The Author's Word: I have previously written an article entitled "Must the house church stay in a family?" on Dec. 29, 2016 expressing my opinion on the house church's transformation. This article will be its continuation.
Should the house church own some property? This is not only a church administrative question, but also a social problem. It can even be a legal problem.
Many house church's believers think that it should not own any property; because, owning property may bring about conflicts and corruption on the one hand, and on the other hand, the property's owner is not clear. The church is proletarian and its purpose is to spread the gospel to save souls. It only needs a gathering place. Under the remaining influence of the past governments' persecution, most of them think that the church - an object of persecution - should gather at a family's house and grow it quietly and slowly to avoid attention because persecution may happen at any time. They cite the event of Wenzhou's church buildings, which were torn down on a big scale, to support their argument. Though some Christians contend that the restricted church in China cannot grow at a fast speed, others claim that the church faces less restriction now compared to the period before opening up policy (Chinese Economic Reform of 1980) was introduced. It should take the opportunity to acquire some property to advance the spreading of the Gospel.
Church property includes church buildings and interior decorations. Since they own the church building, the church can give believers a sense of belonging as if they are at home and help them become zealous. For non-believers, they will feel the church's existence and see it is a place where believers of Jesus gather. It is a visible sign of God's word on earth, a testimony of salvation and reflection of culture.
At all times and in all countries, human civilization is expressed by religious cultures, which is shown by its gathering places and tools: whether it was prehistoric religious totem worship, cave paintings, special burial ritual, altars, temples or churches of constant classical beliefs. In consequence, all religions, including Buddhist Taoism, are represented by temples, Islam in the Middle East by mosques, and Christianity of Europe and America by church. May it be barbarous or civilized, religion has left marks on the earth which can be traced by historians.
Christianity, inspired by God, has such a great impact on lifting up man's spiritual pursuit and advancing social civilization that it cannot be expressed fully by limited words. The church is the place to worship God, where God's word is preached and its culture has seen an unfettered influence on realizing peace in society. After the opening up policy, China has learned more about Western science, ignoring completely its deeply-rooted religious culture, which is not wise. In fact, it was Christianity which has brought progress in Western society, modern scientific reform and democracy. Whoever deeply studies world cultures and sociology will acknowledge it. Therefore, I think the government should not oppress the church trying to acquire some property; but, support and help protect its property with laws. Unfortunately, the church has no official position in China, where traditional culture and economic development concern dominate.
I think that the house church should perceive the age's needs and step out from its corner by faith. Based on the right faith, it should collaborate with brotherly churches to spread the Gospel together. It should lay down its bias and share its resources of money and people to build a transformed house church pleasing to God and admired by the world. The church's building does not need to be splendid; but, be practical. I believe when such transformation happens, believers' faith and love will grow too.
Despite the center of service located at the church building, the service is not complete. If possible, the church should expand its service field to include care for the society by creating charity causes, offering service to seniors and encouraging talented believers to create business careers for others. These works have been done and brought about a good result, with people doing them in great success. It is not new; but, we believe that it is still effective. If everyone rises to spread the Gospel, China will soon become a Gospelized country.
Europe, where Christianity has successfully penetrated, was wilder than modern China when the Gospel arrived there in the beginning. But, because of those persistent missionaries who risked their lives testifying to the truth and spreading the gospel, God's word finally changed the wild nature of the bloodthirsty militant Germanic people. Similarly, we know that in spite of the admirable vision to change China into a Christ-centered country, there are unavoidable difficulties and pressures on the way as we take action.
The Author is a preacher in a house Church. He welcomes others' comments or different opinions. He would be reached by Tel: +8615993130529.
Translated by Alvin Zhou
