Editor’s note: This month, in CP’s monthly podcast, we looked at opportunities we see for faith to grow in China. In this (lightly edited) excerpt from the show, Ryan and Beth chat about how God is using persecution to create a holy curiosity in many Chinese as they see believers sacrificially following Jesus.
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Beth: A month ago we discussed a few major stumbling blocks that make it difficult for Chinese people to come to faith in Jesus. This month, we want to take you to the other side of this topic. What are some of the biggest opportunities for Christianity in China?
At this exact moment that we’re speaking, in 2026, the Chinese church is not in a period of huge growth. People are not becoming Christians the way they were 20 years ago. That’s just true. But what is really encouraging is that gospel seeds are being planted in ground that seems to have a lot of hope for future fertility.
This is a time, in China, of nurturing the soil and sowing the seeds.
Feeding the Soil
This brings us to our last point, which is how persecution is a draw to the Christian faith. So yes – persecution is a negative. Nobody wants to sign up for Christianity when it means their life is going to be harder, it’s going to be worse, and it’s going to bring attention that they don’t want. But as we’ve been talking about, a lot of what’s happening right now is that the soil in China is being fed.
I have a garden in my front yard here in Southern California, and I have to take really good care of the soil. I have to water it, I have to amend the soil and make it better, and it takes a long time. Anybody who is a very amateur gardener, like me, understands that. So, I feel like this is a time, in China, of nurturing the soil and sowing the seeds.
Persecution is a huge part of that. As non-Christians look at their believing friends and family members, they see those friends and family members holding on to a faith that does not bring them immediate external benefits – and that is extremely attractive.
In my experience in China, not very many Christians live in a Christian bubble. It’s not really possible in China to live that sort of “Benedict Option Christian life” the way it is in the Bible Belt in America, where I’m originally from. Most Chinese Christians I know have lots of family members who are not believers. Their friends and co-workers are most likely not Christians. That can make it hard. You can feel lonely and isolated – but it also means that the Christian witness is very, very public.
As non-Christians look at believing friends and family members, they see those friends and family members holding on to a faith that does not bring them immediate external benefits – and that is extremely attractive.
I was thinking about this point, and I remembered a woman whose story we told in season one of the podcast. Her husband went to jail for his Christian faith, and she herself ended up going to jail for her Christian faith. One of the things that made it so, so difficult during that time was that all their extended family was pressuring them to give up [their faith] because it was sending them to jail, and they couldn’t see how that was worth it. They couldn’t see the point.
But I think that, as non-believers see Christians stick to their guns and refuse to compromise their faith, they know that this deeply rooted belief doesn’t come from nowhere. And I think that kind of principled devotion creates a lot of confusion – good confusion – and a lot of curiosity within people.
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“That Makes People Curious”
Ryan: There are a lot of Christians in China, but compared to the whole population, it’s not a big percentage. So when you are a Christian, it really makes you stand out, because most likely not many of the people in your family are Christians, and not many of your friends are Christians.
Chinese Christians take the Great Commission very seriously. Even under persecution, they still want to do their best to love their neighbors and share the gospel.
Chinese people are very practical – but when you see people doing some very impractical things, that makes people curious.
Their way of thinking is, “Persecution is not our identity; it’s just our context.” But they still need to go share the gospel. They still need to love their neighbors. It’s just they do it in a different context from the West; they do it with persecution as a backdrop. They have not shied away from that mission.
In a way they are not as visible, because worship services and all that have to be smaller. But at the same time, they’re still out there. Chinese people are very practical – but when you see people doing some very impractical things, that makes people curious.
Ryan moved from Guangzhou, China, to Ohio at the age of 12. He is the pastor for neighborhood ministries at New City Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and also serves as the translation manager for China Partnership. E.F. Gregory is a mom of three. She lives in the San Gabriel Valley on the border of East Los Angeles, where her husband pastors a small PCA church.
Pray for God to use all things — even persecution — to draw Chinese to himself.
