During Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2025, churches across various regions in China held worship services and related activities to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. While observing traditional Christian practices, local churches organized Christmas celebrations that reflected their respective contexts, meeting the spiritual needs of congregations through worship, sermons, testimonies, and fellowship.
Christmas remains one of the most widely attended seasons in the Chinese church calendar. In many locations, churches arranged multiple services in response to the larger number of attendees, while also paying close attention to order, safety, and pastoral care during the period.
In Beijing, Gangwashi Church held a Christmas Eve sacred music service on December 24. A Christmas praise gathering earlier that morning drew approximately 150 participants. Rev. Fan Yongbin preached on the theme "From the Manger to the Cross." In the evening, two Christmas Eve services were held, with a total attendance of 1,303 people. Congregants participated in worship through hymns and candlelight, reflecting on the meaning of Christ's birth and redemption.
In Shanghai, Shanghai Community Church centered its Christmas celebration on liturgical worship. The service followed a traditional liturgical order, with hymns, prayers, and preaching woven together in a structured form. During the intercessory prayer, the presiding pastor led the congregation in responsive readings, concluding with the congregational recitation of the Lord's Prayer. The service reflected the church's continued emphasis on historical liturgical tradition.
Some churches organized evangelistic gatherings during the Christmas season, with seekers in attendance. On the evening of December 23, Shanghai Gospel Church hosted a gospel sharing event themed "A New Creation." More than twenty believers presented their transformed lives through an innovative flip-board format: one side reflected old anxieties and struggles, while the other displayed new life and reconciliation through Christ. The pastor emphasized in the sermon that faith does not merely repair the old self but brings a renewed direction for life. Several seekers responded during the gathering. On the evening of December 24, Ningbo International Church held a Christmas Eve program in which Pastor Xu Lei preached on the theme "The Prince of Peace." More than twenty seekers responded during the event.
In Hui'an County, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, Julong Church hosted a Christmas Eve evangelistic service themed "Christmas Eve: Encountering the True Light." Rev. Chen Meiman preached from Luke 2 on the peace brought by Christ's birth. A church member, Kang Fengshou, shared a personal testimony during the service. The gathering concluded amid hymns and candlelight, with one participant sharing, "Tonight, we encountered the true light—in the manger and in our hearts."
The Christmas season also served as an important time for pastoral visitation and care. At Shilipu Church in Baoji, Shaanxi Province, it was reported during the Christmas Sunday service that church visitation teams had visited 161 elderly or financially struggling members prior to Christmas. In Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, multiple churches held a series of Christmas activities. Local churches also conducted safety inspections and emergency preparedness measures ahead of the celebrations. According to the municipal TSPM, more than 100 Christmas-related gatherings were held in the city during the season.
Different churches highlighted the Christmas message in diverse ways. The Hudson Taylor Memorial Church (Xuande Church) in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, presented biblical narratives through corridor displays and a manger scene. In Guangdong, the Guangdong Union Theological Seminary incorporated elements of Chinese culture into its Christmas Eve worship service, with preaching focused on the hope brought by Christ's birth. In Meishan's Dongpo District, Sichuan Province, a youth fellowship organized a Christmas gathering to encourage young believers to reflect on the meaning of faith during the season.
(This report is based on official announcements from local churches, church associations, and reports by the Gospel Times.)
