China

Praying for the nations.

Population• The largest population of

any country in the world

A giant panda photographed in Sichuan.

Religion in China

• Accurate figures are impossible as the reality is quite different from the official statistics.

• Buddhism 50%• Taoism 30%• Mostly this commitment is just nominal• Christianity 3-10% – the fastest growing group

religion in China• Islam 1-2%

Evangelical Christianity

• China is believed to now have the world's second-largest evangelical Christian population – behind the United States – and is also experiencing a surge in mainstream Christian publishing

Pray for Christians often facing a hostile government

• The government incorporated religious freedom into its constitution in 1982; however, every year since 1999, the US State Department has designated China as a country of particular concern with regard to religious freedom.

• There are often reports of serious persecution including ‘disappearances’ of Christians.

The capital city is Beijing

Pray for the house churches

• The house church movement in China is spreading rapidly. This is partly due to the fact that the government has set an informal limit of 25 people for an unauthorised religious gathering. These churches are autonomous and self-governing.

The Li River in Guangxi.

Large numbers of Christians need to be taught and established in the faith.

• In 2011, it was reported that more people attended Sunday church services in China than in all of Europe combined

• Pray for the publishing of reformed Christian literature in China and the publishing companies involved.

Some quotes from James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905, pioneer missionary to China)

• A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing.

• The work of a true missionary is work indeed, often very monotonous, apparently not very successful, and carried on through great and varied but unceasing difficulties.

• Satan may build a hedge about us and fence us in and hinder our movements, but hecannot roof us in and prevent our looking up

Longsheng Rice Terrace in Guangxi.

Pray for the vast rural and remote areas of China

• A Chinese pastor:• ‘We need a lot of prayers for the salvation

of souls in this great land. Even though many have come to know the Lord Jesus, there are many more in … the rural or remote areas. They have not heard the gospel yet. So pray for the gospel and pray for the salvation of souls.’