The Book of Acts is being reenacted in the twenty-first century! The Chinese Church is growing faster than any other Church in history and the Western Church is awed by the power of God as evidenced by that growth.  What does this unparalleled movement to Christ mean in terms of ministry opportunities in China? For one thing, it means that the Chinese Church has a "good" problem. While more and more are being won to the Lord, there aren't enough trained pastors and leaders to shepherd and disciple the new believers.

Statistics are staggering when considering church growth in China. According to the China Christian Council (CCC), there are over 20 million Christians in China today. However, they admit that it is very difficult to know the exact number since most Christians live in the rural parts of the country where keeping accurate statistics are very difficult.  Nobody really knows the exact number.  Besides these, there are millions who worship in unregistered churches. However, two surveys, one done by China Partner and the other by Shanghai University, put the number between 38-40 million. One half belongs to registered churches and the other half to non-registered churches. Comparing China’s 700,000 Christians in 1950 to today’s 38-40 million gives a perspective of how fast the church has grown in the last 50+ years.

There are over 50,000 registered churches and “meeting points”; these figures do not include the myriad unregistered house churches. Unregistered churches and registered churches alike are growing at a phenomenal rate. For example, one church in Harbin has doubled its attendance every year since the eighties and now has more than 10,000 regular attendees. Another registered church in Beijing baptized over 400 new converts during one year.

While the Chinese Church is increasing at such unprecedented rates, its pastors and leaders are staggering under the weight of their responsibilities. Many pastors are old.  The good news is that the younger generation of Christian leaders is taking over responsibilities at their local congregations and theological schools.  And yet, in many rural areas of China there are pastors who have not had the chance to get seminary or Bible School training. There aren't enough pastors to keep up with the growing congregations in the rural areas let alone in the cities.  One pastor and a key leader in the China Christian Council (CCC) shared with us this statistic: there is one ordained pastor for every 10,000 believers. The pastors are overworked; few have any help from members in their congregations. They are also underpaid—salaries rarely cover their basic living needs.

Concomitantly, China's 23 seminaries, Bible schools and Bible training centers do not have the needed resources to fill this leadership gap. They can't train emerging leaders fast enough to keep up with church growth. There are currently only about 1,600 students enrolled in these schools annually. Hampered by a lack of facilities and funds, the schools must turn away more than half of all applicants. This has caused the CCC to think strategically as how to improve and add further training opportunities for those who want to receive theological training.  The CCC has started localized Bible Training Centers that usually meet in existing church buildings that are running training courses for lay workers.  It is hoped they will be able to help the overworked pastors in their spare time. 

The problem is compounded by the fact that the students themselves are equally ill equipped—it is not uncommon for these students to not have enough Bible study aids.

The good news is that the Bible is not an illegal book in China today.  In fact the government has given permission for Bibles to be printed in China since the early 80’s.  In 1987, the Amity Printing Company was opened in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.  Millions of Bibles and hymnals and basic Bible study materials have been printed since that time. 

The problem of an inadequately trained clergy and lack of Christian literature are more critical in the rural areas. Due to the lower educational level and poor understanding of the faith, many rural believers are easy prey for those who go about as ravening wolves in sheep's clothing. Their susceptibility to cults, heresies, and sects is particularly acute. One particular example reported by Amity News Service is the "Eastern Lightning" Sect, which has "spread like a scar across the whole of China" (ANS 12/3/97). This sect targets believers rather than unbelievers because it believes that "heaven's doors are already closed" so only those who already believe in God can be saved—if they readjust their thinking to that of the sect's; it takes over churches and erases all traces of the true faith. The sect does not believe in Christ or a triune God. Its central belief focuses on the second coming of a female Christ. After being trapped in this secret cult, many members give up jobs and sever ties to family and friends. Those who try to leave are brutally beaten and attacked.

Only with sound, biblically based teaching can the true church know and discern the lies of the enemy. Trained pastors, elders, and other leaders can help counteract these false teachings. This is one of the reasons why China Partner’s main focus, ever since its inception, is on training emerging Christian leaders so they are able to better identify such false teachings and combat them before they can gain a foothold in their communities. This can only be accomplished by instilling in them the importance of the Word of God, the teaching on the blood of Christ, prayer, and Bible study in their daily lives. Thus China Partner provides biblically based training, sound doctrinal studies, and other Bible study materials; and encouragement to those responsible for the full-time training of these men and women of God.