The first time Christianity came into China was in 635AD,
arriving as a Nestorian Church, but it survived only briefly. In
the 1800s, Christianity reentered China from the West, but
unfortunately this religion was linked with colonialism. Later, in
order to break away from the old image of "foreign religion",
Chinese Protestant Christians initiated the Three-Self Patriotic
Movement in 1950, and set up the National Committee of Three-Self
Patriotic Movement of Protestant Churches in China. The Three-Self
Patriotic Movement has achieved much. Churches in China have
realized the principles of self-governance, self-support and
self-propagation. In Chinese we deem this moving from "Three-Selves
to Three-Wells").
Under the guidance of Three-Self principles, Chinese churches
have entered into a post-denominational period: institutional
Protestant denominations do not exist any longer. In 1958, unified
worship services were initiated. In the spirit of mutual respect,
Christians with different faiths and liturgical backgrounds now
worship God together. From 1966 to 1976, under the influence of
ultra-leftist thought during the Culture Revolution, Christian
churches were closed. In 1979 they began reopening, and
in 1980 the China Christian Council (CCC) was established. From
that time onward both the national church organizations, the CCC
and the TSPM, have complemented each other and built up the body of
Christ together.
To date, there are 16 million believers in China, more than 55
thousand churches and meeting points, approximately 2,700 pastors
(associate pastors included), 27 thousand pastoral personnel
(pastors, associate pastors, elders and preachers), 18 seminaries
and Bible schools, and several training centers.
There are several churches within Beijing, including the Eastern
Church (Wangfujing Catholic Church), Western Church (Xizhimen
Church), Southern Church (Xuanwumen Catholic Church), Northern
Church (Xishiku Catholic Church), St. Michael's Church, Nangangzi
Church, Pingfang Church and Dongguantou Church. There are also many
miscelaneous churches located in Beijing's suburbs.
(www.chineseprotestantchurch.org,
china.org.cn August 27, 2007)