concise volume on the life of Morrison challenges with the description of the difficulties he overcame and the prolific amount of translation work he achieved.

Articles

Obtaining a Chinese Bible

Means of obtaining Bibles in Chinese, both inside and outside of mainland China, as well as via the Internet, are provided.

Lead Article

A Century Later, Still Dominant

The Chinese Union Version of the Bible, published in 1919, remains the most dominant and popular translation used in China today. Here are some reasons why. 

Articles

An In-depth Look at the Chinese Bible

The guest editor's perspective. . .

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Paths of the Soul

A Film Review

Regardless of each person’s personal reason, the ultimate purpose of the pilgrimage was to pray for others.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Learning to Be an Acceptable Outsider

If I can’t become an insider, can I at least become an acceptable outsider?

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | September 6, 2018

China’s lost little emperors... how the ‘one-child policy’ will haunt the country for decades  (September 2, 2018, The Guardian) There has been an enormous amount of public venting on the shortcomings of the one-child policy in recent years.

Chinese Church Voices

A New Tool for Suppressing Churches?

Rental leases being used to suppress Chinese house churches.

Chinese Church Voices

A Chinese “Screwtape” Dealing in Real Estate

In this playful, satirical article from the journal Territory, writer Liu Chao riffs off C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, focusing on society’s obsession with real estate as an enticement for Christians to fall away from God. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Regrets in Ministry

It took me several years before I began to realize that the problem was not the lack of spiritual openness or scriptural knowledge of my Chinese brothers and sisters but rather my own biblical illiteracy.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Things I Wish I’d Known

Part 2 of our series, "Going to China."

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | August 30, 2018

 China Has Withheld Samples of a Dangerous Flu Virus (August 27, 2018, The New York Times) For over a year, the Chinese government has withheld lab samples of a rapidly evolving influenza virus from the United States.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Partnering in China: The Missing Foundation

On the partnership continuum, friendship is foundational. 

Chinese Church Voices

Flying the Flag

Official religious groups propose the national flag be displayed at places used for religious activities. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Two Types of Cultural Adjustment

This is the time of year when many people are going to China and facing new routines in a new place and a new culture, thus beginning their journey of cultural adjustment. In this series we will look at various aspects of and strategies for cultural adjustment. There will be...

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Two Key Lessons from a TCK Childhood

Goodbyes and being misunderstood—two experiences shared by TCKs.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | August 23, 2018

The Farmer Who Changed China Forever (August 21, 2018, Sixth Tone) Forty years ago, Yan Hongchang broke the law to save his village from hunger. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Engaging to Collaborate and Serve

Since its founding more than 20 years ago, ChinaSource has majored on two things: knowledge and relationships.

Chinese Church Voices

The Gospel for This Generation

A pastor responds to a tragic suicide in Gansu province: "So, I can only say three words: share the gospel. Nothing else. Aside from the gospel of Jesus Christ, the punishment of law, execution of justice, human rage, public condemnation, systematic restraint—none of these can truly save us."

ChinaSource Blog Posts

China Development Brief Is Surveying Foreign NGOs

Seeking to understand the effects of the overseas NGO law.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

ISM in Reverse in China?

We know of “ministry to international students.” But what if international students themselves were the ones sharing with their fellow students, many from unreached cultures? 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | August 16, 2018

[Outbound]: Noodle School  (August 13, 2018, Smart Shanghai) I know all of this about hand-pulled noodles, and more. And still, I am a noodle school dropout.

The Lantern

A Bridge for Christians in China and the World

August news from ChinaSource.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

How Partnerships Develop

“Partnership” can mean many different things to different people. An infographic from Missio Nexus provides a helpful framework for developing effective partnerships.

Chinese Church Voices

The Life and Ministry of Shen Yiping

Blessed Are Those Who Die in the Lord

“One heart, one life, and every last cent for the Lord.” Such was the slogan of Shen Yiping, a founding elder of the China Gospel Fellowship house church network. Shen Yiping died on July 14, 2018.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Remembering the 2008 Beijing Olympics

A Reading Round-up

Ten years ago I was in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games. I had been in the city since it was announced as the host, and watched it get ready— stadiums to construct; roads to build; subway lines to put in. The city transformed itself before our eyes.  

ChinaSource Blog Posts

TCKs in the 21st Century

What are the unique challeges facing the TCKs of today?

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | August 9, 2018

Remaking China’s Civil Society in the Xi Jinping Era (August 2, 2018, China File) Xi is advancing an ambitious effort to remake civil society in the Party-state’s image.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

3 Questions: Migration and Public Theology in China

A conversation with sociologist and author Li Ma.

Chinese Church Voices

Providing a Refuge from the Red Light District

The story of one Christian ministry doing difficult but life-changing work in China’s red light districts.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

I’m Off to Fix Something

This tendency towards fixing (be it personal or societal) can often be a cultural clash point. We look around and see so much that we don’t understand and the “why” questions start bubbling to the surface. Is our motivation to fix what we perceive as broken, or to learn how the society is organized...

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Plastic China

A Film Review

A glimpse of how two families live their lives recycling plastic waste in China. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | August 2, 2018

How a Chinese cook helped establish Yosemite and the National Park Service (July 22, 2018, NBC News) “Hundreds of Chinese go to Yosemite. ... Imagine what the experience would be for them if they knew that Chinese worked on these roads over a hundred years ago.”

ChinaSource Blog Posts

China’s New Approach to Religion

Implications for the Church

What are the new challenges facing Christians in China?

Chinese Church Voices

The Struggles of the Chinese Rural Church

The pastor of a rural congregation shares the challenges his church faces. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

5 China-related Podcast Episodes for Your Summer Listening

Happy Listening!

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The Three Cultures of a Third Culture Kid

TCKs do not grow up in any one culture, but in between them, under the influence of multiple cultures.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | July 26, 2018

Airlines comply with demand from China that Taiwan not be referred to as a sovereign nation  (July 25, 2018, The Los Angeles Times) U.S. airlines have begun to comply with a Chinese demand that Taiwan be referred to as a part of China. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

An Effective Bridge

Today the question foreign organizations are asking (or should be asking) is how to serve with the church in China.

Chinese Church Voices

The Testimony of a Pastor’s Wife

A pastor shares his grandmother’s moving testimony as a shimu, pastor’s wife, in a time of war and hardship, and how she impacted his call to ministry.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Summer Reading: 5 "Lighter Fare" Books

Some perfect holiday reading for the mountains or the beaches, or anywhere you find yourself this summer!

ChinaSource Blog Posts

China from Above

It’s time for a mid-summer tour of China—from the air!

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | July 19, 2018

Looking Through the Eyes of China’s Surveillance State (July 16, 2018, The New York Times) Testing the surveillance methods used in the Zhengzhou train station during Spring Festival. 

The Lantern

Building Bridges

July news from ChinaSource.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Some Additions to the Summer Bookshelf

For those looking for more than light reading!

Chinese Church Voices

The People and Places of Chinese Soccer

China’s long history with soccer and the influence of missionaries in its modern development.  

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Jesus: The Path to Human Flourishing

A Book Review

An excellent book for anyone who engages with cultural Chinese or who is doing the challenging work of contextualization. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Home-Based Community Support and the Expatriate in China

Why do some expatriates in China have more positive experiences than others? 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | July 12, 2018

Love in an Old Climate (July 7, 2018, The World of Chinese) What is it like to face the end of one’s life—and see one’s loved ones grow old—in a country with an imperfect medical system?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Unpacking China’s Cities

China’s urbanization today is less about the largest cities that often make the headlines, and more about a host of smaller, yet faster growing, metropolises that will be home to the majority of Chinese in the coming decades.

Chinese Church Voices

Listening to Pastors in China, Part 3

How to better care for Chinese pastors and how they can care for one another. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Get Back in the Sandbox!

Is Christianity being singled out for pressure, harassment, and restriction. Or is part of something bigger?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Preparing to Teach English in China?

Training and tools to help you get ready.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | July 5, 2018

China’s Belt and Road: Exporting Evangelism? (July 4, 2018, The Diplomat) Despite Beijing’s own misgivings about religion and proselytization, it appears to have no qualms in supplying the rest of the world with religious literature.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Triple Espresso Meets the New Normal

It is in the everyday lives of China’s believers that we can begin to understand the perseverance of a church that remains steadfast amidst change and uncertainty.

Chinese Church Voices

Listening to Pastors in China, Part 2

Chinese pastors share personal stories of how God has worked in their lives and through their ministries.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Understanding the Chinese Communist Party

Understanding the role of the CCP in Chinese society and how it functions is crucial. Here are resources to help.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Outsourced Children

A Book Review

A must-read for anyone involved with orphaned or abandoned children and the programs that care for them in China. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | June 28, 2018

Meet the five urban Chinas  (June 20, 2018, Brookings) While China’s cities are at the frontier of global growth, many of them are still little known to the world.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Going Global

To engage with China’s church today means not only connecting with what Chinese Christians are doing in China, but also with what they are doing outside China.

Chinese Church Voices

Listening to Pastors in China, Part 1

What challenges do Chinese pastors face? How do they find support in the church? From other pastors? The journal ChurchChina recently published an article detailing these issues with interviews from prominent pastors in China. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

ZGBriefs FAQ

Everything you wanted to know about ZGBriefs but were afraid to ask.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Praying for the Unreached in China

Tools for those who pray for China—including a month's worth of China-focused items for July.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | June 21, 2018

The Hidden History of Shanghai’s Jewish Quarter  (June 13, 2018, Atlas Obscura) When the world refused to let in Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, Shanghai was the only place on earth willing to accept them with or without papers. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

China’s Next Big Thing

China is complicated. Good questions about China beget more questions. Sorting out the complexity is not easy, but for someone wanting to get a handle on the key trends shaping China and impacting China’s church, this podcast is a great place to start.

The Lantern

Feeling the Pulse of China

June news from ChinaSource.

Chinese Church Voices

Peace in Detention

An account in three points by a believer who was detained in Chengdu.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Denomination Names in Chinese

What, you might be wondering, are the Chinese names for some of the various denominations and sects in China?

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Returnee Referral Systems

Connecting returnees—what are the critical success factors?

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | June 14, 2018

How Bad Is Facebook’s New China Problem? (June 6, 2018, The Atlantic) A Chinese tech giant with connections to the government appears to be among Facebook’s partners in a data-sharing program.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Looking at the Questions beneath the Surface

Swirling beneath the surface discussion of denominations—how they are defined, their relationship to the indigenous Chinese church, and whether or not they are needed—are some core questions regarding the fundamental nature of Christian community.

Chinese Church Voices

Encouragement for the "Gaokao" and for Life

"Do not be afraid because God is with you! It is a joy to be tested because Jesus is in you!"

ChinaSource Quarterlies

Denominationalism in China

Vol. 20, No. 2

Summer 2018

Articles

Let’s Be Honest about Denominationalism in China

The guest editor's perspective.

Lead Article

Denominationalism or Nondenominationalism?

Is There a Third Way?

The author looks at the history of denominationalism in China and discusses what being part of a denomination means.

Supporting Article

The Waning of a Pragmatic Cosmopolitanism

Western Denominations in the Views of Cheng Jingyi and Ni Tuosheng

Sun considers the differences between the views of Cheng and Ni regarding denominations in the first half of the twentieth century.

Articles

The Shaping of Christianity in China Today

A Book Review

Two book reviews provide Eastern (WANG Jun ) and Western (Richard Cook) perspectives on Surviving the State, Remaking the Church: A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China by Li Ma and Jin Li in which the responses to faith by Chinese Christians in mainland China since 1949 are explored through many interviews.

Supporting Article

The Influence of Denominations on Church Organizational Structure in China

The issues of theological stance and church governance that impact the decision of whether or not to be a part of a denomination are discussed.

Articles

Questions Beneath the Surface

In this issue of ChinaSource Quarterly, husband and wife team, Li Ma and Jin Li, bring together valuable perspectives, primarily from mainland Chinese Christian thinkers, on the emergence of denominations within the contemporary Chinese church.

Supporting Article

Denominationalism—A Double-edged Sword

The author alerts us to the dangers that denominationalism can bring, especially with a new generation of educated, urban Christians who desire to pursue godliness.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The Politics of Protestant Churches and the Party-State in China

A Book Review

In a society where religious life is tightly proscribed and managed by the Party-State, how is it that so many independent (“illegal, but free”) churches have sprung up and not only survived, but thrived?

Articles

The Collected Works of Watchman Nee

The books, articles, and sermons of Watchman Nee are available online in both Chinese and English. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

What is Chinese Christianity?

And who gets to decide?

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | June 7, 2018

Tiananmen Square, A 'Watershed' For Chinese Conversions to Christianity (June 4, 2018, WBUR) It marked the beginning of "a quiet spiritual revolution" among many Chinese, who equated Christianity with modernity.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

For and Against Denominations in China

ChinaSource looks at denominationalism in China in the coming summer issue of ChinaSource Quarterly.

Chinese Church Voices

Audio Now Available for Chinese New Hymnal

The Yanjing Theological Seminary student choir singing the hymns of the New Hymnal—a resource for churches in China.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

It’s All about Serving Well

A framework with which to process the complexities of China, as well as tools to navigate the myriad of cultural differences you will  experience in China.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The China Hustle

A Film Review

A documentary about financial fraud, but one that requires discernment.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | May 31, 2018

Will China finally end its one-child policy? (May 23, 2018, Lowy Institute) Scrapping the one-child policy won’t undo the damage it’s caused over more than thirty years.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The Challenge of Contextualization

Another Perspective

In an atmosphere of increased social tightening, some younger Christians are asking whether some current expressions of the church might actually stand in the way of an effectively contextualized message that resonates with today’s urban Chinese.

Chinese Church Voices

Cults on Social Media

A warning against false teachings being spread on WeChat.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

A "New" New Normal?

Management of religious affairs will be shifted from, SARA to the United Front Work Department—what questions should we be asking? 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Discipling Returnees

Returnees need an environment that will help them continue their journey of faith. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | May 24, 2018

Baozi vs. Jiaozi (May 20, 2018, Transparent Language) Both are cheap, delicious little bundles of joy, so you really can’t go wrong either way.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

China’s Uyghurs

What You Need to Know

A brief but instructive history from the Oxford Research Encyclopedia.

Chinese Church Voices

10 Women Who Served China

Ten pioneering Western female missionaries to China who with their Chinese co-laborers made significant  contributions to missions work in China.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Suzhou!

Suzhou—the Venice of the East!

ChinaSource Blog Posts

3 Questions: Tsern TEFL Scholarship

A New Scholarship for English Teachers Preparing for Careers in China

A conversation with Dr. Mary Shepard Wong, Director of Field-based TESOL Programs at Azusa Pacific University.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | May 17, 2018

How China is trying to impose Islam with Chinese characteristics in the Hui Muslim heartland(May 14, 2018, South China Morning Post) Calls to prayer are now banned in Yinchuan on the grounds of noise pollution.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

A New Vision for a New Era

Reflecting on a new era.

The Lantern

It Is Indeed a New Era

May news from ChinaSource.

Chinese Church Voices

When the Police Come Knocking

A Guide for Churches

Guidelines for pastors and church staff on how the church should respond to government intervention, including what to do when the police come knocking at your door.

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Christians and Confucians on Human Nature: A Reader Responds

In short, a strong parallel is evident in the many aspects of Confucius’ teachings and the redemptive gospel in addressing the inadequacy of the human condition. However, what has fallen short in Confucius’ solution was his optimism in the very nature of humanity that needs restoration. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

The Wenchuan Earthquake—10 Years Later

On May 12, 2008, the ground began to shake in Sichuan Province. By the time it stopped, nearly 100,000 people had lost their lives.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | May 10, 2018

The Chinese American Protestant Christians of Flushing, Queens (May 4, 2018, NYC Religions) Flushing’s Christian churches are becoming global hubs for Chinese evangelical Christians. 

ChinaSource Blog Posts

Persecution or Potential?

The voice of one of many Chinese Christians who are calling for believers to step into the NGO space as a means of extending the church’s witness in society and establishing its credibility in the eyes of the government.

Chinese Church Voices

What Healthy Churches Ought to Look Like

A Three-self church pastor in Wenzhou writes about four practical concepts for developing healthy churches.

Blog Entries

Great Books of China

A Book Review

In this anthology of sixty-six works, Frances Wood provides a succinct but rich overview of the “doings” of the oldest continuous civilization on earth.

Blog Entries

Maineland

A Film Review

What happens when you take wealthy urban high school students and drop them down in a small town in Maine?

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | May 3, 2018

Grid Management and Social Control in China (April 29, 2018, China Policy Institute) The adoption of grid management signals the government’s tightened monitoring of society in China.

Blog Entries

Who Is Doing Public Theology in China?

A Book Review

A review of Alexander Chow's Chinese Public Theology: Generational Shifts and Confucian Imagination in Chinese Christianity.

Chinese Church Voices

Is a New Door Opening for Churches?

In today’s context, the church cannot focus solely on how to cope with the problem of persecution.

Blog Entries

Public Transcripts and Official Agendas

You Want Sinicization? We Can Do Sinicization!

Blog Entries

Key Issues Impacting Returnees

Pre-return Preparation

Pre-return preparation—a key for assimilating returnee believers back into their families, churches, and society.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | April 26, 2018

Five ways China's past has shaped its present (April 20, 2018, BBC) It is striking how many echoes of China’s past can be found in its present.

Blog Entries

Following the Belt and Road

Mention China’s emerging missions movement, and the topic of China’s Belt and Road Initiative will almost surely follow. 

Chinese Church Voices

Chinese Christians and the Arts

"In this age, saturated with postmodern and post-postmodern cultural symbols, if the church cannot pastor a community of artists with the gospel, then we lose a great opportunity for the gospel to dialogue with the culture."

Blog Entries

Religion in China—By the Numbers

Some interesting statistics from the new government White Paper on religious belief and practice in China. 

Blog Entries

Have You Eaten?

Memorable meals with students and friends.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | April 19, 2018

Why Christian High Schools Are Filling with Atheist Students(February 20, 2018, Christianity Today) Chinese parents send their children to America out of frustration with their own highly competitive and narrowly tracked education system.  

Blog Entries

Changing Dynamics of Church Growth in China

What might affect church growth in China today?

The Lantern

New but Not Normal

April news from ChinaSource.

Chinese Church Voices

Pastoring Those Who Face Sexual Temptation

As we face temptation, we must learn to deal with ourselves and put to death the “old man.” In doing so, we must not declare surrender so lightly—let us rather fight at all costs, and ask the Lord to increase our strength.

Blog Entries

Teaching with Faith and Professionalism

A Book Review

""For foreign Christian English teachers to function effectively, a growing attention to professionalism in work and witness is needed." This book addresses that need.

Blog Entries

If You Sell and I Give Away—Can We Still Be Friends?

Sell, sort, ship, give away, or leave by the curb? What do we do with our stuff when it is time to move?

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | April 12, 2018

China’s Communist Party Takes (Even More) Control of the Media: A ChinaFile Conversation (April 11, 2018, China File) What does this change mean? Various experts weigh in. 

Blog Entries

Out of China: How the Chinese Ended the Era of Domination

A Book Review

A very helpful resource and a reminder that one dare not approach China without having done one’s history homework!

Chinese Church Voices

Celebrating Holy Week in China

Many churches in China marked Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday with special worship services. Here are pictures from two of the services.

Blog Entries

Bibles in China: The Gray Zone Shrinks

Bibles are now no longer for sale online in China, and that is, indeed, bad news. But we need to be clear what hasn’t happened and what has happened. 

Blog Entries

Wangdrak’s Rain Boots

A Film Review

For a glimpse of Tibet, for a good story about childhood struggles and a precious friendship, or just for the opportunity to see how something as simple as rain can turn a town upside down, this is a worthy watch.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | April 5, 2018

China’s online retailers pull Bible from shelves as Beijing gets strict on sale of holy text (April 5, 2018, South China Morning Post) The authorities are no longer looking the other way when it comes to selling Bibles online.

Blog Entries

7 Trends: Why You Need to Pay Attention

The lines for foreign involvement in China are being redrawn, it seems, on an almost daily basis. Being aware of this changing environment is crucial for those who seek to remain relevant.

Chinese Church Voices

Being the Chinese Church in the Face of Growing Political Uncertainty

Chinese Christians are asking how they should respond to the new religious regulations. Here is one pastor's response.

Blog Entries

Goodbye, SARA

The State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) will be absorbed by the Party’s United Front Work Department.

Blog Entries

复活节快乐! Happy Easter!

A blessed Easter to you from ChinaSource!

Blog Entries

Contextualization—A Necessity, Not an Option

If we wish to participate cross-culturally in God’s work of transformation, then we must allow the specific context of our host culture to determine the kinds of contributions we make.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | March 29, 2018

Nobody Knows Anything About China (March 21, 2018, Foreign Policy) We don’t know China because most information is unreliable, partial, and/or distorted.

Blog Entries

Global Chinese Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity

A Book Review

A superb book about a very significant topic.

Chinese Church Voices

Faith on the Ice

The Story of Li Yan

Li Yan—the head coach of the Chinese short track ice skating team who quietly prays during competition, “God is my stronghold, I have no fear.” 

Blog Entries

Mastering Mandarin Pronunciation

A New Resource

You can learn to pronounce Mandarin accurately!

Blog Entries

Home, James

A Book Recommendation

"It takes more than a passport to feel at home."

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | March 22, 2018

The Foreign Missionaries Who First Turned a Lens on China (March 16, 2018, Sixth Tone) Very few Chinese people owned cameras at this time. Of even greater value than the photographs themselves was the fact that the missionaries were focusing the lens on what Chinese people considered extremely mundane, looking at...

Blog Entries

Chinese Culture and Christian Stewardship

Chinese believers respond to biblical stewardship.

Books

One Gospel for All Nations: A Practical Approach to Biblical Contextualization

By Jackson Wu The Bible tells us what to believe—the gospel. It also shows how to contextualize the gospel? In One Gospel for All Nations, Jackson Wu explains practically why we must not choose between the Bible and culture highlights implications for both missionaries and theologians. Contextualization should be practical, not pragmatic; theological,...

Books

Saving God's Face: A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame

EMS Dissertation Series

By Jackson Wu Years ago, the author had a startling realization. Theologians and pastors have long taught on the glory of God and its central importance in the Bible. However, because he was living in East Asia, it also dawned on the author that this sort of talk about God’s...

The Lantern

Putting Events into Perspective

March news from ChinaSource.

Chinese Church Voices

Baptized at 102

  “I am finally baptized. I have peace believing in Jesus.”

CSQ Article

Advance and Retreat

Opportunities and Challenges of Han Mission Work among Ethnic Minorities

A worker among ethnic minorities, Ella provides a brief summary of some advantages, challenges, and theological considerations she has experienced.

CSQ Article

A Pastoral Perspective on Contextualization

An Interview with Pastor "Peter"

The guest editor interviews a pastor from eastern China on the topic of contextualization.

CSQ Article

Communicating the Gospel with Power among China’s Animistic Peoples

Roland defines animism, recognizes the anxieties of animistic peoples, and considers three areas of importance when applying the gospel to them.

CSQ Article

Traditional Culture’s Effect on China’s Younger Generations

The author looks at how Chinese youth today deal with filial piety and marriage as they feel both the tug of traditional cultural and the pull of other perceived “goods” in the larger complex, cultural environment of today’s China.

CSQ Article

Union with Christ and Contextualization in China

Dr. Sun proposes that the theological concept of “union with Christ” has elements that intersect with Chinese culture and can aid in presenting the gospel.

CSQ Article

Might Christians and Confucians Actually Agree about Human Nature?

For centuries, both Christianity and Confucianism have each sought to reconcile two families of ideas within their belief systems. The author suggests that these two ideologies may have a great deal in common.

Articles

Contextualization Mediates History and Meaning

As Wendel Sun writes in this issue of ChinaSource Quarterly, most Christians serving cross-culturally have a strong desire to faithfully and meaningfully communicate the gospel. To accurately convey the truth of the gospel in terms that are understandable in the target culture, one needs a deep understanding both of Scripture...

ChinaSource Quarterlies

Contextualization and the Chinese Church

Vol. 20, No. 1

Spring 2018

Articles

Contextualization—a Broader Perspective

From the guest editor's desk

Articles

Invisible Planets

Contextualization and worldview are partners. Chinese science fiction allows us to see Chinese worldviews that are often not easily observed in everyday life.

Blog Entries

Free eBook: 7 Trends Impacting Foreigners in China

If you are serving in China, or making plans to do so, this is definitely something you will want to read.

Articles

Resources for Further Reading on Contextualization

Suggestions for further reading about contextualization and the Chinese church.

Blog Entries

Funny or Beautiful?

Teaching is full of first impressions and often they are not what the teacher is expecting.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | March 15, 2018

Forbidden Feeds: Government Controls on Social Media in China (March 13, 2018, Pen) A look at how the Party monitors and controls online expression, particularly on social media platforms.

Blog Entries

History and Meaning

A sneak preview of the 2018 spring issue of ChinaSource Quarterly, "Contextualization and the Chinese Church."

Chinese Church Voices

As the Migration Pendulum Swings

Challenges Faced by Rural and Urban Churches

The temporary shift of church members from urban to rural and back to urban again during the Chinese New Year causes a Chinese Christian to reflect on the long-term challanges of China's urban migration. 

Blog Entries

We Write Books, Too

Browse our book page and see what ChinaSource contributors have written.

Ebooks

7 Trends Impacting Foreign Christians in China

The traditional roles of foreign Christians in China are changing. Foreign believers have traditionally served in one of two ways. They have sought to witness for Christ, or they have served the indigenous church directly, primarily in the field of training. Today the maturing of the church, are giving rise to...

Blog Entries

Newsletters as an Adventure?

A Book Review

Laughing, cringing, reminiscing, and learning; reading my way through Love, Amy: An Accidental Memoir told in Newsletters from China was indeed an adventure. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | March 8, 2018

China’s Cities Are Making Migrant Workers Profoundly Lonely (March 6, 2018, Sixth Tone) Shenzhen is hardly anyone’s laojia. Of the millions of people who live here, most have ties with the city that stretch back no further than a generation.

Blog Entries

3 Questions: The 2018 World Watch List

What is China's ranking? And why?

Chinese Church Voices

Pastoring Post-90s Christians

What difficulties do youth in China face today? How do Chinese youth pastors tackle ministry challenges? And the frustrations?

Blog Entries

Congress Is in Session

What to watch for at the National People’s Congress.

Blog Entries

Lost and Love

A Film Review

Hope in the face of devastating loss. A film about child trafficking in China.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | March 1, 2018

Xi Won’t Go: A ChinaFile Conversation (February 25, 2018, China File) What do constitutional changes mean for Chinese politics, political reform, and relations with the rest of the world?

Blog Entries

Billy Graham’s Legacy of Partnering

A less visible, but equally significant, contribution of Billy Graham.

Chinese Church Voices

Remembering Billy Graham in China

A look in pictures at the special ties Billy Graham had to China.

Blog Entries

Christian Olympians

What is it like to be a Christian athlete in China? 

Blog Entries

From Every Tribe and Language and People and Nation

Tools in English and Chinese for praying for unreached people groups.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | February 22, 2018

China’s Hui Muslims fearful Chinese New Year education ban a sign of curbs to come  (February 16, 2018, Reuters) a ban on young people engaging in religious education in mosques is an unwelcome interference in how they lead their lives.

Blog Entries

Partnering in China

A new resource from visionSynergy and ChinaSource

A conversation on effective partnering in the Chinese context.

The Lantern

New Year's Greetings from ChinaSource!

February news from ChinaSource.

Chinese Church Voices

Serving Those Away from Home

A church in Zhangzhou shares a meal with those unable to be with their families on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Blog Entries

Religious Regulations and the Cross

Believers in the West have much to learn about suffering from our brothers and sisters in China. 

Blog Entries

Fire, Noise, and Red! Happy New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year from the ChinaSource Team!

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | February 15, 2018

From imitation to innovation: How China became a tech superpower (February 13, 2018, Wired) In China, change comes so quickly that the future can arrive before the past is fully stripped away.

Blog Entries

Are China’s Churches Too Much Alike?

Pastor Wang Zhenmin says homogenization is one of the major crises facing China’s church.

Chinese Church Voices

Do You Have a Message for Your 18-Year-Old Self?

Why at the end of 2017 was there a sudden flood of people posting photos of themselves when they were 18-years-old on Chinese social media? And what were the captions they were writing?

Blog Entries

China and the Vatican

After decades of a rift, things seem to be moving swiftly towards some type of agreement. But what is driving this, and why now?

Blog Entries

"One Gospel for All Nations"

A Book Review

Jackson Wu does not write about contextualization so much as he answers the question, “Practically, how do we contextualize the gospel?” 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | February 8, 2018

Possible deal between Vatican and China alarms many Catholics (February 2, 2018, The Washington Post) Reports that the Vatican and China have reached an agreement on appointing bishops have been greeted with consternation by many Catholics in China and Taiwan. 

Blog Entries

Is “Back to Jerusalem” Biblical?

The Gospel will be taken to nations by obedient servants who hear God’s voice and devote themselves wholeheartedly to mission. This issue cannot be solved by money or power. In order for Chinese Churches to become missional churches they need sound ministry, systematic training, and an effective mission strategy. Ezra Jin...

Chinese Church Voices

New Religious Regulations: Another View

Why the new regulations are necessary and why they contribute to the development of China.

Blog Entries

10 Quotes about China’s Rise and the Church

from Brent Fulton’s article about the rising influence of China and its impact on the Western church.

Blog Entries

China’s Fake Boyfriends

A Film Review

With Chinese New Year only two weeks away, there is definitely an energy in the air—shopping, planning trips home, booking dinners and gatherings. Underneath this flurry of festive activity lies a very real and difficult social struggle. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | February 1, 2018

China’s Rise and the Church’s Call (January 30, 2018, The Gospel Coalition) We need to welcome a newfound interdependence with the global church—including brothers and sisters in China.

Blog Entries

Not Exclusively Political: Learning from the Diversity of China’s Church

“TSPM or house church?”—often the first question asked about a particular church or pastor, in China.

Chinese Church Voices

Why Christians in China Must Prepare Themselves for the New Regulations on Religious Affairs

As a Chinese house church pastor who has studied church-state relations and followed religious legislation for a long time, I have the following five views toward these new regulations. Wang Yi

Blog Entries

Beijing!

So which is it? Beijing or Peking? Yes!

Blog Entries

A Winter Reading Recommendation

Find a warm, comfortable spot and enjoy this excerpt from Stranger in Every Land: Reflections of a Transcultural Adult in a Shrinking World.

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | January 25, 2018

How China Plans to Feed 1.4 Billion Growing Appetites (February 2018, National Geographic) As more Chinese crave Western-style diets, the booming nation rushes to industrialize an agricultural economy long built around small farms.

Blog Entries

China’s Mission Movement: A Call to Incarnation

Today the forces of urbanization have brought Han Chinese believers face-to-face with a diverse range of cultures, from international students and business people to members of the hundreds of ethnic groups resident within China’s borders. 

Chinese Church Voices

A Sojourner’s Story

I remember an auntie from Henan Province. She lived in the single-story district and prayed with us every day. She always prayed for Beijing and blessed Beijing. . . . She left for her hometown after a round of demolitions, or perhaps a forced migration.

Blog Entries

3 Questions: Jennifer Lin

An interview with the author of Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family.

Blog Entries

Supporting Children in Cross-Cultural Transition

A reader responds to "Kids in Transition."

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | January 18, 2018

Tea if by sea, cha if by land: Why the world only has two words for tea (January 11, 2018, Quartz) There are only two ways to say "tea" in the world and both versions come from China. 

Books

Surviving the State, Remaking the Church: A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China

Studies in Chinese Christianity Series

By Mary Li Ma and Jin Li Selected by the International Bulletin of Mission Research as one of the ten outstanding books of 2017 for Missions Studies, this sociological portrait presents how Chinese Christians have coped with life under a hostile regime over a span of different historical periods, and how Christian churches...

The Lantern

New Year, New Era

January news from ChinaSource.

Blog Entries

3 Questions: A New Look at Chinese Christians

A ChinaSource "3 Questions" interview with one of the authors of Surviving the State, Remaking the Church: A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China.

Chinese Church Voices

The Chinese Church Prepares for Missions

Experienced missions workers talk about challenges and opportunities for the Chinese church. 

Blog Entries

The Linfen Church Demolition

What We Know and What We Don’t Know

Is this part of a broad campaign or a local dispute? At this point, it’s hard to know for sure. 

Blog Entries

3 Observations

A Reader Responds to "Missions from China—A Maturing Movement"

What rings true and what needs to be challenged?

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | January 11, 2018

Livestreaming Country Life Is Turning Some Chinese Farmers into Celebrities (January 3, 2018, NPR) Each day, farmer Liu livestreams video of his life in rural Sichuan province to nearly 200,000 subscribers

Blog Entries

Pray for China in 2018

Seeking to facilitate strategic, comprehensive, and specific prayer for China.

Chinese Church Voices

Remembering the Life and Ministry of Rev. Wang Yongxin

In honor of a faithful servant of God.

Blog Entries

Want to Work in China?

How Do You Rate?

Top Talent? Professional Talent? Or Unskilled Worker?

Blog Entries

3 Questions: Where Bread and Benefit Intersect

Serving hearing-impaired children and adults in Changsha. 

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | January 4, 2018

99 Questions for Global Families (digging for gold in your own home) (January 2, 2018, The Culture Blend) This is what I’m finding — The questions may be simple but the answers are pure and priceless.

Blog Entries

China and the Church: 5 Trends to Watch in 2018

How the church weathers the uncertain days ahead will depend on a number of factors. Here are five areas to watch.

Chinese Church Voices

Chinese Church Voices—Top 10 Posts of 2017

The most read Chinese Church Voices posts for 2017.

Blog Entries

Happy New Year—2018!

Words from Habakkuk for the new year.