Paul Golf - The Coming Chinese Church: How Rising Faith in China Is Spilling Over Its Boundaries

THE COMING
CHINESE CHURCH

How Rising Faith in China
Is Spilling Over Its Boundaries

Paul Golf
with
Pastor Lee

Oxford, UK & Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Text copyright 2013 Paul Golf and Pastor Lee
This edition copyright 2013 Lion Hudson

The right of Paul Golf and Pastor Lee to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Monarch Books
an imprint of

Lion Hudson plc

Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road,

Oxford OX2 8DR, England

Email: monarch@lionhudson.com

www.lionhudson.com/monarch

ISBN 978 0 85721 331 0

e-ISBN 978 0 85721 475 1

First edition 2013

Acknowledgments

All Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, Todays New International Version. Copyright 2004 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers.

A member of the Hachette Livre UK Group. All rights reserved. TNIV is a registered trademark of International Bible Society. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible copyright 2004 Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

THE Chinese are coming!

Being in China amongst the believers had a profound effect on my life. I will never forget their passionate love for their Bibles and the gentle tears that flowed as they prayed. They live simple yet miraculous lives and through these pages you too can meet the Chinese church. Read this book and let their courage challenge you; the miracles amaze you; and their dedication inspire you to carry Jesus into our nations and see revival here too.

Rachel Hickson

Founder, Heartcry For Change

For all those, like ourselves, who have followed the growth of Christianity in China from afar, this is an inspirational book. Over the decades since China closed its doors as a nation, we have had to content ourselves with occasional stories leaking out of church growth and accompanying persecution.

Now that China in the twenty-first century is rising as a world power, it seems that Chinese Christianity is rising with it! It has been estimated that more people go to church in China than belong to the Communist party. If this is so, then surely Christianity has played its part in the growing confidence, economic growth, and international stature of this huge nation of China.

This book will show you some of the roots and shoots of what God is doing in China today! May it inspire much prayer.

Roger and Faith Forster

Founders of the Ichthus Christian Fellowship

This book reminds us again why we are fascinated by the history of the Chinese Church and the perseverance of its saints, for it captures the essence of Gods passion for all of us and His profound plans for the future of our world. The mission of these saints to take the gospel Back to Jerusalem will be strewn with much suffering and pain. That is why our fervent prayers and support in all forms must be given with equal measure of passion and zeal to match their courage.

Tan Sri Dr Francis Yeoh

Managing Director, YTL Corporation

This is a really important book, based on some intensive in-country research of the history and testimonies from the last generation of courageous Chinese missionaries, and then looking at the remarkable fruit of their ministry, and the implications for the world missionary movements. The Chinese are coming! I highly recommend this for your inspiration and encouragement.

Gordon Hickson

Chairman of Love China International and National Coordinator of Mahabba Network International

History is His story! Jesus Christ came personally into the world to die for mens sins, and now He calls on His servants to spread the gospel throughout the whole earth so that His work of salvation can be completed. It was through His faithful servants that the gospel came to the ancient land of China, and the perseverance and endurance of His servants even to the point of death, that has allowed the Chinese Church to grow and be established. For this we in China are exceedingly grateful!

My hope is that through the testimonies and the message of this book, those brothers and sisters who have all served China in hundreds of different ways may see the fruits of their labour and find reassurance that none of their efforts in Christ have been in vain. These stories are just an offering of firstfruits to God. My longing is that by the grace of God the Chinese Church might join hands with the rest of the world to spread the gospel with even more power and effectiveness, bringing even more glory to God!

Pastor Wang

Chairman of Beijing House Church Leaders Forum

Contents

Authors Preface

Offering a faithful and representative view of the Chinese Church in the twenty-first century is no simple task. Many books have already been written on the spread of Christianity in China, and many differing and at times starkly contrasting interpretations have been offered.

My own position as an author is somewhat unusual in that I am not a missionary, China-watcher, sociologist, or even someone who has spent extensive periods of time with the Chinese House Churches. From very early on in my Christian life, something implanted itself deep in my spirit concerning this mysterious civilization on the other side of the world and what God might be doing there. Somehow I found myself with the conviction that whatever it was, it would be deeply significant and instrumental in shaping the world of the new millennium. Even so, no one was more surprised than me when I found God calling me to invest four years of my life in studying Mandarin Chinese at Oxford University instead of attending theological college as was my intention.

It was through connecting with Gordon Hickson in Oxford that I was first introduced to Pastor Lee, the director of Love China International, described to me by Gordon as a world changer. Since completing my masters degree in conference interpreting and translation, I have had the privilege to work with Pastor Lee and his wife as both a translator and as a minister, seeking to create a bridge between the Church of East and West. The message and content of this book is an eclectic mix distilled from countless interviews, ministry trips, and late-night conversations with a wide spectrum of individuals, some of which have involved me, but all of which have involved Pastor Lee.

This seeks to be a prophetic book, looking not only to examine Chinas history or even its present, but asking God to breathe His revelation on its future. Although I am honoured to lend my abilities as a writer in giving a voice to that message, the credit for its substance belongs to the thousands of Chinese Church leaders, Western missionaries, and to Pastor Lee himself, who have all in unique ways laid down their lives in response to the call of God, and who in return have been entrusted with those secret things of God, each with different coloured tiles in the grand mosaic of revelation. For the sake of clarity, where the book refers to we or us, it is talking about Pastor Lee and myself and unless otherwise stated, I or me refers to the author.