Lutherans Take Risks in China January 24, 2025

At a residence in one of mainland China’s huge cities, a package arrives. The resident happily receives his long-awaited package, a box containing Luther’s Small Catechism and other Lutheran books in his Chinese language. Finally, he can learn more about Jesus Christ!
Four weeks later…
A knock comes at that same door. When the homeowner answers, he is surprised to see the police. “Where are the books you received?” the officers demand. “What have you done with them?”
The police take the books and force the man to tell them his social media passwords, then give him a stern warning about receiving any more books from overseas.

This true event illustrates the challenge of being a Christian in communist China. Rev. Wang (LHF’s layout artist for simplified Chinese translations) is well aware of the dangers.

“From the Chinese government’s perspective, Christian publications from the West are very dangerous,” Rev. Wang explained. “People can be charged with spreading information illegally. I know a pastor who was convicted of illegal publication and distribution. He was sentenced to prison for 7 years, and he is still in prison.”

Restrictions of the state church

The Chinese government does allow some Christian churches to openly practice the faith, including the Catholic Church and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), the official government-supervised organization for Protestantism. All Protestant denominations are lumped together in the TSPM because “the government sees different denominations as a threat to political unity,” Rev. Wang said. “If you have denominations, you’re going to fight.”

The Chinese Communist Party rules the TSPM and has the power to register churches and censor them. Any indications of outreach or attempts to convert new believers ― including one’s own children ― are quickly squashed.

“There is no infant baptism,” Rev. Wang explained. “The government doesn’t allow baptism under the age of 18; it’s against the law. Also, if you’re under 18, you’re not allowed to go into a church building. This is enforced very strictly in China today.”

Development of house churches

“So if parents want their children to go to church, they go to a house church,” Rev. Wang said. (Rev. Wang was raised in a house church himself. To read more about his life and ministry, click here.

Although house churches and their activities are illegal in China, believers persist in gathering for Bible study and worship. Due to the secretive nature, it’s impossible to know how many house churches exist in the country, but believers are numbered in the millions. Rev. Wang’s own congregation has about 50 baptized members whose worship life revolves around LHF’s simplified Chinese translation of Luther’s Small Catechism.

The treasure of the catechism

In their weekly worship, Rev. Wang leads his congregation through the Small Catechism: recognizing their sin through the 10 Commandments, confessing their faith in the Savior through the Apostles’ Creed, learning to pray through the Lord’s Prayer and more.

“I think that Luther’s Small Catechism is like a small Bible,” Rev. Wang related. “As a Lutheran Christian, I can’t leave this book! I have benefited not only from reading it, but also from implementing it in our daily lives ― for example, when we repent, when we are sad, when we doubt the Lord.”

For Chinese Christians, LHF’s translations are a lifeline to other Christians throughout the world, reminding them that though they may be isolated, they are not alone.

Outcasts in an atheist world

As China’s economy has grown and the values of financial success and hard work have taken root, many Chinese Christians experience additional scorn from their atheist and Buddhist family and neighbors.

“For sure, there is isolation as a Christian in China, and some hostility,” Rev. Wang shared. “There’s no tolerance for Christians. People think you’re crazy, you’re lazy, you’re weak, you don’t work hard. [Because we focus on eternal life], they think we just want to escape into another world. ‘Who cares about eternal life? We’re trying to make money.’

“For Lutherans, it’s worse because even among Christians in general, Lutheranism is such a tiny, strange circle. Why would you want to be a Lutheran? They think we are bizarre.”

To provide more faith-building resources and help Chinese Christians minimize the risks of printed books, Rev. Wang works part-time for LHF, doing graphic design and layout of new books, such as the upcoming God’s Word For You. Because LHF owns the copyright to this book, it’s going to be freely distributed digitally in China. People will be able to download the brightly illustrated Bible storybook and forward to others.

Interestingly, the Chinese government doesn’t seem to be able to track digital exchanges efficiently. “We just pass around PDFs,” Rev. Wang said. “It’s very hard for the government to track. There are so many people doing it that they can’t catch everyone. So digital publications are very useful in the life of the church.

“The government is in charge, and even though the situation is not very pleasant in China, the Lord is gracious!” Rev. Wang concluded. “Christians are tested through trials, and their faith is purified. We trust in the Lord for His Church.”

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