The Rise of Chinese Missionaries

Qi (pseudonym) is a university graduate who heard God’s call to cross-cultural mission. As Qi was preparing to go and serve, the story of James Outram Fraser inspired her. Fraser was a missionary with China Inland Mission (CIM) who served among the Lisu people from 1909 until his death in 1938. A biography written only six years after his death includes a letter to home written by Fraser in 1916, which reads in part:

齐（化名）是一位大学毕业生，在一次祷告中感受到上帝对跨文化宣教的呼召。在预备出发服事的过程中，她深受宣教士富能仁（James Outram Fraser）的故事激励。富能仁是中国内地会（China Inland Mission）的宣教士，自1909年起至1938年离世，长年在傈僳族中间服事。富能仁逝世仅六年后出版的传记中，记载了他1916年写给家人的一封信，节录如下：

I was very severely disappointed about the attitude of the Lisu of that district to the Gospel. They received the Word with joy at first, as they so often do. Several announced that they were going to turn Christian, one old man and his son seeming specially earnest. Then the spirit of fear seemed to possess them, and one by one they dropped off, until no one would take a stand at all. We had to leave them as heathen as I first found them. It was a very painful experience and seemed almost to stun me for a while.¹

我对那一区的傈僳人对福音的态度感到极度失望。他们一开始欢喜地接受神的话语，这在他们当中其实很常见。有几个人宣称自己要成为基督徒，其中一位老人与他的儿子看起来特别认真。但随后，一种惧怕的灵似乎临到他们，一个接一个退缩，最后竟无人愿意表明立场。我们离开时，他们仍和我初到时一样，是未信的异教徒。那是一段极其痛苦的经历，甚至让我一时之间近乎麻木。¹

Though Fraser’s work was difficult, it ultimately bore great fruit. By 2010, among the estimated 600,000 Lisu living within China alone, about half of them were Christian.²

尽管富能仁的服事极具挑战，最终仍结出丰硕的果实。到了2010年，仅是在中国境内的约60万傈僳族人中，已有约一半成为基督徒。²

Reflecting on Fraser’s story, Qi says, “I have read several books, but one is [about] James Outram Fraser. I read this book, and that just influenced me a lot, because he…went through lots of struggles. And I read it again when I first went to [my cross-cultural context] because it was very challenging for me as well.” Fraser’s suffering and sacrifice for the sake of the Lisu people in China inspired Qi as she herself experienced difficulties on the mission field.

回顾富能仁的故事，齐说：“我读过很多书，其中一本就是关于富能仁的。我读的那本书真的对我影响很大，因为他……经历了那么多的挣扎。我第一次经历[跨文化服事]时，我又重读了一遍，因为那对我来说也非常挑战。”富能仁为傈僳族所经历的苦难与牺牲，成为齐自己走上宣教之路时的重要鼓舞。

Qi is just one of many Chinese university graduates who are joining God’s global mission.

齐只是众多投身于上帝全球使命的中国大学毕业生之一。

I recently completed a ThM thesis that examines this growing phenomenon within the Chinese mission movement. As part of my research, I conducted interviews with twelve Chinese university graduates who have served the Lord in cross-cultural locations. Their involvement with God’s global mission is just one example of how the Chinese Church has moved from being a receiver to being a sender of missionaries. This blog post is the first of a series that will discuss the rise of the Chinese mission movement, particularly through the lens of university graduates. Today’s post will consider the historical background of this movement.

我近期完成了一篇神学硕士论文，专门研究中国宣教运动中这股日益壮大的现象。研究中，我访谈了12位曾在跨文化场域服事的中国大学毕业生。他们的参与正是中国教会由“被差派者”转为“差派者”的一个缩影。这篇文章是系列文章的首篇，将透过大学毕业生的视角，探讨中国宣教运动的兴起。今天的内容将聚焦于这场运动的历史背景。

House Church Movement Emerges in Twentieth Century China

二十世纪中国家庭教会运动的兴起

During the 1920s and 1930s, after several decades of Protestant missionary activity within the country, liberal and fundamentalist streams developed within the church in China. On the liberal end of the spectrum, a number of churches and denominations established the Church of Christ in China (CCC) in 1927. Led by Cheng Jingyi, the CCC sought to form a unified and indigenous national church in China.³

自十九世纪中期以来，基督新教已在中国耕耘多年。到了1920至1930年代，教会内部分化为自由派与基要派。自由派方面，若干教会与宗派于1927年组成中华基督教会（Church of Christ in China, CCC），由诚静怡牧师带领，旨在建立一个合一且本土化的中国国家教会。³

However, the CCC continued to be dependent on foreign missionaries and their financial resources, limiting its ability to become fully independent and indigenous.⁴ Also, many conservative churches and denominations, including the China Inland Mission (CIM), refused to join the CCC.⁵ The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) also severely curtailed the CCC’s development.⁶ But after 1949, those same liberal impulses that had led to the formation of the CCC were channeled by the Chinese Communist Party to establish the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM).

然而，中华基督教会仍深受外籍宣教士及其经费影响，始终未能实现完全的独立与本色化。⁴ 此外，许多保守宗派，如中国内地会拒绝加入该联会。⁵ 其后中日战争（1937–1945）也大幅限制了中华基督教会的发展。⁶ 1949年之后，当初推动中华基督教会成立的自由派理念，则被中国共产党纳入三自爱国运动中。

Unlike these more liberal churches, evangelical believers in China focused almost exclusively on evangelism, with little emphasis on social engagement.⁷ Compelling preachers including Song Shangjie (John Song), Wang Mingdao, and Ni Tuosheng (Watchman Nee) attracted large audiences to hear messages that called for repentance from sin and belief in Jesus. Through their preaching, a wave of revivalism fueled the growing fundamentalist stream of Chinese churches.

与这些较为自由派的教会不同，中国的福音派信徒几乎将全部精力都放在传福音上，而很少关注社会参与。⁷ 当时，一些极具感染力的布道家如宋尚节、王明道与倪柝声吸引大批民众聆听他们的信息——信息内容多强调认罪悔改与信靠耶稣。在他们的布道下，复兴运动兴起，推动了中国教会中基要主义潮流的成长。

These revivalist churches laid the foundation for what later became the house church movement in China.

这些复兴派教会为后来在中国兴起的家庭教会运动奠定了基础。

One significant ministry of many house churches has been with university students. Campus ministry began to flourish through preachers like Zhao Junying, who evangelized throughout inland China during the Sino-Japanese War. The war forced universities from eastern China to move inland, and many displaced students came to faith through Zhao’s preaching.⁸

家庭教会中一项极具特色的事工，便是校园事工。早在中日战争期间，赵君影就曾在中国内地各地布道，开展校园工作。战争导致东部地区的高校西迁，许多流离失所的大学生因赵君影的布道而信主。⁸

With the help of CIM missionary David Adeney and a team of Chinese church leaders, Zhao established China Inter-Varsity with a national student gathering in Chongqing in July 1945.⁹

在中国内地会宣教士艾香德（David Adeney）与本地教会领袖团队的协助下，赵君影于1945年7月在重庆召开全国性学生聚会，成立「中华学园团契」（China Inter-Varsity）。⁹

Chinese Revivalist Churches Send Out Missionaries

复兴教会开启宣教使命

Alongside the growth of fundamentalist churches in China, a mission movement from those churches began to emerge. The first Chinese missionary to leave China was a Methodist minister named Huang Nai Tang. He and about 1,000 of his followers left Fuzhou to establish a church and a mission in Sarawak (now East Malaysia) in 1901.¹⁰

随着基要派教会的兴起，来自这些教会的宣教运动也逐渐萌芽。中国第一位踏出国门的宣教士，是一位卫理公会的牧师黄乃棠。他于1901年率领约1,000名信徒自福州出发，前往砂拉越（今马来西亚东部）建立教会与宣教工场。¹⁰

Perhaps the most famous Chinese missionary effort of the early twentieth century was the Preaching the Gospel to All Places Band that came from the CIM Bible School in Shaanxi Province led by Reverend Mark Ma.¹¹

20世纪初最广为人知的中国宣教运动之一，是由陕西内地会圣经学校所组成的“万邦宣教团”，领袖是马赛（Rev. Mark Ma）牧师。¹¹

Chan Kim-Kwong describes Ma’s vision in this way: “The Chinese church should assume responsibility to take the gospel to Xinjiang and, in order to complete the Great Commission, to the rest of the world… This area was kept for the Chinese church as a portion of inheritance, so that the Chinese church can claim it when the Lord returns.”¹²

陈金光形容马赛的异象时写道：“中国教会应承担将福音带到新疆的责任，并为了完成大使命，最终将福音传遍世界……这片土地，是主为中国教会保留的产业，为要在主再来时让中国教会得以承接。”¹²

Students initially traveled to Urumqi and partnered with an established church there. Two team members eventually made it to Kashgar, but they never went further.¹³

学生们首先前往乌鲁木齐，与当地教会合作，其中两位成员后来抵达喀什，但未能更进一步。¹³

In any case, an American missionary to China (Helen Bailey) promoted this group in the US and the UK, referring to them as “Back to Jerusalem Band.”¹⁴

虽未完成远行，但这支队伍后来在美英地区受到美国宣教士白莉（Helen Bailey）的推广，并被称为 “回归耶路撒冷团契”（Back to Jerusalem Band）。¹⁴

At least two modern mission movements have taken up the vision expressed by these early Chinese missionaries. The first of these movements revived the name, “Back to Jerusalem” in the 1990s, mobilizing many rural house church Christians into cross-cultural mission work.¹⁵

至少有两个现代宣教运动继承了这些早期中国宣教士的异象。第一个运动在1990年代重新使用“回耶”名称，动员大量农村家庭教会的信徒投入跨文化宣教。¹⁵

Chan notes that the main focus of the modern “Back to Jerusalem” movement has been to take the “baton of global missions” and return the gospel “to its starting point at Jerusalem.”¹⁶

陈金光指出，现代“回耶运动”的核心使命，是接过“全球宣教的接力棒”，将福音带回其“起点——耶路撒冷”。¹⁶

More recently, the Mission China movement was launched in 2015 by a group of leaders mainly from urban house churches.¹⁷

近年来，另一个宣教运动“中国宣教运动”（Mission China）于2015年启动，主导者多来自城市家庭教会的领袖群体。¹⁷

University Graduates: A New Mission Force

大学毕业生：崛起的宣教新力量

Since the launch of Mission China, Chinese house church networks involved with campus ministry have begun sending university graduates and others to join God’s global mission.¹⁸

自“中国宣教运动”发起以来，许多与校园事工有关的家庭教会网络开始差派大学毕业生与其他成员，加入上帝的全球宣教。¹⁸

In 2017, these networks organized a mission conference for more than 1,000 Chinese university students and recent graduates. More than 250 of them publicly committed to join God’s mission on their campuses, in their workplaces, in their churches, and in cross-cultural contexts.

2017年，这些关系网络召开了一场宣教大会，超过1,000位中国大学生与应届毕业生参加，其中有250多人公开回应神的呼召，承诺在校园、职场、教会以及跨文化场域中投身宣教。

Online versions of this conference were also organized in 2020 and 2023, each with more than 1,000 participants. Several of the university graduates I met during my research were among those who responded to God’s call to mission at these conferences.

后续在2020年与2023年，两场线上版本的大会也吸引逾千名参加者。在我的研究中遇到的几位大学毕业生，正是当年在这些大会中回应呼召的人。

As more university graduates join God’s global mission, they will likely alter the demographic of Christians leaving mainland China to do cross-cultural mission work.

随着越来越多大学毕业生投身跨文化宣教，他们将可能重塑中国跨文化宣教的族群结构。

Zhu Zi Xian (pseudonym) says, “For the foreseeable future, university graduates and young professionals will continue to be the main force of the Chinese church in world missions.”¹⁹

朱子贤（化名）指出：“在可预见的未来，大学毕业生与青年职场人士将继续成为中国教会参与世界宣教的主力军。”¹⁹

If the number of university graduates involved in mission continues to grow as Zhu expects, the Chinese mission movement as a whole may become more equipped to meet the changing needs of mission work in cross-cultural contexts, particularly in places that are hostile to Christianity.

若如他所预期，越来越多大学生投入宣教，中国宣教运动整体将更有能力应对跨文化场域中瞬息万变的需求，特别是在那些敌视基督信仰的地区。

University graduates are likely to have better opportunities to live and work in such countries because of their training and skills.

由于大学毕业生具备专业训练与技能，他们更有机会以工作者身分合法居住在这些国家。

This movement of university graduates into cross-cultural missions is part of a much larger story—one rooted in both spiritual passion and historical legacy. In the next post, we’ll look at the values that shape these young missionaries, particularly their views on piety and suffering.

这群大学生投身宣教，正是一段更宏大历史故事的一部分——一段结合属灵热忱与历史使命的故事。下一篇文章，我们将探讨这些年轻宣教士的价值观，尤其是他们对虔诚与受苦的看法。

Editor’s note: This article was originally written in English and was translated into Chinese by the ChinaSource team with permission.

1. Mrs. Howard Taylor, Behind the Ranges: Fraser of Lisuland, S. W. China (London: Lutterworth Press and the China Inland Mission, 1944), 122.
2. Aminta Arrington, Songs of the Lisu Hills: Practicing Christianity in Southwest China, World Christianity (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2020), 5.
3. Marina Xiaojing Wang, “The Evolution of the Ecumenical Vision in the Early Twentieth-Century Chinese Context: A Case Study of the Church of Christ in China (1927–1937),” Studies in World Christianity 23, no. 1 (April 2017), 24–25.
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5. Kevin Xiyi Yao, The Fundamentalist Movement among Protestant Missionaries in China, 1920-1937 (Dallas, TX: University Press of America, 2003), 216.
6. Wang, 25–26.
7. Kevin Xiyi Yao, “Chinese Evangelicals and Social Concerns: A Historical and Comparative Review,”  in After Imperialism: Christian Identity in China and the Global Evangelical Movement, ed. Richard R. Cook and David W. Pao, Studies in Chinese Christianity (Eugene, Or: Pickwick Publications, 2011), 51.
8. Xi Lian, Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010), 190.
9. Daniel H. Bays, A New History of Christianity in China (Malden, Massachusetts: Wiley Blackwell, 2012), 148.
10. Kim-Kwong Chan, “The Indigenous Mission Movement from China [2]: A Historical Review,” ChinaSource, April 11, 2013, accessed June 6, 2023. https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/articles/the-indigenous-mission-movement-from-china-a-historical-review/.
11. Chan, “The Indigenous Mission Movement from China [2]: A Historical Review.”
12. Kim-Kwong Chan, “The Back to Jerusalem Movement: Mission Movement of the Christian Community in Mainland China,” in Mission Spirituality and Authentic Discipleship, ed. Wonsuk Ma and Kenneth R. Ross, Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series 14 (Oxford: Regnum Books International, 2013), 179.
13. Chan, 180.
14. Chan, 179–80.
15. Chan, 181.
16. Chan, 182.
17. David L. Ro, “A Study of an Emerging Missions Movement in Urban China: From the Perspective of Four Beijing Pastors,” PhD Diss., Oxford Center for Mission Studies, 2023, 15.
18. Jia Qian (pseudonym), “Students Joining in God’s Global Mission: Opportunities and Challenges,” accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/articles/students-joining-in-gods-global-mission/.
19. Zi Xian Zhu (pseudonym), “History of Student Ministry in China,” accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/articles/history-of-student-ministry-in-china/.

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