China's official and underground churches
Chinese churches can be grouped either as the Three-Self (Official) Church or the House (Underground) Churches.
The Three-Self churches are the sole lawful religious organizations and have been registered with the government. They come under the joint supervision of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC).
TSPM was set up in July 1954 to help the government execute its religious policies. CCC, set up in October 1980, supervises churches in the area of faith and to promote patriotism for the nation and the Communist party. It also seeks to build a theology that supports state policies and regulations. TSPM and CCC regularly hold National Conferences for Chinese Protestant Churches under the guidance of the central government.
Commonly referred to as lianghui (the Two Organizations), TSPM and CCC seek to protect the independence and self-determination of churches and ensure that churches are set up without outside help. They impose the principles of self-governance, self-support and self-propagation. Hence, all churches under the TSPM/CCC supervision have come to be known as the Three-Self churches.
Apart from the Three-Self churches, there are many local churches which aspire to remain independent from government control. They are therefore called house or underground churches. Since the 1966 Cultural Revolution, the Chinese government has acted unregistered churches, thereby pushing them underground. The underground churches have remained faithful to their beliefs till this day, suffering enormous persecution.
From 1988 to 2000, China house churches experienced rapid growth and expansion. Many churches have become Spirit-filled, adopted a new form of praise and worship and started sending missionaries to plant churches in other provinces. Consequently, church membership grew a hundred fold and a nationwide network of house churches was established. During this period, Henan, Zhejiang and Anhui experienced spectacular spiritual revivals, a phenomenon associated with the "Chinese House Church Movement".
In recent years, some local authorities allowed certain organizations to set up churches. In some places, theological seminaries and Bible schools operate unofficially. In a number of cities, university students and Christian businessmen are meanwhile attending Christian cell meetings on a regular basis. (For details, please refer to the book "HENAN — the Galilee of China").
We thank God for guiding the Chinese churches over the last decade. Many young ministers and leaders in the Three-Self churches had hungered after God and for training in His Word. Subsequently, they experienced renewal in their spiritual lives. In our ministry, with various Chinese churches, we realized that some Three-Self churches in provinces like Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang are each experiencing a spiritual renewal.
Of course, both the Three-Self and House churches are equally in need of spiritual renewal. In our ministry to the Chinese churches, we insist on teaching the Word, preaching the full gospel and training church leaders. Please continue to pray for revival for the Chinese churches. We need your support. May God bless you!
