Editor’s note: This October, we are praying for Xi’an, an important and historic city in northwestern China. Xi’an was the capital of China for many years, and has a rich cultural legacy and heritage. Today, the church is facing many changes as the city grows and develops, and pressure on house churches has ratcheted up. Like the rest of China, the economy in Xi’an is not strong, which leads to difficulties in finding jobs.

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

Pressure Leading to Scattering

Cai Gao: House churches in Xi’an generally maintain a low profile, and have avoided undue attention. There has been persecution, but it has mainly been limited to visits, taking pictures, and warnings.

Last year, we had an incident where our gathering was shut down. We had a larger group and were a bit careless about security. Looking back, it is partly our fault; we should have had better safety measures since so many people were there – but we thought we were safe. It was part of a larger inspection campaign, and we happened to be caught.

Proverbs 27:23 says to “give careful attention to your herds.”” How can we effectively keep track of our flock when we are spread out in so many locations?

As a result, our church has gone from meeting in two central locations to meeting in dozens of small groups. Even with small groups, they might still notice larger ones, as it seems they are increasing their surveillance. It’s a game of cat and mouse, and I think the overall environment is similar for everyone.

This creates new challenges in shepherding and governing a church. Proverbs 27:23 says to “give careful attention to your herds.” How can we effectively keep track of our flock when we are spread out in so many locations? After a few years, we noticed that co-workers in the church have good fellowship because we are regularly in touch. But brothers and sisters aren’t as familiar with one another.

Some groups develop their own unique characteristics, focusing on certain services or spiritual pursuits. This is a challenge for pastoral care and church leadership.  Some groups are strong; others are weak. When we first divided, we were optimistic, hoping the groups would be small but strong, numerous, and widespread. The reality is it might be evolving into groups that are small and weak, numerous, and scattered.

A Tourist City

Zhang Nan: I’ve noticed an influx of people relocating to Xi’an, leaving their previous homes. In our church, most members are from other provinces. They come here for education, seeking homeschooling communities for their children. Some relocate for work.

It feels like Xi’an is becoming a hub for the five northwestern provinces.[1] In our church, we have people from Ningxia, Urumqi, Hunan, and some who are originally from Shaanxi and returned home after living in Beijing. There are a lot of families with children. It feels like many families are moving to Xi’an. Several families in our church returned to Xi’an from Beijing, and they have struggled to find suitable employment.

The subway is always packed. Even when we return home late at night, around 10 or 11 after Bible study, the subway is still crowded.

Tourism has boomed in recent years. I don’t know if it’s because people have a new perspective after the pandemic or something else; other cities also experience this. But Xi’an’s advertising and overall image seem particularly effective. The subway is always packed. Even when we return home late at night, around 10 or 11 after Bible study, the subway is still crowded.

Changing Young People

An Yujing: About 10 years ago, student ministry was pretty easy. There are many universities nearby, and students were more open to the gospel. Now campus access is restricted, and it is harder to connect with students. It might be because we are getting older, but there seems to be a growing generational gap. Reaching young people is a big challenge. The pervasive influence of Internet culture makes it difficult to capture their attention and foster community.

The Internet has had a big impact on the church, especially during the pandemic. During lockdowns, online information was invaluable, and people relied on online services. But this led some people to prioritize online sermons over in-person fellowship and resulted in a sense of isolation. This is a challenge for relational ministry, which emphasizes face-to-face connection and building authentic relationships, not just virtual ones.

This postmodern mindset has especially influenced young people, who prefer doing things anonymously online, instead of the vulnerability of personal interaction. Many people are isolated at home and reluctant to build relationships. We’ve seen this in our youth group, where some young people seem withdrawn. They aren’t vibrant, like people their age usually are. This might be because they are only children, or because they have had limited social interaction. It is challenging to address relational issues with them. To build relationships with these young people, we need a different approach. People don’t value relationships as much, and there is a sense of detachment within the church.

Another challenge is the current economic downturn. This has had a big impact on young professionals. Some of them face unemployment, or the difficulty of finding new jobs. This is a harsh reality, and a lot of brothers and sisters face these trials.

When people don’t have a strong spiritual foundation, they struggle to cope with changes and challenges. They lack the resilience needed to navigate these difficulties. Because of this, our church emphasizes discipleship and spiritual formation. Without this, people might collapse under the weight of job loss, relationship breakdowns, or other hardships.

Rapid Growth

Gao Zhuang: I came to Xi’an nearly two decades ago. I got married, started a family, and have served here ever sense. I’ve seen Xi’an grow rapidly over these years. When I first arrived, the city was run-down. The train station was rife with thieves and other unsavory characters. But now Xi’an has transformed. The improvements in public safety and the population growth are remarkable.

Xi’an feels different. It used to be a small city, but now it’s a metropolis. It makes me wonder how many churches there are in such a large city.

When I first arrived, there were about 8 million people – now it’s 13 million. Xi’an feels different. It used to be a small city, but now it’s a metropolis. It makes me wonder how many churches there are in such a large city. I’ve noticed that many of us, even if we are meeting for the first time, have heard of each other before. My sense is that Xi’an churches aren’t very large, and the Christian community seems relatively small, because I come across familiar faces so often.

Maybe my experience is limited, but I don’t feel a strong sense of revival in Xi’an. It doesn’t seem like there are all that many believers.

[1] Xi’an is in Shaanxi Province. The “five northwestern provinces” mentioned here are Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang.

 Cai Gao is a house church pastor in Xi’an, and Wang Hu is an elder in his house church. An Yujing and Zhang Nan are women involved in house church ministry, and Gao Zhuang is an elder at a local church.

Pray for Xi’an churches to have wisdom in facing the changes of their growing and changing metropolis.