But churches in partnership with the Slavic Gospel Association have stood by people in need, providing food and supplies during lockdowns and difficult economic times. Eric Mock says, “We were able to help provide over four and a half million meals during the pandemic, through over 800 churches who were each reaching into their community. And the result of that outreach was a dramatic increase in the number of families that were not only impacted by the Gospel and coming to faith, but a new sense of yearning to find out answers.”

Summer camps

As a result, SGA- sponsored summer camps saw thousands of additional children attend, many from unchurched families. Mock says some of the camps were even held on the grounds of orphanages.

And care for these children won’t stop there. Mock says, “As they wind up summer camps, they’re already preparing their Christmas outreach. And even while they wrap up Christmas outreach, they’re already thinking of their Easter outreach. So throughout the year, they continue to both reach people with the Gospel and then make disciples of the kids that come to their churches.”

The world can be a chaotic place, but the churches in the former Soviet Union persist in the love of Jesus. Mock says, “He is the one thing that is not chaotic. The one thing that is certain, and foundational, is the hope that we have in Jesus. We pray that in the middle of these difficult days, an increasing number of these people would become more rooted and grounded in the Word of God and God’s promises.”

Want to support SGA’s work with these churches? Donate or learn more here.

And pray for the continued discipleship of these children and their families.

Photo courtesy of the Slavic Gospel Association on Facebook.

They went into effect on February 1, 2020 and followed earlier rules put into place in 2018. While global attention focused elsewhere, it appears sinicization efforts began in earnest.

According to the Voice of the Martyrs USA, here are some of the requirements churches are being forced to follow:
1. Pastors must submit every sermon to authorities before preaching
2. The Communist anthem must be sung at the beginning of every worship service
3. A picture of President Xi- Jinping must be hung on the walls
4. Facial recognition cameras facing the audience must be installed in the church

The religion of sinicization

(Photo courtesy of VOM-USA)

The story isn’t new, says Todd Nettleton, spokesman for VOM-USA, but “Local officials have started to come into churches now and say, ‘wait a minute, you don’t have a picture of President Xi in your in your sanctuary. What are you waiting for to put that up?’ So the pressure has just ratcheted up and up.”

In the past, this kind of pressure often involved the unregistered church or the house church networks. However, enforcement is now coming down on the registered churches. It’s a concerted effort to make Christianity more Chinese, explains Nettleton. “The problem with that is that the Chinese version of Christianity that the Communist Party is putting forward is a version of Christianity that doesn’t conflict with the party teaching. It doesn’t conflict with the idea that President Xi is should be really revered and almost worshipped.”

However, for true Bible-believing Christians in China, they say, “‘we can’t compromise on this. Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. President Xi is not the head of the Church. We must follow the Bible; we must follow the dictates of our conscience and the dictates of the Scripture.’  That’s really where this conflict is coming.”

Pressure, persecution and the Party

VOM partner and Christian persecution watchdog China Aid notes that even during the lockdown, the Chinese government continued its enforcement orders against churches. In at least three cases, the government removed the crosses during the hiatus. 

Noting the requirements, Nettleton says, “The Communist Party wants to control the people. And they understand very clearly that people who are sold out and committed to Jesus Christ are harder to control, so they don’t want to allow the Gospel to spread. And if it does spread, they want it to be this sinicized version that honors the Communist Party and honors the Communist leaders.”

Praying for Truth for China

(Photo courtesy of VOM-USA)

Confirming that the government is adapting a Bible translation that aligns with Communist teaching, he adds, “One of the things that Voice of  the Martyrs is doing is  getting Bibles into the hands of Christians there, so that they can build a firm foundation  on the accurately translated Word of God. Another thing that we’re doing is just supporting leaders there and helping encourage, helping to train, helping to provide tools for the Church, as well as helping to respond in situations where there is persecution.”

Many churches currently meet online. As China emerges from quarantine, we can expect the State of the Church will be different. Nettleton urges us to pray that China’s Christians will stand strong, and that they will not be deceived. “The government there is working very diligently to deceive the Church into saying, ‘yes, you can be a good Communist and be a good Christian. Yes, you can pray to President Xi, as well as pray to Jesus Christ.’”

(Headline photo courtesy VOM-USA)