Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Time to Shine: The Chinese Church, Church Planting, and World Missions

China: The Next South Korea?

Thirty years ago, Christianity fever was rampant in South Korea. The Church nearly tripled in size during the 1970s, the “great decade” of Korean church growth.¹

However, although the Church was exploding, South Korean mission involvement was minimal. In 1979, there were just ninety-two missionaries sent from South Korea.² Today, South Korea is the second-largest sending Church in the world, with around seventeen thousand missionaries serving in 189 agencies.³ And Korean churches and missions are not planning to stop anytime soon. They have ambitiously resolved to send out one million tent-making missionaries by 2020 and 100,000 missionaries by 2030.⁴

Could China be the next South Korea? When looking at the future of the Chinese Church, some observers point to the development of the South Korean Church as a possible model to follow. There are several similarities. Both are Asian. Both countries—and churches—endured a tumultuous first half of the twentieth century. Both churches experienced periods of persecution leading to unprecedented church growth. Christians in both countries are known to be passionate about prayer and evangelism. (Many of China’s urban house churches have been strongly influenced by Korean Christians.) And both countries hosted the Olympic Games at a pivotal time in the country’s history.

In his article, “A Survey of the Korean Missionary Movement,” Timothy Kiho Park, director of Korean Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, writes “explosive church growth, marvelous economic growth, continued immigration to many countries of the world, seeking higher education and accumulated missionary experience have enhanced the missionary movement of the Korean Church in recent years.”⁵ But while China has many parallels to Korea, the differences are numerous as well, and big enough to assume that a Chinese missionary movement will probably look somewhat different.

Perhaps the biggest difference to consider is the two countries’ political systems. China’s Communist government is not likely to allow mission structures and possible parachurch sending organizations to operate unhindered. Sending missionaries from China will be a bit more complex than from Korea, although it should be noted that for many years South Korea’s government placed restrictions on citizens’ foreign travel. With the 1988 Olympic Games, South Korea was forced to open politically, allowing Korean Christians to travel to previously off-limits areas.⁶ How the Olympics will affect the Chinese government is still anybody’s guess.

A second major dissimilarity is the size—both geographically and population-wise—of the two countries. South Korea is about the size of Hungary and has forty-five million citizens. China is roughly the size of the United States, but with 1.4 billion people! Thus, China is a much more diverse setting, which is reflected in the Church and would also affect missions from China. In fact, there is still much mission work to be done among China’s numerous minority groups. Third, the South Korean Church is generally better-educated than the Chinese Church and has had more exposure to the outside world, especially when compared to house church Christians in rural China. Of course, the demographics of the Chinese Church are changing, as seen in the recent church-planting movement among Chinese intellectuals.

Given the above factors, the South Korean Church has produced a wealth of seminary-trained, theologically-educated missionaries. A Chinese mission movement, however, is likely to send more lay members, tentmaking professionals, and bi-vocational missionaries. Still, China’s emerging group of educated and more affluent Christians may be the catalyst that allows the country’s future as a mission-sending Church to follow a similar pattern as the South Korean Church. Perhaps the missing ingredient is time. It took the Korean Church nearly thirty years from the incredible church growth of the 1960s and 1970s to mature into becoming a major player in global missions. At least one Chinese urban house church already has a “30-year mission strategy” that eventually leads to worldwide outreach.

Considering the vast numbers of Chinese Christians, the prospects of what kind of effect Chinese missionaries may one day have on the 10/40 Window and other unreached areas is alluring. Numerous media outlets have discussed China’s recent emergence on the world scene politically and economically. Why not spiritually as well? Imagine a world where the majority of missionaries are either Chinese or Korean. Could the twenty-first century be the era of Asian missions?

Endnotes

1. Kim, Myung-Hyuk. 1983. “Korean Mission in the World Today and Problems.” Korean Church Growth Explosion. Eds. Bong-Rin Ro and Marlin L. Nelson, 127-135. Seoul: Word of Life Press.

2. Kiho Park, Timothy. 2002. “A Survey of the Korean Missionary Movement.” Journal of Asian Mission 4(1): 111-199.

3. Kang, Samuel, 2007. Missions Movement and Masterplan of the Korean Church. June 9. 120.

4. Moll, Rob. 2006. “Missions Incredible.” Christianity Today. March.

5. 2002. Journal of Asian Mission 4:1.

6. Moll, Rob. 2006. “Prophecy and Politics.” Christianity Today. March.

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