"The situation of ordained pastors in China is totally inadequate," said Rev. Ronald Wallace, associate secretary for International Ministries. With only one ordained minister to every 7,000 church members of the China Christian Council, educating clergy is a top priority – and something the Presbyterian church is supporting. By contrast, in Canada, there is one minister per 180 members. Despite China's severe lack of ministers, Wallace and his colleagues were impressed by the work of the council, which they witnessed during a visit to the Far East in April.
Wallace was accompanied by Rev. Ian Morrison, general secretary of the Life and Mission Agency, Rev. Sarah Kim, executive director, Women's Missionary Society, and Margaret McGillivray, WMS president. Together, they travelled to China on April 6 to 18 along with Anglican and United Church representatives. The three denominations enjoy a long-standing partnership with the China Christian Council, the umbrella organization that oversees government-recognized Protestant churches. Their visit was intended to celebrate and strengthen friendships between churches in Canada and China.
The three denominations sponsor doctoral candidates from China to study at the Toronto School of Theology. Currently, Chinese churches must rely on about 80,000 lay staff to fill pulpit holes. There is also a need for more Chinese bibles, particularly in minority languages and Old Testament translations. The CCC's Amity Press has published 25 million Bibles and 10 million hymnals to date. The Bibles are distributed easily and inexpensively.
The CCC is the melding of denominations brought to China by missionaries, and is an attempt to cast off Western influences in favour of one Chinese church. "It's a post-denominational movement," said Wallace. "They strive to deemphasize denominational differences."
There were only 700,000 recognized Protestants in China in 1949. Today, the official Protestant church members are about 16 million; unofficially the number could be as high as 50 million. There are an estimated eight million Catholics but the church has no official status because of the Vatican's relationship with Taiwan. It is estimated that more than 18,000 government-recognized church buildings are open for public worship. "We were impressed by what we saw in the church and in China," said Wallace. "The economy is experiencing incredible growth. It's just booming."
China's underground church movement remains restricted. About 25,000 Protestant groups meet in private homes today. Small prayer and Bible meetings are legal; however, if they grow to a certain size or meet in public venues without the government's approval, their actions are not allowed.
Despite restrictions, the government allows informal evangelism. "The government sees Christians as orderly, law-abiding, hard-working people," said Wallace. He said Christians easily tell their friends about Jesus and invite them to church, and often tell non-believers they will pray for them. It's what Ian Morrison calls "neighbourhood evangelism".
Christian leaders established ties with the government when communist rule took over in 1949. With the workings of the church significantly controlled, Christians either cooperated with the government's requirements to remain active, or refused and went underground. In an effort to ensure loyalty, the government established the Three Self Patriotic Movement in 1950. The vision was to become a church that was self-propagating, self-supporting and self-governing.
Change occurred again following the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), when religious freedoms were restored. In 1980, Anglican Bishop K.H. Ting announced that the movement's goals had been accomplished. Unsatisfied with achievement alone, Ting said it was necessary to do these things well, leading to the creation of the CCC. The council manages the work of the churches, and although it doesn't consider itself a denomination, it produces a catechism, hymn books, training manuals and supervises 18 seminaries.
As of March 1, the Regulations on Religious Affairs came into being, bringing the Chinese church further under the rule of law, to allegedly protect citizens' rights. The change remains controversial, but Wallace said the Chinese church welcomes it. The regulations do tighten restrictions in areas such as religious training, government approval before establishing a new church site and prohibiting preaching in public spaces outside a designated religious site. However, the regulations also give churches (and mosques, Buddhist monasteries and Daoist temples), rights and duties and clarifies who they are. Though allegedly assuring religious freedom, many argue it actually tightens the government's grip on the church.
