Bibles for China Adapts to Changing Religious Environment
At a time of rapid social change in China, the ministry Bibles in China is finding new ways to get God’s word into the hands of the people. The government is pursuing a policy of Sinicization, which is the assimilation of religion with Chinese culture, forcing and regulating the encouragement of communism as a Christian value.
Despite setbacks, Bibles for China is finding ways to expand its ministry and communicate the gospel while maintaining an openness and legality with the Chinese government. The 15 projects the ministry had planned this year still are moving forward, although more slowly than in the past.
“The door has not been closed,” Kurt Rovenstine of Bibles in China said. “It’s just a lot more boxes to check and maybe a few more steps to take to get the work done.”
The need for Bibles in China is still strong. Many people would like Bibles and struggle to get access to them, which is the goal the ministry seeks to fulfill. “We work legally and openly through the registered church to supply Bibles to areas where they would not easily be obtained otherwise,” Rovenstine said.
Bibles for China has had a more hands-off approach the last few years after the pandemic but still has nationals acting on behalf of the organization in China. Because of the challenges that have developed, the organization wondered if there was another way to reach Chinese seekers and believers.
The ministry that’s beginning to develop is working to help those in the Chinese diaspora who may be leaving for a variety of reasons, whether it’s religious, economic or educational, and trying to reach those people with the gospel. Their work has been to try to find places where Christians already are reaching out to these Chinese communities and help supply them with Bibles for their outreach, particularly Children’s Bibles and a bilingual New Testament Bible targeted for Chinese seafarers.
“The church in China is still vibrant and active,” Rovenstine said, “and they are doing their best to live in the world in which God has placed them.”
For more information, visit www.biblesforchina.org
–Dwight Widaman
