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Editor’s Note: A delegation of United Methodist
bishops and mission staff visited China in April to strengthen
existing ties with the Protestant church there. This third part of a
UMNS series — The Church in China — focuses on who is filling the pews today.
By Linda Bloom*
7:00 A.M. ET June 12, 2013 | BEIJING, China (UMNS)
Parishioners pray at the altar rail during worship at Mu'en Church in
Shanghai, China. Those who returned when the buildings were re-opened in
the 1980s after the Cultural Revolution are sharing the pews with new
converts and, increasingly, young worshippers. UMNS photos by Mike
DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
China’s historic Protestant churches are full again.
Today’s congregations, however, do not identify as part of the
mainline denominations that built them decades or even a century ago.
Most are registered through the post-denominational Three-Self
Patriotic Movement that has represented Chinese Protestants since the
1950s.
Parishioners who returned when the buildings were re-opened in the
1980s after the Cultural Revolution are sharing the pews with new
converts and, increasingly, young worshippers. Women are in the pulpit
and taking on other significant leadership roles.
At some historic churches, membership numbers are in the thousands,
not the hundreds. And, new Protestants church buildings are going up,
some with government assistance. The total number of Protestant churches
and meeting points in China exceeds 56,000, the China Christian
Council says.
Oldest Protestant church in Beijing
Beijing’s, Chongwenmen Church, founded as Asbury Church in 1870, is one of the city’s 21 Protestant churches.
The first to be built by American Methodists in northern China,
Asbury was destroyed by fire during the Boxer Rebellion against Western
influences in China, which particularly targeted missionaries and
Christian converts. Rebuilt in 1904, Chongwenmen is distinctive enough
to be classified as a “historical relic” by the Chinese government.
The church is part of the Hongou Hutong, a type of neighborhood
configuration of lanes and courtyards representative of Beijing culture
that has dwindled in the wake of new construction.
On the last Sunday morning in April, the church’s compound — a
cluster of buildings with an arched, castle-like entrance that enclose a
central courtyard — is bustling. The second of the morning’s services
in Mandarin has ended and the 10:30 a.m. worship is about to begin.
Korean worship is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., a class for “new believers”
meets at 2 p.m. and the final Mandarin service is at 7 p.m.
Senior Pastor Liu Cuimin , who started her ministry at Chongwenmen
in 1994, is part of a staff of 10 that is young and predominantly
female. They attend to the fellowships for youth, women, and
international believers, to Bible study and to prayer and spiritual
growth meetings,
During the nearly 30 years since the church reopened, membership has
grown to about 6,000. “We are living in a time that has been much
blessed by God,” Liu says.
International visitors are welcome. At the doorway to the sanctuary,
a “consultation desk for foreigners” offers headsets for translation
and copies of that day’s order of worship in English.
Below the wood-paneled ceiling, two projection screens offer
information on hymns and Bible readings, while a screen in an overflow
room visible behind the choir allows the people sitting there to see
the pulpit. Additional overflow space in the large basement brings the
seating capacity to nearly 2,000.
The historic Chongwenmen Church in Beijing, China, was established in
1870 by U.S. Methodists. Then known as Asbury Church, it was destroyed
by fire during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 and rebuilt in 1904.
View in Photo Gallery
The hymns, including “Blessed Assurance,” are familiar. Pastor Liu
Yan’s sermon on “The Holy and the Worldly,” stresses that “freedom and
truth come from Jesus Christ” and advises humbleness and acceptance. A
heart, just like a piece of land, can be rock hard or can be rich and
fertile, she preaches. Treat people with equality and do not judge
them, because only God can do that, she says.
In addition to established churches like Chongwenmen, some of the
100,000 registered Protestants in Beijing attend one of 500 meeting
points, according to the Beijing Christian Council. Such groups usually
involve less than 200 Christians who gather regularly for a service and
preaching by volunteers, with the assigned pastor stopping by once a
month.
From Methodist to post-denominational in Shanghai
Mu’en Church in central Shanghai also has its roots in Methodist mission work.
Originally established as Trinity church in 1874, it was rebuilt at
the turn of the 20th century with funding from the Moore family of
Kansas City and renamed Moore Memorial. As the congregation grew, a new
building was needed and the gothic structure of today was completed in
1931.
The Rev. Shi Qiqui, who retired as Mu’en’s pastor in 1998, was first
sent by the East China Conference to Moore Memorial before the
Cultural Revolution. He recalled its reopening on Sept. 2, 1979, for the
“Shanghai Praise” video produced by the China Christian Council in
2006.
Shi arrived at the church at 2 a.m. that day and, within an hour,
former members began to wait outside. “At 6 a.m., the church was opened
for worship and many people rushed into the sanctuary, some weeping
with joy,” he said. “The sanctuary was packed with hundreds of
worshippers.”
The revitalized church took the name Mu’en, which means “abundant
grace” in 1989. Today, the congregation is thriving, led by the Rev.
Qianli Jiang, a female pastor.
Shi — who, as an experienced musician, was part of a commission that
created the new Chinese hymnal — remains involved in church life, as
does his 30-year-old granddaughter, Shi Meiying, who works for the
China Christian Council.
Although she grew up in a religious family, Shi says she did not
take her decision to be a Christian lightly. When she was baptized in
2005, she said, “It was my own choice.”
She said she began to think seriously about her faith when she
started high school and was invited by a teacher to take part in a
course for pre-party members.
As a Communist Party member, she would be eligible for a nationwide
exam to enter university. “For high school students, it’s kind of a
precious chance,” she explained.
Because of her faith, Shi declined the invitation. Although the
teacher asked her to reconsider and discuss the opportunity with her
parents, she did not change her mind.
“I think God was always with me,” she said. “I think my life is fully guided and controlled by him.”
Fellowships draw young people
Young people new to the church may find regular worship services
rather conservative, but separate fellowship meetings may draw them in,
Shi said.
“They prefer to use a more relaxing or more contemporary style,” she
added. “That’s also a more effective way to attract young people to
the church.”
At Mo Chou Lu Church, a former Presbyterian congregation in Nanjing,
the 600 to 700 who attend the Saturday night service are mostly young,
drawn to discussions of topics like work, marriage and social life.
The Gothic-style building, dating from 1867 and rebuilt in 1936,
protected many people during the invasion of the Japanese Army in 1937
and was used as a printing facility for Chairman Mao Tse Tung’s “Little
Red Book” during the Cultural Revolution.
Saturday night’s worship is just one of seven services a week that
the nearly 5,000 members attend. About 300 are baptized each year at
Easter and Christmas. To be baptized, a new believer must attend worship
services every Sunday for a year and then apply for a preparation
class.
“Many (members) are highly educated and they’re actually becoming
younger and younger,” said Rev. Wang Xuefeng, one of five pastors on
staff.
*Bloom, a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in
New York, and Mike DuBose, UMNS photographer, accompanied a United
Methodist delegation to China in April. Follow Bloom at http://twitter.com/umcscribe.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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