Editor’s note: Wenzhou has more Christians than any other city in China. Local pastors say the city also has a tendency towards pragmatism and practicality: if something is useful, Wenzhou believers use it — sometimes without stopping to reflect on biblical philosophy.
Pragmatic Attitude Toward Faith
Hu Mujing: In the earlier days, the gospel that came to Wenzhou was a Hudson Taylor-style mission model. It was grassroots, on the level of the common people. Ordinary people came to believe in Jesus because, if you had an illness, you could be healed; if you had life difficulties, you’d be given a silver dollar or two when you came to a meeting.
The gospel was spread in this atmosphere of exchange and transaction. This formed the underlying culture of our gospel.
When you add in the pragmatism and commercial culture of Wenzhou, faith become utilitarian. This pragmatic attitude toward faith became very, very strong.
The history of the gospel in Wenzhou goes back more than 150 years. William Edward Soothill[1] and others were the first to come to Wenzhou.
The gospel was spread in this atmosphere of exchange and transaction. This formed the underlying culture of our gospel.
A Church that Pursues Material Blessings
Lu Jianxi: Wenzhou has a history of easily forming cliques. So, there is not one gospel system that can represent the whole of Wenzhou – each of the systems have their own unique characteristics. All these different systems – the Three-Self church, the hosue church, or even some unique “third force” – have claimed to be representative of the Wenzhou church, but none of them are truly representative. This is the culture of the city of Wenzhou. Each different group emphasizes their own ways; they are closed, huddled together for warmth.
The gospel was first brought to Wenzhou by George Stott of the China Inland Mission, and then William Edward Soothill. Stott was a little earlier. He was lame [he had only one leg]. He said something that moved me very much. While in England, he called for people to go to Wenzhou and preach the gospel. Many laughed, wondering what a lame person like him could do for China. Stott said, “I do not see those with two legs going, so I must.” Because of this, many British missionaries were later inspired to follow in his footsteps.
The church culture in Wenzhou is, “As long as it’s useful to me, it’s good.”” People rarely reflect.
Before the Wenzhou church naturally had different denominational characters, it formed very naturally. After [the Communist takeover of China in] 1949, due to the Cultural Revolution and other factors, the Wenzhou churches merged. With the practical culture and pragmatism of Wenzhou people, the Wenzhou church slowly lost its original, historical, denominational characteristics. Instead, everything became a big mishmash, and the people just took whatever was useful. So, now the church culture in Wenzhou is, “As long as it’s useful to me, it’s good.” People rarely reflect or go back to a biblical perspective to think about what the Bible teaches.
This is true for both preachers and believers. Every believer can be a preacher – but every preacher is not even as good as an ordinary believer. This is because the preachers lack a very important foundation: the Bible. Preachers speak from a cultural, utilitarian perspective. The healing of sickness, blessings, and practical benefits are all pursued by Wenzhou society, and also by the Wenzhou church.
The proportion of Christians, of those who verbally say they believe in Jesus, is the highest among all cities in China.
Wenzhou has a unique Christian culture. There are many churches in this city. If you go to the countryside, basically every village has a church. This is a peculiar characteristic of Wenzhou. As far as I know, the proportion of Christians, of those who verbally say they believe in Jesus, is the highest among all cities in China, maybe three out of ten. (This is an official survey result, maybe the actual number is higher.)
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Because the proportion of Christians is so high, the Christian culture is relatively strong in Wenzhou. Every region, every [church] system has its own theological training classes. Although Wenzhou does not have many full-time preachers, every generation of young people has a continuous stream of newly emerging preachers.
[1] William Edward Soothill (1861-1935) was a British Methodist missionary who served in Wenzhou and later became a prominent sinologist at Oxford University.
Hu Mujing and Lu Jianxi are pseudonyms for house church pastors in Wenzhou.
Pray for Wenzhou Christians to reflect on the biblical theology undergirding their churches and lives.
