Source: OMF International, Global Chinese Ministries Newsletter, April 2014
Religion is flourishing in China − particularly evangelical Christianity and Buddhism. The government is now taking a more benign view of the role of religious believers in society. A conference on the role of Christianity in Chinese society was held in Shanghai last October. Government official Wang Xinhua stated: “The government welcomes the support of the church. We lack the resources to meet all the needs we face, so we need religious organizations in order to do so.”
The government particularly has in mind the challenge of caring for the elderly who number several hundred million.
There is every reason to foresee that the Chinese church will continue to grow, mature, consolidate, and reach out in effective evangelism in the coming decades. Some Chinese academics advising the government even believe the church is on course to total 200-300 million [Protestants] in the next 30 years or so. This will make the Chinese church far and away the largest church in the world. Is it any coincidence that this is happening just as China is poised to become a world power?
» Full story has further analysis of the state of the Church in China.