Overview
Slightly smaller than the United States, China has the world’s largest population of 1.3 billion.
Previously a world leader, China declined after its Cultural Revolution crippled the economy and took millions of lives.
Since 1978, however, China has shifted toward market economics and has risen as the world’s second largest economy. China has experienced the fastest growing church movement in history—from 2.7 million evangelicals in 1975 to over 75 million in 2010. Today, 6.24 percent of China’s population is evangelical.
As a side effect of rapid growth and past persecution, Christian leaders are scarce—in 2010, some groups reported only one trained leader for every 7,000 believers or even every 40,000 in some areas. A shortage of printed Bibles and literature has also afflicted the church, with some congregations sharing a single Bible. As a result, the Chinese church has been susceptible to false teaching.
Chinese culture suffers from growing materialism, rampant corruption, and the world’s highest number of suicides. Additionally, China’s birth restrictions have prompted roughly 23 million abortions per year, according to the U.S. State Department.
How You Can Make a Difference
Ways To Give
Evangelism & Discipleship
One of the many Bible schools assisted by Christian Aid Mission in China offers one- and two-year programs, with training primarily focused on evangelism and the cost of discipleship. Seven days a week, faculty lead morning prayers at 5 a.m. and evening prayers at 9p.m. Every Saturday, students divide into groups to evangelize their community. Due to the school’s excellent standing, home churches often invite students and faculty to preach and lead worship. They travel in pairs on bicycles to over 40 house churches in the school’s vicinity. Over 120 students graduate from this Bible school each year. Students become teachers at the school, return to serve in their home churches, or plant new churches in various regions throughout China. GIVE NOW to help evangelistic and discipleship ministries like this one in China.
Community Engagement
A Bible-based drug rehabilitation center founded in 2007 in Yunnan Province addresses the growing problem of drug abuse in the southern provinces, where heroin and other illicit drugs come across the border from Myanmar. The school’s 18-month program helps addicts recover through the living Word of God. Patients also learn vocational skills to help them reenter society. GIVE NOW to help community engagement ministries like this one in China.
Compassion
Brother Johnny, the leader of an indigenous Chinese ministry assisted by Christian Aid Mission, discovered a Buddhist orphanage housing 50 destitute Tibetan. Far from civilization and without modern technology, the orphaned children lived primitively, bathing only once every six months. Johnny’s burden for those children led him to return that same year with five other believers. The group worked to obtain, transport, and install a hot water heater at the orphanage. Their act of compassion has greatly improved the sanitary conditions at the orphanage and caused the Tibetan people to welcome them into their community. Johnny and his ministry team have also arranged to provide nutritious food to the orphanage, and are showing gospel films to groups of Tibetans interested in learning more about the gospel. GIVE NOW to help compassion ministries like this one in China.
Exclusive Stories from the Mission Field
Help Reach the Lost in China
A husband and wife team have begun leading one small group each in their pioneering church-planting efforts. One group has more than 20 people, while the other is made up of 15 young Christians. One of the ministry’s goals is to reach an ethnic group with gospel-loaded MP3 players in their native language. The team recently gave away nearly 70 MP3 players for kingdom expansion, just one of many ways they are making Christ known to people who might otherwise never hear of Him. Donations of $25 or $50 are sought for such evangelism and discipleship throughout the country. Pray that worship in truth and spirit will draw more people to faith in the Lord.
Help Form Strong Disciples in China
A once-strong church was decimated by outside influences, the latest being COVID-19 restrictions, and workers from a native ministry helped members first focus on growing closer to Christ and then trained them to serve the community. Gradually the church helped outsiders to transform their lives and combat the pandemic. Workers in other areas offered life skills classes using biblical principles that changed unruly students into disciplined youths responsive to God’s will. Donations are sought for such discipleship and gospel initiatives. Pray that new Christians and leaders would mutually encourage each other with their faith.
Equip Workers to Share Christ in China
Family members were appealing to several gods for healing from an illness they had suffered for many years when native Christian workers paid them a visit and shared the gospel. The family put their faith in Christ, and in later visits the workers continued to pray for them, seeing great improvement in their condition.
Bring the Message of Eternal Life in China
Forming new relationships and sharing the gospel, native missionaries recently baptized seven new Christians. Workers disciple them and others through private visits, and Christians also help to build each other up in small groups in homes.
Help Train Leaders in China
Learning leadership in hands-on ministry and practicing spiritual disciplines, students at a native ministry’s Bible school developed deep commitment and conviction. Among the spiritual disciplines students practiced was regular intercessory prayer for the needs of others.
Help Plant Gospel Seeds in China
Pandemic-related church shutdowns have expanded local missionaries’ reliance on small group meetings and home visits to share the gospel. Meantime, a new training center is helping workers who are serving minority ethnic groups to learn how to better reach them
