Baptismal Services Reflect Church Growth

China Christian Daily 06 April 2017

A church in Beijing
Photo: Flickr / Brian Kelley

On March 26th, 2017, a total of 45 new believers were baptized at the Beijing Chaoyang Church. These new Christians are now attending a weekly follow-up course that will last for a duration of three months. Each of these baptismal participants are required to take the three-month course so they can learn the essentials of the Christian faith and discuss these foundational Biblical principles with the pastoral staff.

Beijing Chaoyang Church was established on September 12th, 2005, and a dedication ceremony was held in December of that same year. At the time of this report, the number of people who attend the church's Sunday services has dramatically increased from more than 600 since its inception to well over 4,000 congregants. As a result of the tremendous growth, two other baptismal services are scheduled to take place at the end of July and November of this year. Praise God for this phenomenal influx of new believers in Beijing!

Current Ministry Projects
The Voice of the Martyrs Canada continues to help distribute Bibles to Christians in the country, making it possible for them to have their own printed version of God's Word. Additionally, VOMC works with various mission partners to facilitate a Biblical understanding of persecution and discipleship, while presenting ways to effectively respond and minister within the context of hostility.

Project Funds: Underground Church, Bible, Relief & Development
Country Information
Population
1,413,142,846 (2023 est.)

Ethnicity (%)
Han Chinese (91.1), ethnic minorities (8.9 - includes Zhang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) (2021 est.)

Religion (%)
Folk religion (21.9), Buddhist (18.2), Christian (5.1), Muslim (1.8), Hindu (< 0.1), Jewish (< 0.1), other (0.7 - includes Daoist [Taoist]), unaffiliated (52.1) (2021 est.)

Leader
President Xi Jinping (2013)

Government type
Communist party-led state

Legal system
Based on civil law system; influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems

Sources: CIA World Factbook
Pray for China
Pray that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout China without government interference so many more names can be added to the Lamb's "Book of Life." May there also be a spirit of unity demonstrated among the country's growing churches, further strengthening existing believers and spurring them on in their ministry service and evangelistic outreach within the country's numerous communities.