Modern China is, in many ways, a land of cities. All across the country you can find skyscrapers of glass hiding ancient temples, busy roads filled with rushing taxis and delivery bikes, crowded malls packed with people, alleys lined with street food vendors serving up meat skewers or baozi or jianbing. From the snow-caked streets of the frigid northeast to the boiling heat of the south, China has urbanized at an unbelievable pace.
In the 1980’s, for example, only 20% of China’s population lived in cities. By 2018, that number had grown to 60%. Conservative estimates suggest that there are 15-20 Chinese cities with a population over 5 million, at least five of which are “megacities” (cities with a population over 10 million). When I myself lived in China, I spent two years in a “small” city of three million people!
At China Partnership, we are deeply committed to China’s cities. With thousands and thousands of people moving into cities each year, we want to see the church take root in these urban areas and be a “city on a hill” within them.
There’s something wonderful about these cities. They have grown so fast that walking through their streets gives you a feeling of newness and possibility, yet underneath it all also lies the presence of long, established history. They are special places, places that the Lord loves deeply.
At China Partnership, we are deeply committed to China’s cities. With thousands and thousands of people moving into cities each year, we want to see the church take root in these urban areas and be a “city on a hill” within them. We want these churches to be a refuge that offers the light and hope of Christ to the lost. Over the last decade, we have been blessed to see many Chinese pastors and churches lead the way in doing exactly that, planting and shepherding within cities all across China.
For those of us living outside of China, though, it can be easy to feel like we can do very little to support this vision. Most of us cannot travel there, and if we are not Chinese then it’s likely we do not know the language and culture. Even if we did, the current political climate and presence of active persecution would make it impossible for us to do any real ministry work. How, then, can we best support the endeavor of reaching China’s cities?
The answer–or, at least, one of the answers–is that we can pray. At first, this answer may seem like a cop out. But if we truly believe what the Bible teaches us about prayer, then we will recognize that prayer is an absolutely vital component of kingdom work.
If we truly believe what the Bible teaches us about prayer, then we will recognize that prayer is an absolutely vital component of kingdom work.
At China Partnership, we believe so strongly in the importance of prayer as a component of reaching China’s cities that we started a prayer ministry in 2017 devoted to praying for a different Chinese city every month. We knew we couldn’t go to China to meet with urban house church Christians face to face, but we knew we could connect with them through the Holy Spirit. We could bring close what seemed so far away.
Much has changed since those initial days of our prayer ministry. Seven years have passed. In that time, we have seen the rise of new religious regulations, resulting in the massive arrests at Early Rain Covenant Church which ushered the church in China into a new season of persecution…a season they still find themselves in. We have also seen a worldwide pandemic, and the imposition of harsh regulations in China, regulations that were only dropped in 2023. Now, the country is still reeling from the aftermath. Persecution continues to be an ever-present reality, coupled with severe economic downturn across the country.
China has changed. Its cities have changed. But the importance of prayer has not changed. Nor has our desire to help support the effort of the church in China to live in and minister to China’s cities.
As we enter a new season for our prayer ministry in 2024, we wanted to take the chance to go back to revisit many of the cities we partner with across China. We want to re-learn from them. We want to examine how they have changed. We want to hear about the challenges they face, and how God is blessing them in spite (and oftentimes, through) those challenges. Just as we did in 2017, we want to pray for them, to lift them up to the throne of the king who still reigns over China’s cities.
China has changed. Its cities have changed. But the importance of prayer has not changed. Nor has our desire to help support the effort of the church in China to live in and minister to China’s cities.
Would you join us in praying for cities in China this year? We would love for you to join our prayer team. There are two ways you can pray along with us in 2024:
- You can sign up to receive prayer requests by email every week. Most of these prayer requests come directly from Chinese Christians (edited to protect their safety).
- You can sign up to receive daily prayer requests by text message.
Though China’s cities have changed, God’s love for the people in those cities has not changed. We pray that God may use his church as his incarnate witness within China’s cities, exemplifying his love and holiness, pointing people all across China to Christ. We hope you will come alongside us in this prayer in 2024.
M. Mills serves as China Partnership’s Communications Manager. He spent three years teaching English in China and lives with his wife in Chicago.
Pray for the gospel to spread through cities all across China, and that the church will be a beacon of Christ’s love and light.
