When I was first interested in coming to China, I talked to a man who was sort of a missionary-evangelist. He was a loud voice for missions in America, and he also traveled around the world in leadership-training efforts. So I was surprised when he told me it was unnecessary to go to China as a missionary. He said, “Why would you go to China? They’re having revival there. Why not go somewhere workers are needed?” And since then, I’ve discovered that this idea of “revival in China” is universally prevalent. Except in China…
To make a statement like “China is having revival” requires hypocritically ignoring some very important issues with Christianity in China today. The hypocrisy-revealing truth is, most of the churches that get included in this so-called revival are of a type that a Bible-believer would never attend in America, with serious doctrinal errors and short-comings. Do these teaching sound like a church you’d attend?
“Among issues drawing criticism from evangelical Christians is the Local Church’s use of the term “mingling” to describe the relationship between God and believers (i.e., Christians become both divine and human like Jesus). Some evangelicals have also charged that the church compromises the Trinity doctrine by confusing the Persons of the Holy Spirit and the Son in a way similar to modalism.”
“…the Lord is moving mightily through miracles of divine protection, visions, healings, and angelic appearances. An outpouring of signs and wonders is challenging unbelievers to turn to Christ… The house churches of China are also a rebuke to our male-dominated hierarchies. Leadership has become strong among the so-called “laity,” and women in particular have been the dominant leaders. Arthur Glasser emphasizes how the modeling by missionary women played a significant part in the survival of Christianity under communism, and asserts that 85 percent of the pastoral leaders of China’s house churches are women.”
“We deny any doctrine that teaches the cessation of signs and wonders or the termination of the gifts of the Holy Spirit after the age of the apostles.”
Though none of these teachings reflect all of the churches in China, each one is from a different group which represents a significant number of the Christians in China’s statistics. And most Bible-believers would have some serious reservations about attending a church with these kinds of teachings. But in China, who really cares?
This “good-enough-for-them” theology is one of the worst forms of racism. If churches like this were (or probably are) growing in your city, would you describe your city as being in a stage of “revival”? The truth is, there’s plenty of groups that claims America is having a revival! So stop worrying about China… if they don’t need a church as good as yours. If they don’t need as much Bible truth as you. If their relationship with God can be second-class. If half a Gospel is enough for them.
Besides all this, the MOST liberal estimates about the number of Christians in China is under 7%! And that counts EVERYONE! So, fine, I give up… I’m just here for the 93%.
The Gospel in China 
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