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Christian Telegraph:
The Church in urban China is growing like
wildfire, and it may have the government to thank for
it, reports MNN.
"There's a mass migration happening in China right now
between people, particularly young people, moving from
the rural areas to the city to look for jobs," explains
Tom Henry with WorldServe Ministries. "It's also being
heavily pushed by the Chinese government. And as that
happens, God is doing the same sort of revival that He
did in the rural areas, and churches are exploding in
urban areas all over China."
Due to this mass migration, WorldServe has had to alter
their direction in China. The ministry, which has
historically worked in mostly rural areas of the
country, is now moving into the city.
"We're focusing on training new leaders, both business
and for the church, and supporting church pastors
specifically as they get started on urban churches,"
says Henry. "We're also reaching unreached people groups
that move into the city."
Again comes in the support of the Chinese government.
Not only do urban areas of China tend to include less
persecution than rural areas, but the government has
granted WorldServe and many churches permission to do
their work. This allows WorldServe to train Christian
businessmen and pastors unhindered.
WorldServe's most recent shift has been in training
businessmen. The ministry often brings reputable
Christian business leaders from the U.S. and Canada to
help train.
"We're really encouraging people to use business as a
platform as God intended, because it can be a great
opportunity to impact the culture," says Henry.
Eventually, WorldServe hopes to do enough training to
essentially not be needed anymore.
"Our goal is to work ourselves out of support for church
planting and even training, and have the Chinese
businessmen support their own country," explains Henry.
By this time the church in China will be thriving on its
own--an ideal that could not occur without the support
of the Chinese government. Although it may have been
unintentional, the Chinese government has been playing
an unmistakable part in church growth and ministry.
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