Christian Publishing Boom in China

 
China's communist government may be constricting freedom of worship in some places, such as Beijing's Shouwang house church, but Chinese consumers are gaining access like never before to legally published books by best-selling American evangelical authors.
 
Since early April, the 1,000-member-strong Shouwang church has held services outdoors rain or shine, and eight of its pastors are under house arrest. The government, citing the church's lack of registration, pressured the church's landlord to cancel Shouwang's lease.
 
At the same time, there has been a surge across China in the availability of popular Christian titles by authors Rick Warren, Gary Chapman, and Beth Moore, as well as classic titles by C. S. Lewis and others. Statistics on Christian book sales are unreliable in China. But figures on Bible publishing provide one reliable snapshot of the phenomenal growth. Amity, the official publisher of Bibles inside China, increased Bible printing each year from 1998 (2.8 million) to 2008 (10 million). Other than Bibles, top sellers are Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life, with more than 100,000 in print, and the Francine Rivers novel Redeeming Love.
 
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Church in China Refuses to Give Up

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The faithful of the Protestant Shouwang Church yesterday gathered to pray in the streets of the Zhongguancun shopping area of Beijing, and the police arrested them. For the seventh consecutive Sunday.

Among those arrested are a woman over 80 years and a 2 year old, according to eyewitnesses. These two were released in the afternoon, but many others faithful remain in prison.

In recent weeks, police have arrested hundreds of faithful, the first Sunday April 10 a total of 169, and 50 over the second, and then every Sunday. Typically, they are placed under house arrest for the weekend to prevent them from meeting to pray. Six leaders of the Church have also been under house arrest, for over a month and a half.

From April 10 the faithful have been gathering in the streets Sunday after the authorities evicted them from their rented premises. The Church has sought approval for years, and in 2009 bought a building of 1,500 square meters for its activities, but the authorities prevented them from ever using it. In recent years the police have repeatedly driven the Church from premises for rent and each time the faithful have prayed outside until they found another place.

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Worship Music from China

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. - Psalm 18:32

This is a Christian worship video from China. The music recording is excellent. The animation is interesting to say the least. I think it shows that the mixture of western influences and Chinese culture create really unusual artistic forms. Enjoy.

Explosive Growth of Christianity in China

An explosion of religious belief has accompanied the last 30 years of economic reform in China -- and some estimates indicate that Christians now outnumber communists.

Here I Am to Worship in Mandarin

Recorded at the Chinese Bible Church of Springfield, Illinois.

Testimony of Christian Persecution in China

A testimony of a brother from China who faced serious persecution for the Gospel firsthand. He is now a teacher at Master's College and is working on a New Testament Commentary. Video courtesy of Grace to You: http://www.gty.org/.