What happened to the Church in China when the Communists took over ?

[Lou Newton]

Food For Thought
by George Davis

In 1949 the communist revolution marked the end of all missionary efforts in
China. All foreign missionaries were expelled. After the communist takeover
the Chinese government bitterly attacked the Church in China, driving it
underground.

For 25 years China was closed to any outside "Christian" influences. Little
information filtered through the tight-knit bamboo curtain. All remaining
Christian leaders were rounded up wholesale and were either imprisoned or
killed outright. Everything that was considered "Christian" was destroyed,
church building, bibles, hymnals, everything. For 25 years a holocaust far
exceeding that, inflicted on the Jews by Nazi Germany, ensued. It is
estimated that about 27 million died during this purging.

In 1978 Deng Xiaoping came into power and China opened her borders once
again. The western world stood in breathless anticipation. What would they
find in the aftermath of such a horrible slaughter? Missionaries from around
the world stood ready, poised in anxious intrepidity. Would there even be
one surviving believer? Nothing could have possibly prepared them for what
they were about to see!

After 25 years of horrendous persecution the missionaries returned to find
that the church in China had not been obliterated, as many had feared, but
that they had grown in number from the estimated one million believers
before the 1949 revolution, to about 30 million. The contrast was amazing!
What had caused such unprecedented growth? How could this be? Not only had
they grown numerically but they had grown spiritually. The tales of their
devotion to Christ are nothing short of inspirational. Most bewildering is
the fact that this unparalleled growth occurred without the aid of any of
those things that are thought to be essential in denominational churches
today. Without the aid of professional pastors/priests, church buildings,
bibles, Sunday-school materials, homilies, hymnals and mass gatherings, the
Church in China has grown numerically and spiritually to be the most
victorious expression of Christ's Church on the earth today. By all
accounts, nothing like it has existed since the early Church. The very gates
of hell could not prevail against her!

Makes you think doesn't it?

[Steve Hollander]

Pro 21:30 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.

[Lou Newton]

Pro 21:30 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.

Great scripture Steve, thanks for adding to this thread.

This is a scripture we all need to write on a poster and put it somewhere we will see it often.

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.

[Baruch]

That does make me think. It's amazing.

[Steve Hollander]

Pro 21:31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

If we try and go it alone we are going to lose. We are all losers to begin with. The Holy One makes us winners.

I often make the mistake of trying to go it on my own strength and I fail miserably. But everytime I go to the King early in whatever it is I am dealing with; I succeed. It's a recurring miracle I witness whenever I allow the Lord to work and get out of His way.

Sloppy and forgetful as well as very wayward am I as a sinner and all I seem to experience in my life is His mercies every day new and full. Yet at times I still complain, Poor Me.

What a loving patient and generous King we do have and if not for Him I wouldn't even be serving or on the correct path. He is the One that does it all because all I ever do is get in His way. Blessings ..... Steve

[Lou Newton]

Pro 21:31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

If we try and go it alone we are going to lose. We are all losers to begin with. The Holy One makes us winners.

I often make the mistake of trying to go it on my own strength and I fail miserably. But everytime I go to the King early in whatever it is I am dealing with; I succeed. It's a recurring miracle I witness whenever I allow the Lord to work and get out of His way.

Sloppy and forgetful as well as very wayward am I as a sinner and all I seem to experience in my life is His mercies every day new and full. Yet at times I still complain, Poor Me.

What a loving patient and generous King we do have and if not for Him I wouldn't even be serving or on the correct path. He is the One that does it all because all I ever do is get in His way. Blessings ..... Steve

Hi Steve, thanks for the reply. It is always so good to hear from you.

What you say points out the difference between the sheep and the goats:

Matthew 25
The Sheep and the Goats


³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”


The sheep see their sin because they have confessed their blindness and are made to see.

The goats do not see their sin because they confess they have wonderful sight.

[Lou Newton]

Psalm 2 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

2 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
² The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
³ “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”

⁴ He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
⁵ Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
⁶ “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷ I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
⁸ Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

¹⁰ Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
¹² Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

[Baruch]

The following video reminded me of this article.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkgEVdMp9mg