Resources from 2017
The Resource Library is where you will find the latest resources from across our publications.
ZGBriefs | July 6, 2017
China, House Churches, and the Growth of the Kingdom (June 29, 2017, Christianity Today)
What goes on in China matters to the Church worldwide; soon, it will be the country with the largest Christian population and, in time, it might have the world’s largest missionary force. When Jesus said He would build His Church, He surely had China in mind.
3 Questions: High-Impact Networks
A ChinaSource "3 Questions" interview with Kärin Butler Primuth, CEO of visionSynergy, discussing the characteristics of high-impact networks.
Responding to Despair, Part 1
"Blue Whale" or Christian Faith?
Chinese news sources report that teens in China have fallen victim to a social media “death game” that has its origins in Russia. This game preys on teens who suffer from depression and encourages them to commit suicide. Through threats and blackmail, teens are progressively drawn closer to danger.
The Christian journal Territory recently detailed the dark workings of the death game. The author of the article, A Qian, writes of his own experience with depression and how his faith played an instrumental role in understanding his depression. A Qian describes from a Chinese Christian perspective how the Christian faith provides good news and counters the dark hopelessness of the death game, particularly for Chinese teens.
Voices from Hong Kong
On the 20th Anniversary of the Hong Kong SAR
Were you hopeful or pessimistic about Hong Kong's future in 1997? How do you feel now on the 20th anniversary of the handover?
Contextualization—a Training Tool
A new resource on contextualization, honor, and shame from Jackson Wu.
ZGBriefs | June 29, 2017
Is a Buddhist Group Changing China? Or Is China Changing It? (June 24, 2017, The New York Times)
Across China, millions of people like Ms. Shen have begun participating in faith-based organizations like Fo Guang Shan. They aim to fill what they see as a moral vacuum left by attacks on traditional values over the past century, especially under Mao, and the nation’s embrace of a cutthroat form of capitalism.
Urbanization Visualized
We talk a lot about the massive urbanization that has taken place in China since the 1980s but what does it look like?
Take a Tour of 5 Historic Christian Sites in Hangzhou
Some of China’s most famous universities and hospitals were founded by Christian missionaries. Take a quick tour around some of the historic Christian sites in the southern city of Hangzhou with this article from Gospel Times. Once thriving with Christian presence, Hangzhou is a city where its past continues to come alive today.
Toward an Urban Church Theology
When I wrote China’s Urban Christians: A Light that Cannot be Hidden, it was with the conviction that massive urbanization in China had significant implications for China’s church. The emergence of a new kind of church in the city was not merely an extension of the experience of China’s primarily rural house church movements or of churches affiliated with the TSPM. Rather, a fresh set of dynamics was impacting the development of China’s newly forming urban Christian communities.
The latest issue of ChinaSource Quarterly, with its theme of urban church theology, delves into these dynamics. Guest editors Mary Ma and LI Jin have pulled together an impressively well-rounded look at the increasingly complex urban church environment.
Nurturing Marriages and Raising Children—Challenges for Chinese Missionaries
Family needs, particularly the needs of the spouse and children, are among the causes of the high attrition rate among Chinese long-term missionaries.