Editor’s note: This month, we are praying for the city of Lanzhou in northwestern China. Like the rest of China, Lanzhou’s economy took a nosedive during and after Covid. Also similar to the rest of China, house churches face an increasingly constrained environment, and student ministry has become very difficult. But although there are challenges, Lanzhou pastors shared some of the ways they have seen God work through hard times, building unity in local churches and showing college students that money and professional success are not the most important things in life.

Moving Underground — and Online

China Partnership: How has your city changed over the last five years? How have things changed for your church?

Jiang Mingyun: The new religious regulations began in February 2018. Then, religious policy began to tighten. Several larger churches I know of here were banned in those few months. Our church was banned that fall.

All house churches were considered illegal. Before, they were never legal, but they were not controlled, either. Previously, house churches and the government were interlinked, although the churches were not given legal status. But the Religious Affairs Bureau knew where you were meeting — back then, the fire department would often go and give annual fire drills. It was relatively interactive. But after the church was banned in 2018, our church and other churches in similar situations have gone underground. Although we now we meet in a non-public way, our churches have never stopped meeting.

The biggest impact of the past five years is the pandemic. After the pandemic, the city’s economy has been on a downward trend.

After the church was banned in 2018, our church and other churches in similar situations have gone underground. Although we now we meet in a non-public way, our churches have never stopped meeting.

As for our church, the mode of gathering has changed. During the pandemic, when we had three years of tight control, we always met online. After the pandemic ended, we resumed in-person gatherings, but some people are still online. Currently, we gather both online and offline. The main group gathers in person, and some scattered individuals still come online.

Before we had online gatherings, morning devotions were held at the church, where people gathered together from 6 to 7 a.m. The number of people gathering this way was not very large. The pandemic also changed this, as everyone went online. The number of people attending the online morning prayer meeting is higher than before.

People are busier now. If they go to church, it takes more time.

Student Ministry

Tan Changrui: In 2018, student ministry in Lanzhou was subjected to a wave of purges. Many people involved in student work were forced to leave the city. Then came the three years of the pandemic, when schools were strictly locked down. Outsiders could not enter, and those inside the school could not come out. After three years of lockdown, very few people still actively engaged in student work. Today, many schools still continue policies for entering campus which went into place during the pandemic. This has made it much more difficult to enter schools and do evangelistic work.

There are more challenges now, but there are also positive aspects. Under such circumstances, many people – especially the young – feel that life is meaningless… So, some young people want to commit themselves more deeply to Christ.

In Lanzhou, all the new freshmen and graduate students have to undergo religious identity checks to see if they have any religious beliefs. If they do, their parents are immediately called. They will interview the students and tell them they are not allowed to participate in any religious activities during their time in college. These regulations are a way to control students and prevent them from attending church gatherings. Even if you are from a Christian family, they will still talk to you. There are more challenges now, but there are also positive aspects. Under such circumstances, many people – especially the young – feel that life is meaningless. They can’t even “eat the cake given by the country.”[1] They work hard and live their lives, and that’s it. They feel the country could abandon them at any time.

So, some young people want to commit themselves more deeply to Christ. More people are willing to try missions or internships in full-time ministry to change and try a different life. Changes in the hearts of these children have taken place. I think that, since they are in China anyway, it is better for them to live more for the Lord. Maybe the path of the Lord Jesus will become the path of their life pattern. In the current situation, where everything is bad, this is an opportunity.

A More Indigenous and Unified Church

Li Jun: As an outsider to Lanzhou, this is what I have heard. In the past, missionaries gathered in Lanzhou. Foreign missionaries in China often chose to go to the northwest. When China’s religious policy tightened around 2018, these missionaries were expelled from the country.

When the missionaries left, many small churches or small fellowships were left unattended. Overseas missionaries brought with them relatively “advanced” concepts – not only pastorally. Those people had seen the world. Many brothers and sisters in these small fellowships were reluctant to go back to local, indigenous churches. They felt they could not integrate in local churches, but were unable to continue on their own. When I came to Lanzhou, in the first year our church received three such churches.

Local house churches felt that when missionaries came – whether that be overseas missionaries or missionaries sent from churches in eastern China – they came with a mentality of “staking their claim.” This created a lot of distrust.

Another positive change is that, from my understanding, in the past missionaries caused a lot of hurt and pain to the Lanzhou church. Local house churches felt that when missionaries came – whether that be overseas missionaries or missionaries sent from churches in eastern China – they came with a mentality of “staking their claim.” This created a lot of distrust. When the missionaries left, I think there has been a positive shift and the “claim-staking” movement has stopped.

As a result, it has given our church a chance. I have been connecting with many pastors in Lanzhou, and they are all observing what we are doing and what our purpose is. Many people, especially in churches with history and scale, are distrustful of our current operations. But I think that, because this “claim-staking” has stopped, we are beginning to see genuine local cooperation and resource sharing.

This is not just my own feeling, but is based on what I have heard from others. Genuine and honest joint activities between local churches are becoming possible.

[1] “Eat the cake given by the country” is a Chinese idiom meaning to benefit from national policies or economic growth.

Li Jun, Jiang Mingyun, and Tan Changrui are house church pastors in Lanzhou. All names are pseudonyms.

Pray that every difficulty the church faces in Lanzhou will turn into a blessing of God’s providence.