Too often, we take God’s word for granted. There are a million options for Bible colors and styles, and too many translations to count. But watch what happens when Chinese Christians receive Bibles for the very first time.
In 1997, at age 18, I moved to Hong Kong to smuggle Bibles into China. For 6 months, I carried thousands of Bibles and other Christians literature across the border. Those Bibles were dispersed around the country, and I’d like to believe that the Bibles these Chinese Christians are opening in the video may have been the ones I smuggled into the country.
It’s an honor to stand behind the Chinese underground Church, inspiring them to reach their own nation with the gospel.
A Quick History Of The Rapid Boom Growth Of China’s Underground Church
China’s history is too long and tumultuous to recall in a single blog. So I’ll skip to 1949, when Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. Within a year, the China Inland Mission deemed that further work in China was impossible under the heavy persecution, and ordered all missionaries to leave. A “reluctant exodus” of missionaries left the country, leaving the indigenous churches to do their own administration, support, and propagation of the Christian faith.
Over the next three decades, the Chinese underground Church faced some of the most extreme forms of persecution for their faith in Jesus. Mission organizations worried that the end of Christianity had come to China.
But despite heavy persecution, the Christian Church grew by leaps and bounds.
Today it is estimated that there are 70 to 100 million Christians in China. There are now more Christians in China than there are communist party members.
Forced atheism created a vacuum of spiritual hunger, and at Within Reach Global, we have found the hearts of Chinese young people in the 21st century to be very open to the gospel. Every week at The Hub and The Bridge college student outreach centers, we see young people making decisions to follow Jesus.
I pray this video inspires you to see God’s favor upon your life today. I pray that it instills a deeper appreciation and love for God’s word.
The next time you open your Bible, may you be reminded of your brothers and sisters in China who are longing for the presence of God, and who are passionate about bringing his salvation message to every corner of their country.
Here’s another video about how Christians in China love the Bible.
