{"id":47539,"date":"2023-08-01T15:20:05","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T06:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=47539"},"modified":"2023-08-01T15:11:50","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T06:11:50","slug":"vomk-report-264","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2023\/08\/01\/vomk-report-264\/","title":{"rendered":"CHINA: CHURCH FOUNDED BY FAMED MISSIONARY NOW \u201cDEMONSTRATION SITE\u201d FOR SINICIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47542″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”A church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province founded in 1859 by John Nevius, the American missionary famed for his non-traditional methods of church planting and missions, has announced its own new mission: Serving as a \u201cdemonstration site\u201d for the Sinicization of Christianity. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, that new mission was on display in the church\u2019s recent countdown event to the 19th Asian Games, to be held in Hangzhou later this year.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church<\/span> is <\/span>a government-registered church <\/span>in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cL<\/span>ast year <\/span>they <\/span>organized a special session on implementing the spirit of the 19th National Congress <\/span>of the Chinese Communist Party<\/span>. The church was also honored at a national conference organized by the <\/span>government\u2019s <\/span>United Front Work Department <\/span>in<\/span> December 2022.<\/span> Then on June 16th, <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church <\/span>held a \u2018100-day countdown event\u2019 for <\/span>the 19th Asian Games <\/span>to be <\/span>held in Hangzhou<\/span> later this year<\/span>.<\/span> N<\/span>one of the <\/span>content <\/span>was related <\/span>to Christianity.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]According to Representative Foley, <\/span>for the Asian Games countdown <\/span>the church <\/span>organized a series of cultural <\/span>events and <\/span>athletic performance activities, <\/span>with <\/span>the church orchestra perform<\/span>ing<\/span> non-Christian songs. <\/span>\u201cIt was a showcase of traditional Chinese art forms and music<\/span>\u2014skits<\/span>, tai chi,<\/span> dance <\/span>and athletic exhibitions<\/span>, <\/span>and Chinese <\/span>opera<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Representative Foley.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]On the church\u2019s website, its p<\/span>astor<\/span>,<\/span> Huang <\/span>Mingke<\/span>,<\/span> emphasized the church\u2019s <\/span>support for the Chinese government<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s program of <\/span>Siniciz<\/span>ation<\/span>: \u201c<\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church, as a demonstration site on a provincial level for the popularization of law, a provincial-level publicity and education base for religion governed by law, a demonstration site for the Sinicization of Christianity, and a safe religious site, should actively and continuously promote the Sinicization of Christianity and strive to do a good job of adapting Christianity to a socialist society so that Christianity can truly become China\u2019s Christianity.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47548″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says organizations like hers are concerned by what she calls the \u201cone-way direction\u201d of th<\/span>at<\/span> adaptation. \u201cThere is no process of mutual adaptation between <\/span>Christianity and Chinese culture in the Communist Party\u2019s Sinicization process,\u201d she says. \u201c<\/span>Only Christianity <\/span>has to<\/span> adapt to <\/span>communism<\/span>; there is no <\/span>such thing as <\/span>communism <\/span>adapting to Christianity. <\/span>Th<\/span>at<\/span> is why in public events held by government-registered churches like <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church there is only supportive presentations of communist principles and practices<\/span>, n<\/span>ot<\/span> presentations of the gospel<\/span>. Th<\/span>is<\/span> so-called \u2018China\u2019s Christianity\u2019 places China<\/span>, not Christ,<\/span> at the center. The only place for <\/span>Christ<\/span> in that kind of<\/span> Christianity is as a cheerleader for communism.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]According to Representative Foley, <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> C<\/span>hurch\u2019s founder would not have approved. \u201cThe Chinese Communist Party took the phrase \u2018three-self\u2019 from Missionary John Nevius, the founder of <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church, but the<\/span> CCP<\/span> emptied <\/span>th<\/span>at<\/span> phrase <\/span>of Nevius\u2019 meaning and substituted <\/span>its <\/span>own<\/span> meaning instead<\/span>,\u201d Representative Foley says. \u201cNevius\u2019 \u2018three-self\u2019 method meant that churches should support <\/span>themselves, lead themselves, and reproduce themselves. The purpose was not so that the government and the culture could be promoted, but so that there would be nothing to hinder the spread of the gospel<\/span>. In fact, Nevius\u2019 method was sometimes criticized <\/span>in its time <\/span>because it focused completely on spreading the gospel and the Bible, not on planting new churches. To Nevius, a church only existed <\/span>in order to<\/span> make the gospel known. But now the church that he planted, <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church<\/span>, <\/span>has taken as its mission the making known of Chinese culture and communism, not the gospel.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley believes the change in focus may have been the reason <\/span>Chen <\/span>Fengsheng<\/span>, the church\u2019s <\/span>previous<\/span> pastor<\/span>,<\/span> resigned. \u201c<\/span>He served <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church for seven years but officially resigned on July 1<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201cHe <\/span>did not give a reason for his resignation. However, <\/span>it is noteworthy that <\/span>his resignation <\/span>coincided with <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church\u2019s growing identity as a \u2018demonstration church\u2019 for Sinicization.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47551″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Sicheng Church celebrates the countdown to the Asian Games.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sicheng<\/span> Church is one of the oldest remaining Christian churches in Hangzhou<\/span>. <\/span>It originated from the Northern American Presbytery and was <\/span>established<\/span> by <\/span>American missionar<\/span>y John <\/span>Nevius in 1859. In 1868, it was set up as a preaching <\/span>station <\/span>in a rented house on Pishi Lane by Chinese pastor Zhang <\/span>Chengzhai<\/span>. Four years later, the church <\/span>purchased<\/span> a three-room hall in <\/span>Fengle<\/span> Bridge to serve as a chapel. <\/span>As the number of believers increased<\/span>, a new church building was <\/span>completed <\/span>on the <\/span>same <\/span>site in 1927.<\/span> During the Cultural Revolution, <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church was converted into a warehouse for the <\/span>government\u2019s <\/span>Hangzhou Library. With the implementation of <\/span>new <\/span>religious policies in 1981, the church property was returned, and <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church reopened. <\/span>On August 30 of the same year, a ceremony was held to commemorate the reopening of the church.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout its history <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church has faced many tests of faith,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cWe pray that it <\/span>will <\/span>yet<\/span> pass this test, too. Missionary John Nevius once wrote that \u2018c<\/span>hurches should be encouraged to grow by throwing out shoots in the same manner as the strawberry plant<\/span>\u2019.<\/span> Perhaps <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church\u2019s former pastor <\/span>Chen <\/span>Fengsheng<\/span> and other <\/span>Sicheng<\/span> Church members who have left are <\/span>in reality like<\/span> shoots of the strawberry plant. <\/span>Maybe the<\/span> Lord will use them to <\/span>one day restore<\/span> Sicheng<\/span> Church and other \u2018three-self\u2019 government churches in China to the true three-self method of John Nevius, so that these churches can once again be \u2018demonstration sites\u2019 for the gospel, not the Chinese <\/span>Communisty<\/span> Party.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Individuals interested in learning about or supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s work in partnership with the house church Christians of China can visit <\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/china<\/span><\/a> or give via electronic transfer to:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

KB Bank: 463501-01-243303<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Account Holder: (<\/span>\uc0ac<\/span>)<\/span>\uc21c\uad50\uc790\uc758\uc18c\ub9ac<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note \u201cChina\u201d on the transfer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”47542″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”A church in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province founded in 1859 by John Nevius, the American missionary famed for his non-traditional methods of church planting and missions, has announced …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":47553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47539"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47561,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47539\/revisions\/47561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}