The Registered Church in China: Flourishing in a Challenging Environment (Studies in Chinese Christianity)

In The Registered Church in China Wayne Ten Harmsel pulls back for Western readers the shroud of mystery surrounding Chinese registered churches. Through interviews with Chinese pastors evangelists and lay Christians he provides a rare view of what it means to live in the shadow of both the government and the well-known house churches. Registered churches have received criticism from both of these sources as well as from many churches in other countries particularly the United States. Ten Harmsel examines the charges leveled against registered churches and presents a balanced picture of the complexity of the church situation in China. (Such complexity arises for instance in the registered churches struggle to respond to new religious regulations and the controversy over Sinicization.) China has become a major center of twenty-first-century Christianity and despite how little is known about registered churches in the West these congregations play a significant role in shaping Chinese Christianity today.