The Secret to Church Growth
By Ryan Dawson
Today there is a fast growing movement in China. It’s called the Church. In 1854 when Hudson Taylor sailed to China as a missionary there were no Christians in that country. Estimates suggest that today there are 160 million believers in China, and much of this growth has happened under oppressive communist regimes. How did the Church grow so fast and in such a relatively short time? One Chinese church leader explains that there are five pillars of the Chinese Underground Church that has fuelled this growth. 1) Commitment to the Bible, 2) Commitment to prayer, 3) Everyone shares the Gospel, 4) Expectation of miracles and 5) Expectation of suffering. Allow me to reflect on these 5 pillars and make a few comments that are pertinent for us.
1) Commitment to the Bible. Chinese believers are hungry for God’s Word. Many congregations only have several Bibles to go around and so believers take turns reading God’s Word. These believers also internalize scripture, committing it to memory, so they can stand on God’s promises. They also assume that the Bible is to be applied. If Jesus says it, they do it, because He is Lord. I fear with access to the Bible at an all time high in the West we have lost the centrality of God’s Word. We must get back to centring our lives on the Word of God for “we do not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from God.”
2) Commitment to prayer. Chinese believers have very few resources compared to the Church in the West. They meet in houses, they rarely have paid vocational leaders, they don’t have formal seminaries, and they don’t have church growth tools like programs, websites, and elaborate worship services. But what they do have is the power of God. So they pray, and when they pray, God reveals His power. We need to be reminded that apart from Christ we can do nothing of lasting value. We don’t need a program; we need the power of God.
3) Expectation of miracles. Because Chinese Christians take the Bible at face value, when they read of miracles and healings, they assume that God is the “same yesterday, today, and forever”. They think if God showed up in the Bible, He will show up today when we cry out to Him in prayer. So they expect God to do the miraculous, and guess what - He does!
4) Everyone is empowered to share the Gospel. Chinese Christians read the Bible and in it they see the disciples in the early church sharing their faith and preaching the Gospel. Each believer is equipped to share and there is an expectation that followers of Christ reach out in love to those they know and meet, with the incredible Good News of Jesus Christ. We must ensure that each believer is taught how to share the Gospel with friends and neighbours in relevant and non-threatening ways. We also need to create a culture where this is modelled and expected.
5) Expectation of suffering. Chinese Christians really must “count the cost” to become a follower of Jesus. Believers are still persecuted heavily in China, and many are thrown into jail, sent to labour camps, or even tortured and killed. But these believers count it a privilege to suffer for Christ and they believe Jesus’ words “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first” (John 15:18) but “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.” (Matthew 5:17) In the West we have an aversion for suffering and we wrongly equate the Gospel and following Christ with comfort and safety. If the Church is to grow we need to get out of our comfort zones and take some risks for Jesus.
I believe that if we are going to see the renewal of God that we long to see in our church, and our city, we need to embrace these principles seen on the pages of the New Testament, and lived out by the Chinese Church today. We would do well to emulate our Chinese brothers and sisters in their Christian devotion and zeal. Personally, I’m challenged by these principles, but I believe the promise that we “will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon [us], and [we] will be His witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). To that end we strive,
Blessings, Ryan
Today there is a fast growing movement in China. It’s called the Church. In 1854 when Hudson Taylor sailed to China as a missionary there were no Christians in that country. Estimates suggest that today there are 160 million believers in China, and much of this growth has happened under oppressive communist regimes. How did the Church grow so fast and in such a relatively short time? One Chinese church leader explains that there are five pillars of the Chinese Underground Church that has fuelled this growth. 1) Commitment to the Bible, 2) Commitment to prayer, 3) Everyone shares the Gospel, 4) Expectation of miracles and 5) Expectation of suffering. Allow me to reflect on these 5 pillars and make a few comments that are pertinent for us.
1) Commitment to the Bible. Chinese believers are hungry for God’s Word. Many congregations only have several Bibles to go around and so believers take turns reading God’s Word. These believers also internalize scripture, committing it to memory, so they can stand on God’s promises. They also assume that the Bible is to be applied. If Jesus says it, they do it, because He is Lord. I fear with access to the Bible at an all time high in the West we have lost the centrality of God’s Word. We must get back to centring our lives on the Word of God for “we do not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from God.”
2) Commitment to prayer. Chinese believers have very few resources compared to the Church in the West. They meet in houses, they rarely have paid vocational leaders, they don’t have formal seminaries, and they don’t have church growth tools like programs, websites, and elaborate worship services. But what they do have is the power of God. So they pray, and when they pray, God reveals His power. We need to be reminded that apart from Christ we can do nothing of lasting value. We don’t need a program; we need the power of God.
3) Expectation of miracles. Because Chinese Christians take the Bible at face value, when they read of miracles and healings, they assume that God is the “same yesterday, today, and forever”. They think if God showed up in the Bible, He will show up today when we cry out to Him in prayer. So they expect God to do the miraculous, and guess what - He does!
4) Everyone is empowered to share the Gospel. Chinese Christians read the Bible and in it they see the disciples in the early church sharing their faith and preaching the Gospel. Each believer is equipped to share and there is an expectation that followers of Christ reach out in love to those they know and meet, with the incredible Good News of Jesus Christ. We must ensure that each believer is taught how to share the Gospel with friends and neighbours in relevant and non-threatening ways. We also need to create a culture where this is modelled and expected.
5) Expectation of suffering. Chinese Christians really must “count the cost” to become a follower of Jesus. Believers are still persecuted heavily in China, and many are thrown into jail, sent to labour camps, or even tortured and killed. But these believers count it a privilege to suffer for Christ and they believe Jesus’ words “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first” (John 15:18) but “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.” (Matthew 5:17) In the West we have an aversion for suffering and we wrongly equate the Gospel and following Christ with comfort and safety. If the Church is to grow we need to get out of our comfort zones and take some risks for Jesus.
I believe that if we are going to see the renewal of God that we long to see in our church, and our city, we need to embrace these principles seen on the pages of the New Testament, and lived out by the Chinese Church today. We would do well to emulate our Chinese brothers and sisters in their Christian devotion and zeal. Personally, I’m challenged by these principles, but I believe the promise that we “will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon [us], and [we] will be His witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). To that end we strive,
Blessings, Ryan