What’s Happening in China?

Get Religion has up-to-date coverage on Christmas in China.
Anthony Bollback has posted the latest edition of China Clippings.
Mark writes from China with a call for pastors who preach with ferocity and compassion.
On December 22 eight house church leaders were tried and sentenced to prison.
I found an excellent news article that discusses how Chinese Christians relate to the government. Here is the closing paragraph:

Soon, as many as 80 million Chinese may be Christian. That’s 10 million more than are members of the Communist Party, something for the church to celebrate and the Chinese government to fear.

China’s Internet population has risen by 30 percent in the last year, to 132 million.
People often ask, “What is the truth about the church in China?” There isn’t one simple answer to that question. The best answer is one that we have heard from several key leaders. Everything you hear about China is true somewhere. It’s an enormous country, with many provinces, many cities and many cultures. It’s also the largest nation in the world with a population of 1.3 billion. As Anthony Bollback’s report makes clear, there are amazing open doors in China. As the Christian Post article demonstrates, Christians (particularly house church leaders) in many parts of China face opposition. In some places, believers live in relative peace. The situation in China reminds me of Paul’s declaration regarding his ministry in Ephesus, “A wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9). Bob Jones, Sr. used to say that the door of opportunity swings on the hinges of opposition. That’s true not only in China but wherever the gospel is faithfully preached.