A year ago this month we started a blog series on church growth in China, “God at Work: How the Church Grows in China.”
One thing that almost everyone agrees on is that the church in China has grown remarkably in recent decades. The question that was asked in this series was “how has it grown?” What factors have influenced Chinese believers to put their trust in Christ?
As the introductory post states, the researcher found “that the Bible itself, along with the influence of personal relationships, especially among family members, were key factors in people coming to faith.”
The series goes on to explore those influences, and other factors as well, to help us better understand why a person in China might become a Christian.
Could it also help us understand what might influence the many mainland students who leave China to go overseas to pursue further studies to come to faith in Christ? To that end, InterVarsity International Student Ministry used the data from the research and created a helpful infographic illustrating those factors.
The infographic is part of a new booklet from InterVarsity International Student Ministry just out this year—Connecting with Chinese International Students: Sharing the Good News with Cultural Wisdom.
We won’t say much about this new resource now—we have a review in the works, and the booklet will be featured in the Resource Corner of the autumn issue of ChinaSource Quarterly. Watch for those coming out in early autumn.
In the meantime, go back and take a look at last summer’s series “God at Work: How the Church Grows in China.” Or read the original research paper in Chinese or the English translation. Both are found in ResearchShare on our website.
Most importantly, be ready to connect with the people of China and share the gospel in culturally sensitive ways—wherever you meet them.
Header image credit: Lawrence Wang via Flickr.
Infographic: Courtesy of InterVarsity Student Ministry.
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