Two Main Principles
Before I present a brief description of the present (2000) condition of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in China, it is fitting to introduce the two main principles governing the state policy on religious affairs. Firstly, it is the Three-Self principles, namely self-administration, self-support, and self-propagation. In other words, it is the policy to maintain independence and to keep the initiative in one’s own hands in administrating the church activities. Independence does not mean self-isolation. In recent years the Christian church in China has been seeking to develop and maintain friendly relationship with overseas Christian groups. It also welcomes the overseas Christian churches to cooperate in serving the cause of God.
The policy of Three-Self and autonomy is to “cut off the relation with the imperialism and to get rid of the control of overseas mission boards over the Christian churches in China.” Therefore, the Christian churches in China cannot have any organizational and subordinately relation with overseas church organizations. Even after the return of Hong Kong to China, the churches in the mainland and those in Hong Kong, in their association with one another, have to adhere to the principle of “mutual non-subordination, mutual non-interference, and mutual respect.”
The Three-Self principles apply to the relationship not only between the churches within and outside China, but also at times among the churches within China itself. For example, in 1997, the municipal Religious Affairs Bureau of Guangzhou (廣州市)had such a regulation: all personnel of any religious organizations were not permitted to accept invitations to go beyond the city or come from outside to the city to engage in any religious activities if they had not prior approval by the bureau above the municipal level, and had not submitted written statement for the record in the bureau above the municipal. In many other cities there were similar regulations.
TSPM and CCC
The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM, 基督教三自愛國委員會), founded in 1954, is the organization to be in charge of the Protestant churches in China in accordance to the Three-Self principles. Since then, there had been an increase in religious activities. To deal with the matters on religious affairs that were correspondingly rampant, the China Christian Council (CCC, 中國基督教協會) came into being in 1980s. The CCC serves to unite and provide services for churches in China, such as formulating church order, encouraging theological education through seminaries and Bible schools, publishing Bibles and other Christian materials, and coordinating training programs for churches. The main functions of the TSPM are to implement the religious policy of the government and to serve as the intermediary between the Protestant churches and the government. In China the TSPM and the CCC are known colloquially as “lianghui” (兩會) which means literally two organizations or two associations.
The offices of these two organizations, from the national level down to the provincial, the municipal, and the county, are practically everywhere in China. In the beginning though there were two signboards in the same building, the officials were the same set of personnel. Since the 1990s, there are two separate sets of officers. Though both entities maintain separate standing committees, the distinctive roles of them are hard to distinguish due to overlapping of many duties.
1955 The Three-Self Patriotic Movement meeting
There is another interesting feature of the two entities. Although their national offices are in Shanghai, they set up another offices in Nanjing as “Nanjing Offices (寧辦).” [The old name of Nanjing was Jiangning (江寧)] The reason of setting up these offices was that Bishop Ding Guangxun (丁光訓, formerly known as K. H. Ting), a longtime leader of these organizations, was also president of Jingling Theological Seminary (金陵神學院) in Nanjing and was an old-timer in Nanjing. Although Bishop Ding is retired now, the Nanjing Offices still remain. The functions of the two entities were distributed between the offices in Shanghai and that in Nanjing. The Nanjing Offices are responsible for making contacts with religious groups outside China, including those in Hong Kong and Macao.
The second main principle governing the state policy on religious affairs in China is post denominationalism. It is based on the theory that denominationalism was an outgrowth of the control over Protestant churches of the old society in China by the foreign mission boards. In order to get rid of the confrontation among the various denominations and to strengthen the unification of all Christians, there should be no more denominationalism in China.
The feature of post denominationalism began to surface when Protestant churches of various denominations united in their combined worship in 1958. Believers of all denominations gathered on the same day (Sunday) in the same sanctuary for worship. Ministers of different denominations took turn to conduct the services. The sermons were to base on the common doctrines. The special doctrines of each denomination were to be discarded. The theological education and training were to follow the same policy.
This condition lasted until the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. During the Cultural Revolution, there was entirely no expression of religious life. Only a few faithful believers persistently held on their faith, and practiced their religion at home.
After the Cultural Revolution, the religious activities gradually revived. The Christians who held on their denominations began to make demand that their distinctive beliefs and practices be respected and taken care of. Now in various big cities in China, though Christians of different denominations still share the same sanctuary, members of each congregation have their own rites of worship. Ministers of their denomination conduct the worship services, and sermons are of their distinctive flavor. In some places each denomination even has its own venue for its activities. The relationship among the various denominations is to seek common ground while reserving differences as well as to respect each other. By now there are three denominations officially recognized. They are the Church Assembly Hall(小群, the Little Flock), the True Jesus Church (真耶穌教會) and the Seventh-day Adventist Church (基督復臨安息日會).As to the other main denominations in the past, they are now combined into one group.
As regards the theological education and training in the theological seminaries operated by the TSPM, the distinctive feature of post denominationalism is the norm. In some places, only the training of volunteer workers or some short-term training, deviation from the norm is permitted. In such cases, denominational courses are permitted. Sometimes the denominations are allowed to conduct such short-timed training. However, as far as the aspect of organizational framework is concerned, there should never be any denominational feature. The only exception is at the local church level. Since denominational distinctive rites of worship and religious activities are permitted at local church, it is reasonable to have the basic denominational bodies to be responsible for such activities. However, if there are several local churches of the same denomination within the same county or city, they are not permitted to have any organizational link. Hence it is difficult to coordinate their efforts in the Lord’s service.
Restriction of Religious Activities
In addition to the two main principles governing the policy on religious activities, the spreading of the gospel in China is restricted in many ways. Although Article 36 specifies that citizens have the right to believe in any religion, it also delineate that citizens have the right not to believe in any religion. In practice the emphasis of the freedom of holding no religious belief is far more than that of holding a religious belief. For example, religious activities are confined in the registered venue. Religious bodies are not permitted to engage in any educational activities. Nor are they permitted to evangelize among Communist party members, soldiers, or any youth below the age of 18. In addition to these regulations at the national level, there are regulations devised by party cadre in charge of religious affairs at local level. For instance, no new religious bodies are permitted to be organized if they did not exist before the liberation of China. But in some areas, the interpretation and application of national regulations are more lenient. Hence in the churches today, we see more and more young people and even children take part in religious activities.
Looking back of God’s cause in China, we notice that after 30 years of hardworking since 1902, our denomination had quite a healthy organization. There were one division, seven union missions, 30 local missions, one college, 14 academies, 16 hospitals and clinics, and one publishing house. But there were only 284 local congregations with 23,028 members.
In late 1948, the office of the China Division, due to the change of political situations, transferred to Hong Kong, and became the interim China Division. In the month of December the next year, the interim China Division came to an end. Its functions were given to the new China Division staffed entirely by national workers in Shanghai. However, this new division could not in a short time solve the problems of self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation.
In the spring of 1952, the China Division was not able to function because of denunciatory campaigns. All our hospitals, educational institutions, and the publishing house were taken over by government’s appointed units. Most of the union missions and local missions successively stopped to function. Only less than twenty workers of the South Zhejiang Mission (浙南區會) united to carry on the work. In 1952, they called a general constituency meeting. The delegates of this mission nominated the mission treasurer to be the new president. They divided the mission territory into six districts. The mission workers gave up their rights. Received only living allowances instead of salaries, these workers went everywhere to hold spiritual nurture meetings. As a result the membership enlarged. Up to now, the membership in the province of Zhejiang is still the highest in China.
Restoration of the Policy on Religious Affairs
In 1958, religious activities suffered severe impacts because of various political campaigns. Due to the “great union of churches for combined worship”, the Sabbath services went underground. In 1978, the policy on religious affairs was restored, churches were opened for worship. The cause of God gradually flourished and membership enlarged greatly. Scores of new chapels were built. Just as the churches in Zhejiang, our churches in various parts of the country passed through the same journey. It has been especially so during the last fifteen years. Due to the open and reform policy, our churches have grown tremulously. The following statistics testifies the growth of the Seventh-day Adventist church since 1995:
Year Number of Churches Membership
1995 1,685 199,823
1996 2,084 219,916
1997 2,456 235,227
1998 2,668 254,305
1999 2,708 280,380
2000 2,616 297,232
If we list the membership according to location, the following is the first ten provinces that have the most membership:
1. Zhejiang (浙江) 49,953
2. Jilin (吉林) 31,795
3. Jiangsu (江蘇) 30,426
4. Guangdong (廣東) 21,790
5. Anhui (安徽) 20,645
6. Henan (河南) 18,922
7. Fujian (福建) 18,601
8. Liaoning (遼寧) 14,840
9. Shaanxi (陝西) 13,203
10. Jiangxi (江西) 11,722
Reasons of Unprecedented Growth
The main reason of the unprecedented growth of our church and the rapid flourishing of the cause of God is the blessing of God and the abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Under the wonderful leading and guidance of God, many obstacles and limitations turn out to be a powerful help to the spreading of the gospel. The principles of the Three-Self policy deprive our Chinese believers of manpower, financial resources, and material assistance from abroad. So they have to rely on their own. In so doing their faith and reliance upon God are strengthened. As they find themselves coming to an impasse, they plead earnestly to the Lord for His guidance and help. Man’s extremity is really God’s beginning.
The church of God in China is in the post denominational era. As a result our church has lost many institutions and properties. From a long-term perspective, as far as the cause of God is concerned, it may be a blessing in disguise. Those who joined the church because of employment in the denominational institutions were sifted as wheat. Though the number remained were few. But they were really the faithful Adventists who held fast to their belief. They were like the 300 chosen men of Gideon. Under the leading of God, they built up a church with solid foundations. Without the duties of caring denominational institutions, they are able to put all their efforts on the front lines of the work.
The second reason of the rapid growth of our church in China is the active participation of lay members on the work. Brethren and sisters who have retired from their secular employment are able to work whole heartedly in the church ministry. Since they have regular pensions from their secular units, the church needs to pay them only the necessary expenditure relating to the ministry such as traveling expenses. Those who are not retired yet, are willing to spend much of their leisure time and energy for the church ministry. It is entirely voluntary in nature.
These full time and part-time volunteers usually have not undergone former theological or evangelical training. Neither have they obtained high level of education. Though their backgrounds and occupations are different, they all have one thing in common, that is they all have the love for the Lord and the church as well as the sacrificial spirit. After going through simple training, and by their diligent study of the Bible and the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy, and their fervent prayer for the help from God, they have become effective workers for God.
Personal evangelism is another reason of the rapid growth of the church in China. As there is no formal church organization and institutions, and no public evangelism is permitted, personal evangelism becomes the only way and also the most effective way of soul winning. After receiving the true light of the gospel, they share the precious message with their family members, relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Soon a family meeting place is established. As the number of attendants at the family meeting place increases to a certain level, another meeting place has to be established. This is due to the size of the meeting place as well as the government regulation. The process is like the natural division of cells. As a result, meeting places crop up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
There are other reasons for the rapid growth of the church in China, such as the diligent study of the Bible and the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy to build up an unmovable faith, an active godly prayerful life to build up a sold trust upon God, and God’s honor their faith by performing miracles for them, which in return strengthens their trust upon God. Though they do not have high level of theological attainment, nor do they have rich experience in shepherding, the Lord have been able to do great things through them, because they have childlike simple faith to trust in God.
Facing Many Challenges
Our church in China, of course, is facing many challenges. The greatest and the most urgent is to provide theological education and preaching training for our members. Whether they are volunteers or preachers, they all are in need of the education and training. Though this aspect of work has been going on in various part of China, we need a more comprehensive and more systematic education and training for our members. Another challenge closely interrelated with this aspect of work is the training and nurturing of leaders of our church, especially on pastoral care, church management, and leadership.
In the past, both volunteers and preachers only paid their attention on soul saving evangelism, and they have had been quite successful. But on the aspects of pastoral care and church management, they have received little education and training. As membership enlarges and church activities multiply, the lack of education and training will certainly have detrimental effect upon the church. It may impede the healthy growth of a church. If it is serious it may cause a split of a church, because the leader is not able to solve internal conflicts satisfactorily. There are several reasons when there is a split in a church, such as doctrinal differences, attitudinal differences toward the government or the Three-Self office, and personal factors. Whatever the reasons, if a church has no effectual pastoral care and management, the differences among the members will often cause great harm to the church.
Another challenge to our church in China is the publishing ministry. In the past, we paid attention only to providing our members the Bible and writings of the Spirit of Prophecy, to the neglect of other reading materials such as literature on devotion, Bible readings, Biblical exegesis, and pastoral care. We are especially in need of reading materials to help our members to solve their practical living problems such as marriage, family affairs, children education, personal finance management, time management, interpersonal relationship, and conflict solving.
Accompanying the rapid growth of membership and our work as a whole is the challenge of finances. The great need now is to build new churches. Several years ago it needed only a few thousands US dollars to build a fairly large church. As the national economy is rapidly developed, and the increase of living standard and prices of commodities, it now needs several tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands US dollars to construct a church to accommodate two or three hundred people. Due to the national open policy, building churches becomes a means to bring in foreign capital. One good thing about this matter is that the government at local level will give a quick approval for church building. The bad point is that the local government, in order to increase the foreign investment, will insist the building of a church larger than its actual need. As a result, it brings a great financial burden to the church..
The challenges we mentioned above, such as the training of volunteers and pastoral staff, the training of church leaders, and the publication of reading materials, require great amount of monetary support. As the national economy is developing rapidly, the financial needs of our church grow with time.
To maintain or improve the relations between the church and the government as well as with the Three-Self office is a special challenge faced by our church in China. Although the government and the Three-Self office have their policies and regulations, yet the interpretation and application of the policies and regulations vary with location and officials. Hence, the working relations of the church and the officials at various levels have a decided effect on our work. The crux of this matter is not to act contrary to the basic doctrines and principles of our church, to be in coordination with the polices of the government and the Three-Self office, and to render contribution to the society and the country.
As a result of the open policy pursued by the government, secularism, materialism, and “avarice-ism” are gradually flooding the Chinese society. Human hearts are more and more corrupted and hardened. The spreading of gospel will certainly meet with greater resistance and rejection. The progress of our work in the urban areas is already slower than that in the rural areas. In places of past economical development, the work is much slower than that in places of slow economical development. How to take advantage of the religious freedom derived from the open policy, and to quickly spread the gospel during this golden era before the entire society becomes thoroughly corrupted, is another challenge faced by the church in China today.