Focus Nations: China

Prayer Needs: The Christian Church in China continues to prove that the Church grows rapidly and in strength when under persecution.

Please pray that the Church in China receives the help it needs from the Church in the West, in materials, and manpower. Please consider that you might be the answer to that prayer.

Geography: China is a vast land with climates from sub-arctic to tropical, and landscapes from the highest mountain plateaus in the Himalayas to the grassland of Inner Mongolia, the Gobi Desert and the lush tropical island of Hainan.

Ethnicity (People Groups): As varied as the landscape of China is, the people are even more diverse. China has 56 officially recognized people groups, the Han majority comprising 91% of the total population. The rest of the population is from the 55 recognized "nationalities". There are actually 456 distinct people groups. These people speak Putonghua, or Mandarin, as a common language, but local languages are used in the five Autonomous Regions. There are an estimated 470 languages with any number of dialects and subdialects.

History: China has one of the longest written histories of any nation on earth. Early on the Chinese took to writing down and passing on the history and wisdom of their ancestors. A deep reverence for a person's ancestors is still evident today. The history of the last twenty years in China is one of governmental corruption, war, occupation, anarchy, revolution, famine, protest, and, in the last fifteen to twenty years, economic reform and unprecedented economic growth.

Government: China's Communist government still maintains tight controls over the economy and the people of China. The atheistic government espoused religious freedom, but permits religion only in a controlled environment.

Church: The underground Christian house church movement in China is growing at an amazing rate. Facing persecution, these brave believers are not only standing up for Jesus Christ, but are engaging in a movement to bring the Gospel across Asia, and back to The Holy Land.

Need: There is a great need in China for missionaries to not only evangelize, but to disciple the new believers. The Church is growning so fast that many people are becoming pastors who have neither the training nor the materials to lead a house church. There are stories of young men and women being pastors simply because they have been a Christian longer than anyone else in their village, often for only a few months. Bibles, devotional and teaching materials, and worship materials are in great demand.

Cults: Another unfortunate consequence of the rapid growth, and lack of adequate trainning and materials is the rise of heretical sects and cults, many of which are becoming known in the west. Falun Gong and Eastern Lightning are dangerous sects that use violence and coercion to bring people into their sects. Eastern Lightning is also known for infiltration the house churches and harassing the people and sometimes even beating the pastors.