MMRC: The 'Right' China Strategy

The 'Right' China Strategy
by Justin D. Long

Last week, I talked about Harvest 2000 and the "right" strategy for America. This week, I want to begin taking a look at some of the World A countries and discussing what would be "right" for them.

Of course, no single strategy posed by any one agency will be the "right" or "only" strategy. When I speak of a "right" strategy, I am talking about a broad, cross-tradition, cross-denomination philosophy for ministry in a particular country. What characteristics should all strategies share? What ministry options should be taken into account? What segments of the population should or still need to be covered?

For this first case-study, we'll consider China. As it has the world's largest population, it seems a good place to start. China's huge numbers are sometimes hard to imagine, so I'll spend most of this issue helping us build a rough mental picture of life in the country.

China's population of 1.2 billion means 1 out of 5 people living on Earth today reside inside China. In fact, about 1 in 10 on our planet live on China's east coast. A population equivalent to the WHOLE of the United States lives in China's four eastern provinces of Shangdong, Hebei, Jiangsu and Anhui. (A population equivalent to the whole of Africa and South America live in the rest of China's provinces). To make this population manageable and not run out of space and resources, China's government has turned to a stiff birth-control policy. Each family (minorities excluded) can have one child. Many families have either abandoned or aborted female children in the hopes that in the future they will have a male child to carry on the family line.

Imagine:

1. Take the whole population of the USA, divide it roughly in four parts, and shoehorn each quarter into the states of Iowa, Nebraska, Georgia, and Virginia.

2. Take every tribe, language, and problem in Africa and South America, and put them in the other 47 states.

3. Imagine that most of the latest generation are male, have grown up without little religious or moral restraint, and have never had to share with siblings--the so-called "little emperor" generation, by all accounts selfish, materialistic, and concerned only with its own desires.

4. Change the American government from a republic to a dictatorship, and ban free expression and access to the media.

Now you have the beginnings of a rough picture of China. If you have a hard time imagining all this (since it is a bit abstract), think back instead to the last time you were in a shopping mall or at the beach. Now, imagine an extra 5 people for every person you saw.

The church in China has done a remarkable job to date. They've evangelized nearly half of their country--the equivalent of preaching the gospel to every person in the United States and Europe. (It's worth noting that most of those evangelized live in the eastern half.) However, it has taken them since the time of the early missionaries to do that much: nearly a century of effort. It is not unreasonable to expect evangelizing the other half to take at least another generation, and perhaps three or four. There are still huge problems facing the Chinese church, government repression not necessarily being the greatest of them. Other difficulties include general cultural prejudice against the minorities (and vice-versa), division, the lack of trained evangelists who can go cross-culturally, physical barriers and remoteness, and the lack of materials with which to evangelize (e.g. Bibles, tracts, et alia).

So what philosophical elements would make be part of the "right" strategy for China? Below I pose some potential elements, and then I invite you, the reader, to write in with thoughts and suggestions of your own.

One philosophical element would be an appropriate balance between expatriate and indigenous evangelists. A church that numbers only 6-7% of the total population will have difficulty evangelizing everyone, especially the minority groups--particularly given the cultural prejudice that tends to plague China's majority population.

A second element should be to utilize "mass" evangelism whenever possible, especially in support of one-on-one evangelism. China's population is so huge that we must think in terms of millions of radio listeners, millions of Bibles, millions of tracts, etc.

Third, the strategy must be able to duplicate itself (for security) and be self-replicating. We must plant a seed and watch it grow into a harvest, each seed of which can then be planted again. Otherwise, tens of millions will grow old and die before the Gospel ever reaches them.

A fourth strategy, which others can address far better than I, will be the need for discipleship and training programs. This element is perhaps the most important and one for which a great deal of consideration ought to be given immediately. If the church doubled tomorrow -- e.g., every church member in China won another person to the Lord -- would there be adequate training and discipleship for the new believers?

As I said, these points are just a start. I invite readers to write in with their suggestions and thoughts. Do you have an idea for a ministry, a concern for a particular ministry segment (e.g. the homeless) or an element of strategy that you think is important? Do you have an idea for mobilizing the church abroad in support of Chinese Christians? Ideas for what you personally can do? Write in, and we can encourage and help you. All of these thoughts and comments will be posted to the Reality Check Discussion forum, to be debated and considered. (If you don't want your comments posted, please indicate so in your e-mail).