There have been several surveys and projections about the growth of Christianity in China, some researchers deduced that Christianity is growing in China while some are of the opinion that there is now stagnation in the growth of Christianity. I recently came across an article on China Christian Daily titled "Growth of Christianity in China May Have Come to an End" - a paper presentation by Conrad Hackett and Yunping Tong on their two decades’ research on the growth of Christianity in China.
On the contrary, there is another school of thought that postulates that the growth of Christianity will be so rapid to the extent that there shall be a Christian majority in China within a short period of time. Rodney Stark and Xiuhua Wang in their book A Star in the East: The Rise of Christianity in China suggested that the growth of Christianity is inevitable. According to the two authors, "Christianity in China may grow at a 7 percent annual rate in the decades to come, resulting in about 580 million Chinese Christians in 2040."
The surveys and the data upon which the premises of the two reports above were drawn must have undergone a thorough evaluation before publication but the point remains that research projections can be faulted by unforeseen and unperceived circumstances that might not have been captured during the research procedure and analysis. The two reports have two different conclusions and it will not be fair to say that one is correct while the other is wrong. The two divides must have bred two contrary opinions among Chinese Christians but at the end of the day, many will discover that the reports are beneficial for the growth and sustenance of Christianity in China.
At times it is difficult for me to accept reports on the growth of Christianity absolutely because the reports are sometimes not in conformity with the realities on the ground. My recent article in Christian Post - an online Christian newspaper based in Washington DC, United States, totally disagreed with the report presented by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Massachusetts United States.
According to the report, "The growth of Christianity is particularly pronounced in the global south, with Africa and Asia emerging as the fastest-growing regions. Africa, in particular, has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving from having less than 10 million Christians at the turn of the 20th century to now being home to 734 million Christians, growing at a rate of 2.64%. By 2050, Africa is projected to host more Christians than Asia and Latin America combined."
In my article "Is the Global Population of Christians Really Increasing?" I observed that in the northern part of my country Nigeria the population of Christians is going down because of terrorism and Insurgency while in the southeastern part, idolatry has taken over as the fastest-growing religion and Christianity is dwindling as many Christian youths are leaving Christianity all together to embrace idolatry. The prosperity gospel in the Nigerian church has pushed many Christians to get involved in rituals and occultism in search of wealth. If this is happening in Africa's most populous nation, how can the growth of Christianity in Africa be higher than that of Asia and Latin America combined in 2050? Maybe the growth in other countries in Africa will cover the shortfall in my country but I am convinced that if nothing is done to remedy what is happening in Nigeria, the projection will fail.
There is no doubt that Christianity in China witnessed tremendous growth from the years 1979 to 2009 experiencing revival and massive church planting. Pew Research Center in their submission in December 2023, reported that there was rapid growth of Christianity in China in the 1980s and 1990s but after this decade of growth, there was stagnancy in growth. The report estimates the proportion of Chinese Christians in recent years, indicating that the proportion was around 2% between 2010 and 2018. Due to the pandemic, the survey coverage in 2021 was reduced compared to previous years, and the proportion was estimated to be 1%.
Whether the growth of Christianity in China has come to an end is subject to confirmation. But this is a wake-up call to Christians in China and all over the world. This report has given global Christians an assignment to prioritize China in the mandate of world evangelization. Missionaries that left China during COVID-19 should prepare to return for aggressive evangelization of China and global churches should prepare to send more missionaries to China. The research centers should also help in bringing out a missiological strategy that will triumph over stagnation.
The projection that Christianity will become the major religion in China in 2040 can be crystallized into an obvious reality because, with God, all things are possible. God rules in the affairs of men and who knows if Christ has secret disciples who are waiting for an appointed time to manifest in the open as His followers? It is important to note that God does not take permission from ordinary men and those in political authority before He launches our revival. How are we sure that there will not be a mighty wave of revival in China before or end of the year 2040? There are men and women all over the world who have the mark of Christ but are waiting for revival to usher them into the bosom of Christ.
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were good examples of biblical secret disciples of Christ. No one knew about the relationship between Joseph of Arimathea and Christ until Christ was crucified. Nicodemus never identified with Christ in the day, he visited Him only at night. It is surprising that these secret disciples of Christ were the only ones who identified with Christ in His time of agony. All the disciples including Peter deserted Him. Global Christians should intensify prayer for all secret disciples of Christ all over the world to come out boldly and identify with our Lord and Savior so that researchers when carrying out surveys on the Christian population will identify these followers of Christ in the hidden. This will no doubt help researchers to have accurate figures when estimating the population of Christians in China or around the globe.
The Christians were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26). They were called Christians because people noticed that their characters showed that they were followers of Christ. There are lots of people who are in churches but are not manifesting the characters of Christ and there are people outside the church with Christ-like characters. The church in China should take cognizance of this fact and work towards discipleship, training, and quality growth development of Christians inside the church. The unbelievers do not have Bibles to read and many of them are reading the characters of Christians as epistles.
When the people in the church are groomed into Christ-like maturity, they will become lights that attract unbelievers to Christ through spiritual bioluminescence. The lack of Christ's character in the lives of believers retard the growth of Christianity. Statistics show that there are about 4,202 registered churches in China, if these churches are determined to pursue the mandate of the Great Commission, missionaries will be raised in churches and workers will be sent into the field en masse.
Those who suggested that the growth of Christianity in China has come to an end with those who agree with them should prepare to change this narrative through an aggressive campaign to awaken and mobilize churches and Christians in China to do the needful. Christ has already built His church in China and there is no way the gate of hell can prevail. Likewise, those who deduce that there shall be rapid growth with those who believe them should know that revival involves hard work and unwavering commitment to the course of what God is doing. There is a price to be paid for the revival and growth of Christianity in China and no one can pay it better than the Chinese Christians.
