China's Christian Millions

Fangcheng County in southern central Henan, China is an agricultural district with 926,000 inhabitants. 60 years ago, Henry Guinness, David Adeney and other missionaries of the China Inland Mission travelled by bicycle with Chinese colleagues throughout the villages, and small churches were planted.

Today, there are so many Christians that hostile cadres have labelled the area a 'Jesus Nest'.

As early as 1982, following some months of great revival, local Christians estimated there may be as many as 300,000 believers in Fangcheng - one third of the population. In just three communes, there were then already 160,000, but they had only 43 Bibles and 27 New Testaments between them. They had to mimeograph Christian material, which was strictly illegal. In more recent years, Bibles have been printed within China and sent in from overseas, but in many rural areas, the supply is still far from sufficient.

That evangelism, and the revival which followed, were not without opposition and much persecution. In May 1982, Fangcheng Christians wrote a long letter to Christians overseas. It describes in graphic and moving detail what happened.

The letter

All who live godly lives in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution

Dear brothers and sisters,

On behalf of the brothers and sisters in Henan, I send greetings to members of the Body overseas! Today, the church in Henan is being greatly blessed by the Lord and the number of those saved increases daily. The gospel of God is flourishing. All this is done not without your prayers and contributions.
Whenever there is revival, there are also trials. The revival in Henan has flourished in such a situation. If Jesus had not been crucified, nobody today could be saved - if there were no testing by fire, then true faith would not be revealed. Suffering is the means for promoting spiritual life and the ingredient for revival of the church.

Dearly beloved, most recently the cause of the gospel in Fangcheng County, Henan, has been greatly promoted. A dozen young Christians have been imprisoned, beaten and bound, and this is the cause. They have regarded suffering for Christ as more precious than the treasure of Egypt. They started preaching the gospel in the poorest, most desolate regions. One day, they went to Yangce Commune in Miyang County. No-one seemed to listen, so they prayed and were greatly inspired by God. They split into groups and went preaching to many different places. As soon as they started to preach, the power of God came down. They preached with tears streaming down, so that passers-by and street-vendors, both Christians and non-Christians, stopped to listen. Even the fortune-tellers were moved by the Holy Spirit to burst out crying. Many people forgot their food, forgot their work or even to return home. Even by evening, people had not dispersed. They preached until they were exhausted but still the crowd would not let them leave. When the shops and factories closed, their employees also came to listen.

However, then Satan made his move. The authorities suddenly dragged them away one by one, binding them with ropes and beating them with electric stun-truncheons. They also kicked them in the face with their leather shoes, beating them unconscious. But when they came to, they continued to pray, sing and preach to the bystanders. One girl, who was only 14, was beaten senseless. But when she came to and saw that many people were sympathetic, she started to preach again. Her words were few and spoken in a low voice, but the street-acrobats and actors could not refrain from crying out, repenting and believing in Jesus. As they were being bound and beaten, many people noticed a strange expression on their faces. Amazed, they saw they were smiling. Their spirit and appearance was so lively and gracious that the crowd asked why they did not feel ashamed? They were so young, so where did this power come from? Their example caused many people to believe in Jesus.

When the Christians in that area saw them bound and forced to kneel on the ground for more than three days without food or water, beaten with sticks until their faces were covered with blood, and their hands made black by the ropes, but still singing, praying and praising the Lord - then they, too, wished to share their persecution. So the flame of the gospel has spread throughout Yangce. There had never been revival here before, but through this persecution, the seeds of life have been truly planted. May everyone who hears of this give thanks and praise for the revival of the church here.

Dearly beloved, in men's eyes this was an unfortunate happening, but for Christians, it was like a rich banquet. This lesson cannot be learned from books, and this sweetness is rarely tasted by men. This rich spiritual life cannot be had in a comfortable environment. Where there is no cross, there is no victory. If the spices are not refined to become oil, the fragrance of the perfume cannot flow forth. If grapes are not crushed in the vat, they cannot become wine. Dearly beloved, these saints who went down into the fiery furnace, far from being harmed, have been glorified. Their spirits have been filled with power to preach the gospel with far greater authority and to enjoy a far more abundant spiritual life. Satan was unable finally to force them to give up their faith, so they were released.

The Christian workers in Fangcheng, Sheqi and Miyang counties have all been emboldened to preach the gospel. Those who were not imprisoned felt ashamed and saw the marks of the Lord Jesus upon their bodies. They also desired to suffer that the Lord's name be glorified. Dearly beloved, the Lord wishes to add to the number being saved working through us. Let us seize the opportunity to work for him as there are many souls still unsaved. There are many lambs wandering on the mountains without anyone to seek and find them. May the Lord Jesus place a burden to preach the gospel on every Christian's heart. May he give a spirit of prayer to every Christian so they will become a prayer-warrior. May our brethren overseas strive to meet the need for Christian literature which is so lacking within China, as God has given you the perfect environment to do this. May God grant you to be faithful unto death until he comes. The Lord is coming soon. Lord Jesus, I desire you to come! May the Lord give us hearts to pray for each other until that day. Emmanuel!

From the weak brethren in Fangcheng, Henan.
6 May 1982

This moving letter gives an insight into the spiritual depth of the work being done by God among the house churches of Henan. Many Christians there have a deep love for Christ, a deep understanding of his Word, a deep concern for evangelism and a living hope that he will come again. They are willing to suffer joyfully for the gospel's sake. The contrast with the affluent, comfortable Christianity of many churches in the West could not be sharper.

Extract from China's Christian Millions by Tony Lambert published by OMF at £8.99. Reprinted with permission.

© Evangelicals Now - January 2000
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