Religions: Atheism or nonreligious, Taoism, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam (no official religion)
Population: 1.4 billion (22% of world's population), with 515.11 million living in urban areas
People Groups: Han Chinese (91.9%); Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other ethnicities (8.1%)
Languages: Mandarin (official language), Cantonese, and many tribal and local dialects
Area: 3,705,405 square miles of diverse terrain including mountains with high plateaus, deserts, plains, deltas, and hills
Climate: Extremely diverse ranging from tropical in the south to sub-artic in the north Capital: Beijing (population 15 million)
Largest City: Shanghai (population 18 million)
While the Chinese government loudly proclaims religious freedom... 80 million believers in the underground church live with the reality of intense persecution every day. A pastor in the underground church explained it this way. When I was arrested for preaching the gospel, the guards mocked me and said, “Yes, we have freedom of religion. We will give you the freedom to decide which part of your body we beat on today. Do you want it to be your head, elbows or knees?” The underground church in China is crying out for their brothers and sisters to understand that despite all the messages to the contrary, there is not freedom of religion in China. Still, persecution, beatings and imprisonment will not stop them. They simply ask that we understand, pray for them and help them practically while they endure great suffering.
Read below about the four major initiatives that WorldServe is carrying out in China.
Church Planting
Through the newly launched Accelerated Church Planting initiative, China 100,000, WorldServe Ministries' vision is to see 100,000 churches planted over the next five years and equip them to reproduce themselves organically.
• The Truth of China's Renewal • Teaching in the Underground Church
Establishing and Supporting Mobile Training Centers
WorldServe plans to establish a non-denominational Mobile Training Center in each of China's 24 provinces, bringing teachers to their students – pastors and church planters.
• Developing Leadership Through Mobile Training Centers
