CHINA - Revival continues despite opposition
13/05/05 - World’s largest revival unhindered by official oppression
Chinese Christian Johnny Li has travelled to more than 30 countries, sharing the message of the suffering church in China. On the 18 June, he launches a UK tour at the Open Doors China Prayer Day in Manchester. In an interview with Open Doors UK, he tells us the hidden reality for many Christians in China.
Johnny Li was born in China, but he was forced to emigrate to Hong Kong as a young child during China's cultural revolution. He has been serving persecuted Christians in China since shortly after his dramatic conversion in 1972, at the age of 16, when he was a member of one of Hong Kong's notorious triad gangs. In 1996, Johnny was forced to emigrate to America, as it became too dangerous for him to continue his ministry in China. However, he says, "I don't know how, but eventually I will return to China to serve my people. It may be years away, but this is my calling.
The changing face of China
Johnny describes his China as a country of contrasts: it has some of the world's highest buildings and first-class road building facilities, with prosperous families living in modern, well-built accommodation, and the usual American fast food outlets. On the other hand, there are many dirt tracks and unpaved roads with entire villages living in caves. More than 70%, 900 million, of China's 1.3 billion people are farmers, who even the government admits are living below the poverty line.
Johnny observes, "China is changing rapidly, but if you really want to know China, you have to get away from the cities, main highways and travel along the dirt roads where you will see village after village with many, beautiful Christians.
In the cities, Christians worship with a great degree of freedom, but in many rural areas, they are threatened, beaten, imprisoned and tortured.
"So, many things in Beijing or China look just the same on the outside as they look in the UK, but there is a lot of persecution in places, hidden from view."
Hidden persecution
Johnny experienced this first hand during his visit to China last year: at the end of an Open Doors training seminar, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) surrounded the seminar building and then charged in and arrested the 20 students there.
Johnny had left moments earlier.
All 20 students were hospitalised due to PSB brutality during the arrests. They confiscated their Bibles, hymnals, spiritual books, clothing, blankets, Gospel CDs, video CDs and mobile phones. The Christians begged for the return of their Bibles but they were all burnt or destroyed.
The next morning, Johnny and the Open Doors team heard about the arrests and managed to ensure that all of the detainees were released, bar one who may be given a three-year labour camp sentence.
Johnny described how, following their release, the group encouraged each other and had felt honoured to suffer for Christ.
Their responses touched Johnny deeply.
A young mother with a 10-month old baby told him, "I have seen how my Lord suffered and how my leaders have suffered for Christ, but I have never experienced it. Brother Johnny - this is grace. We can experience the cross."
A young 16-year old student, sister Ching, described her reactions: "I was afraid and initially reported a false name and address. Then I went back to my cell and we began to sing, 'The Lord is my strength and I can trust in Him forever'.
"When I remembered stories of others who had suffered and been imprisoned for the Lord, I stopped being afraid and was filled with joy. I then went to report my real name and address to the authorities."
A mother and evangelist explained, "This is my third arrest and detention. The first two arrests happened when I was working in our rice fields. Police use the harvest period to arrest us and force us to pay high fines or we will lose our crops. Mostly, I work as an evangelist. I need to pay about £40 for my son's tuition per year, but I have learned how to live by faith.
"I have just lost my clothing, Bible, notes from my last three months of study and my mobile phone; but I am not afraid and I will continue to serve Him."
Overcoming faith
Johnny recounts many stories from other brave and dedicated Chinese evangelists, all aware that their activities could mean imprisonment and severe beatings, but they carry on regardless. Among them was a rural Christian recently imprisoned for owning a Bible; a prison guard broke all his fingers so he could never hold a Bible again.
When Johnny went to visit an evangelist called Phoebe, he discovered that she was back in a labour camp. However, he recalls her words the last time they met:
"We know that from the first day we serve the Lord, we will be pursued by the police, tortured, experience starvation, be threatened and put in prison. Don't you know that this is a whole package of serving Jesus Christ?"
She added, "I am never unhappy in prison. In prison I build a closer relationship with the Lord – and I can evangelise!"
Sister Wong and Brother Barnabus, also imprisoned for their faith, have similar testimonies of being given overcoming faith in their prison experiences. Brother Barnabus described being in a freezing cold cell in -30˚C temperatures with no winter clothing or even a blanket; yet he still proclaims, "God is good. That is why I continue to serve him."
Church growth
However, throughout all the persecution there are remarkable stories of changed lives and phenomenal church growth. Twenty-seven-year old Stephen, previously a drug addict and a gangster, was ready to commit suicide when he heard about Jesus. Wonderfully freed from his addiction, he now shares the Gospel with drug addicts, thieves, gangsters and prostitutes. Through this outreach, he established three churches in the past two months, and he is asking the Lord to double their number next year.
Stephen declares, "I am not afraid of the police. I did many bad things before I met the Lord, but they never caught me. Now, I've done many good things for the Lord. If the police arrest me now, they really must be mad!"
Brother So spent many years in prison for murder, and he used to terrorise his family and his village. Since becoming a Christian six years ago, he is a changed man and has established two churches in the past two months, one in a village where they had never heard the name of Jesus before. Brother So reports, "Now I am free, I am not afraid of persecution nor the police, for preaching Jesus. He has changed my life."
Equipping the church
Church growth is phenomenal in China with some experts saying that 3–4 million people are becoming Christians every year. However, exact figures are very had to come by. The official figures for the government controlled Three-self Church say that, on average, 2,000 new churches are established every year. The underground house-churches are growing at many times that rate.
However, in the whole country there are only 18 seminaries – not nearly enough – and church leaders are woefully unequipped and vulnerable to the false teachings of cults that abound in China.
That is one reason why, last year, Open Doors took 2.5 million training books, study Bibles and other pieces of literature into China and trained 6,500 Christians there.
One group of little children, praying desperately to have just one children's Bible to share in their village, particularly touched Johnny's heart. He relates, "They live in caves and were very dirty and very poor. All they had to live on was corn, bread and noodles. But they captured my heart. The children are so excited that Open Doors will be bringing them illustrated children's Bibles."
Johnny told how another group of villagers in a remote part of North China, all of whom are believers, were thrilled that the Open Doors team had come to visit as they never get visitors from other parts of China.
For more details of Johnny Li's UK tour, the Manchester China Prayer Day, or Open Doors' 7-year prayer campaign for China, go to www.opendoorsuk.org or phone 01993 885400.
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Open Doors strengthens persecuted Christians in over 45 countries across the world by:
- Training Church leaders and Christian workers
- Supplying Bibles, hymnals, Sunday School materials and other Christian literature
- Providing livelihood training and self-help opportunities
- Visiting, comforting and encouraging those who are suffering
- Raising awareness of the difficulties persecuted Christians face and mobilising prayer for them throughout the Western world.