As China’s Christian Persecution Rages, Is Biblical Faith in Decline or Thriving in the Shadows?

David Curry, CEO of Global Christian Relief, an organization that helps Christians under duress around the globe, believes the church in China based on our methodology, is somewhere around 120 million,” Curry said, though definitive numbers are difficult to determine. If true, this would mean some estimates are off by almost 100 million people. One of the challenges, Curry said, is using self-identifying religious data inside a country that openly punishes Christianity and those who choose to publicly align with the faith. “They have self-identifying as one of the factors which make the number incredibly low,” he said. “Historically, the Chinese church has been underground.” While the church came above ground in recent decades, the rise of Chinese President Xi Jinping has created roadblocks and problems, with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) increasingly cracking down on the faithful. The government looks down upon those who attend church regularly, and children cannot be legally aligned with any faith tradition. “[President Xi has] become more like a dictator,” he said. “It’s gone back underground, because of the increased restrictions. So, to be self-identified as a Christian means to put yourself in the crosshairs of a lot of government surveillance and other things, because Christian behaviour is punished in their social score system, and they have a very sophisticated way of monitoring this.”

As CBN News has reported, the CCP is reportedly also attempting to rewrite the Bible in its own image, with officials in one area also testing out a new app demanding citizens pre-register before attending religious services. “When you ask people if they’re Christian, they’re not likely to just raise their hand, wave, and jump up and down, and say, ‘Yeah, count me in your survey,’ because they know what it means,” Curry said. Despite these challenges, Curry believes Christianity is, in all reality, increasing in China, with a healthy underground church continuing to grow.  “It’s under pressure … but the church of China is growing,” he said. “I think it’s healthy, despite a lot of the headwinds it’s facing right now.”

Curry said Chinese Christians could help believers in the West who are “in a mode of retreat” amid the cultural changes that have suddenly made those heralding biblical values persona non grata. “We’re in a defensive position,” he said. “And I think we need to look at the Chinese church and the church that’s under persecution in general as perhaps a model of how a church can grow in difficult times.”

We are fast approaching the Biblical prophesied last seven years before Jesus returns to Earth, to rescue the Saints and to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world. Persecution/Tribulation of Christians is prophesied to increase during the time the Antichrist will rule the world. Jesus has told us in advance so we will be prepared for the suffering knowing our redemption is close at hand.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:9-14

“Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:28