Issues@Hand

AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs

July/August 2014 – Based on current trends, China will soon be home to the largest number of Christians in any country. According to Fenggang Yang, a leading expert on religion in China, the 49 million Protestant Christians that were in China in 2010 will grow to 160 million by 2025. The U.S. had 159 million Protestants in 2010, but that number is declining. In addition, by 2030, the number of all Christians in China is expected to reach 247 million – more than Mexico, Brazil, the U.S. and other countries who currently have large Christian populations.

The projected number of Christians in China in 2030 would only account for 9% of the population; Chinese Christians now make up 5% of the country’s population of 1.3 billion people. 

At the same time, the thriving house church movement in China is still illegal, and state churches are carefully scrutinized on whether they stay in line with the interests of the Communist Party.

“They do not trust the church, but they have to tolerate or accept it because the growth is there,” an unidentified house church pastor said. “The number of Christians is growing – they cannot fight it.” 

telegraph.co.uk, 4/19/14; thegospelcoalition.org, 4/21/14