Nine Significant Features of the Chinese House Church

In many Christian circles around the world today, the passion for the Great Commission has been lost. At the same time, we see that Western society in general is becoming more secular. The question can be asked, “Is the missions focus in the West not as strong because society has become more secular, or is society more secular because the vision for missions has been lost by the church?” It seems to be the latter. A church without vision lacks the inspiration and direction to make any real impact on society. In contrast, a new day has dawned in China, and a fresh vision has come to life. The vision lay dormant for decades, but it has awakened and is now being passed from person to person with excitement and zeal.

Even for outsiders, the Back to Jerusalem vision of the Chinese House Church is exciting because of what it represents:

• the rise and global impact of a church once thought to have been wiped out by the Chinese Communist regime
• the power of God to reach down and breathe life into absolute darkness in open defiance of what everyone thought to be reality
• a new wave that has been ordained to defy racist statements made by missiologists of past generations who thought the world could be reached by Western missionaries alone

The Back to Jerusalem vision is the unique Chinese version of the Great Commission that God is using to usher in the imminent return of Jesus Christ.

 

9. The Move of the Holy Spirit

In many ways, the Holy Spirit trumps all the other elements previously mentioned. If a sterile environment were to be created in which all the elements and characteristics listed above were added, revival still could not be created by human beings. Only the timing and movement of the Holy Spirit could have transformed the church in China in the ways we have seen. For whatever reason, the Spirit has chosen China to be used during this age. This special act of God’s sovereign will makes the underground Chinese House Church distinct.

These nine characteristics are by no means exhaustive. They are just a few elements that can help us to understand why the Chinese are experiencing the world’s largest revival and why they are focusing on the world’s largest missionary movement.

This revival will be hard to stop. In the event that they are imprisoned or killed, leaders throughout the nation have already designated their replacements, who are completely capable of maintaining the present levels of activity. These second-tier leaders are currently involved in training, administration, security, personnel logistics, fund-raising, and the distribution of materials. Generally, they operate with a great deal of autonomy in executing projects, because security issues prevent them from directly communicating with their leadership on a regular basis. They have very little autonomy when choosing direction and vision but much freedom to carry out orders once they have been given.

Tags: chinese, church, featured, house

Category: Church History, Spring 2018