1. Teach China’s Christians
Just over 40 years ago, the Bible was a banned book in China.
From 1966 until 1976, during the Cultural Revolution, any expression of religion was outlawed. Owning a Bible could land you in serious trouble. Copies of the Bible discovered by the Red Guards were confiscated and burned. Churches were closed, Christian worship was banned and some Christian pastors and leaders were imprisoned.
But today, in this majority atheist country, the Bible is a bestseller. Christianity is growing here faster than almost any country in the world-1. According to official figures there are at least 40 million Christians in the country and a million more come to faith every year-2. Within a generation, China could be the largest country with a Christian population-3.
It’s a remarkable story. And Bible Society have been at the heart of it. Over decades, through nurturing a relationship with government and working with the registered church, we have carved out a unique ministry in China.
Today we translate and distribute Bibles, teach people to read using God’s word, support the training of new pastors, and even advocate for the relevance of Scripture within public life among government officials, business leaders and academics.
Reference notes:
1-China is growing at a rate of 10.86% per year in China. Nepal is the only country where Christianity is growing faster, at 10.93% annually. Centre for the Study of Global Christianity, Christianity in its Global Context, June 2013
2-China Partnership
3-Fenggang Yang, Prof of sociology at Purdue University, USA, quoted in The Telegraph, April 2014
Teach China’s Christians
Help train church leaders
Photography by Clare Kendall

2. In China, the church is growing at such a phenomenal rate that someone comes to faith every 30 seconds.
But there’s a challenge. There’s only one theologically-trained pastor for every 6,700 Christians.
That’s like having just three church leaders serving a city the size of Southampton or Newcastle.

3. Can you imagine:
Sharing your church leader with 100 other congregations?
Only hearing your minister preach once every few months?
Only sharing communion once a year?
…That’s the picture for millions of Christians in China.

4. The rapid growth of the Church in China has thrown up challenges, not least among these is the desperate shortage of theologically-trained pastors.
Currently there’s just one theologically-trained pastor for every 6,700 Christians. Many churches are run by lay people with occasional visits from a pastor. Some Christians only share communion together once a year.
The reason? No one received a theological education during the Cultural Revolution, so there’s been a generation gap in the output of trained pastors. The church has been struggling to close the gap, and training rates have dramatically failed to keep pace with the huge numbers coming to faith each year.
The shortage of Bible teachers has led to a proliferation of cults across the country, as people misinterpret Scripture without challenge. There’s a need for quality resources for trainee pastors, better training, and investment in national and regional seminaries.
Photography by Clare Kendall

5. Yu Mei Ping, church goer (in photo)
Sixty-one year-old Pastor Liu is one of China’s few theologically-trained pastors. And with three others, he’s responsible for some 45,000 Christians, 44 churches with 244 congregations over more than 900 square miles.
This means that for each church there are approximately 5 congregations. He works tirelessly, often up to a 19-hour day, seven days a week, and rarely takes a day off.
Quote:
‘I understand that the pastor is busy… but when he comes, it nourishes us, I can’t imagine having our own pastor. Our church is not rich and we can’t afford it. The idea of having a pastor is an inexpressible joy.’
Yu Mei Ping, church goer (in photo)
Photography by Clare Kendall

6. In Long Ci village, 700 people are attending a Sunday service
In Long Ci village, 700 people are attending a Sunday service. The church is so overwhelmed that they are also laying the foundations of a new, larger building.
But they are also laying down foundations for its spiritual future, as 28-year-old Chen Jingchun, the Sunday School teacher, plans to go to Nanjing to train to be a pastor. ‘I couldn’t do my job without the training,’ he says. ‘I could try my best to love the kids. They would feel my love, but to teach the Bible I really need to be trained.’
He’ll attend Nanjing Union Theological Seminary (NJUTS), the only national level protestant theological college in China, which Bible Society has been supporting for many years. One hundred students are accepted every year, and it takes four years of study to be trained. For every person who gets a place, two are turned away.
Jingchun added, ‘I am just following what God has asked me to do. I know the training I receive will strengthen my faith and enable me to serve full-heartedly.’
‘I could try my best to love the kids. They would feel my love… but to teach the Bible I really need to be trained’. Chen Jingchun, Junior Church teacher
Photography by Clare Kendall

7. Xie Rongbin, theological student at Nanjing Union Theological Seminary
Quote: ‘We all feel like missionaries, that we must go back to our own churches and help as many believers as possible. Please pray for us. Pray for me.’
Xie Rongbin, theological student at Nanjing Union Theological Seminary
Your church can help make this possible by supporting the training of the next generation of China’s church leaders.
For example your church can make this possible. Your gifts could help:
create Bible libraries at three seminaries
run a two-week seminar for Bible teachers
provide scholarships for the promising research students
bring in Bible scholars from around the world for short-term teaching stints in China
Photography by Clare Kendall

8. Your support is needed to provide quality Bible training to more pastors - so they can serve the community and help Chinese Christians grow in faith and discipleship.
Where God is at work in China, millions are coming to faith.
The church needs more pastors and your church can help in this great need.
‘Jesus saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.’ Mark 6.34 (ESV)
Photography by Clare Kendall

9. £380 contributes to providing quality Bible training to Bible teachers and seminary students…
so they can serve their community and help Chinese Christians grow in faith and discipleship. 
We have an ambitious aim. By 2021 we want to provide 3,000 church leaders with the opportunity for deeper training and Bible education.
There’s an urgent need to provide quality Bible training to more ministers in China.
There are 2 ways to help:
Give: every gift of £380 contributes to providing quality Bible training to Bible teachers and seminary students, so they can serve their community and help Chinese Christians grow in faith and discipleship.*
Pray: for more leaders, better teaching, and pray against the rise of cults that emerge when people misinterpret Scripture without challenge.
*Your gift will be combined with other partners to contribute to the wider provision of training for church leaders in China.

10. Thank you for your support
For more information go to Biblesociety.org.uk
Photography by Clare Kendall
biblesociety.org.uk