2 Million Brits are trying church again

2 Million Brits are trying church again

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“You Won’t Believe Why 2 Million Brits Are Trying Church Again – And It’s Not What You Think”

Church in the UK is having a surprise comeback. In fact, church attendance has jumped by 50% in the last six years, and around 2 million people have tried going recently (yes, really – YouGov says so!). Curious why? Here are six eye-opening reasons people are giving church another go – and maybe why you should too.

1. People Are Happier There – No Joke
Feeling a bit lost, lonely or low? You’re not alone. But here’s something interesting: 71% of churchgoers say they’re happy with life right now, and 75% feel their life has real meaning. That’s miles ahead of people who don’t go. Especially for young women, going to church is linked to feeling less anxious or depressed. Jesus once said he came to give “life in all its fullness” – sounds like he might’ve been onto something.

2. It’s Where People Ask the Big Stuff
Where did I come from? Why am I here? What’s the point of it all? If those questions have been rattling around your brain, you’re not alone – loads of people are heading to church to explore life’s biggest questions. And it’s totally okay not to have the answers. Most churches run chilled, friendly courses like Alpha or Christianity Explored, where you can bring your doubts and chat honestly.

3. It’s Not About the Building – It’s About Belonging
One big surprise? Church is actually full of people – real, supportive, diverse, messy people. And research shows it’s helping people, especially young adults, feel more connected. Over 60% of young churchgoers say they feel close to their community, compared to just 25% of non-churchgoers. Whether you’re an introvert, extrovert, thinker, feeler, young, old – there’s room for you.

4. You Get to Be Part of Something Bigger
We all want to feel like we matter – like we’re making a difference. Church helps with that too. It’s not about watching from the sidelines – it’s about joining in. Churchgoers are way more likely to volunteer, support charities, and give to food banks. If you’ve been craving purpose or a chance to help, church might surprise you.

5. It Gives You Space to Breathe
Life moves fast – too fast. But church is one of the few places that actually invites you to pause. To pray. To think. To be still. And guess what? More and more young adults are turning to spiritual practices like prayer to cope with stress. Church isn’t a magic fix, but it is a place to take a breath and bring your worries to a God who listens.

6. It’s Actually a Celebration
Why all the singing on Sundays? Because church is celebrating something huge: Jesus’ resurrection – the moment Christians believe changed everything. It’s about joy, not just ritual. Jesus claimed to bring forgiveness, freedom, and eternal life – and that’s something worth singing about. Church won’t solve all your problems. But it might just connect you with the One who can.

So… maybe it’s time to give church a try.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t even need to believe yet. But you might just find more than you expected. (Via Tev Tim Yau)

*

Revival stirs in UK

May be an image of 4 people and text that says "CP) UK Churches Experience Surge in New Commitments to Christ Since the Pandemic"
New research reveals that twice as many people in the UK are committing to follow Christ compared to five years ago. Both large and small churches are seeing spiritual growth, with a notable rise in young people exploring faith. Despite changing attendance patterns, churches are adapting and confidently sharing hope, fueling a quiet revival across the nation.

UK churches see twice as many people commit to following Christ since pandemic: research

Churches are seeing twice as many people committing to following Jesus Christ compared to five years ago, according to the latest research report titled “Changing Church” published by the Evangelical Alliance in the United Kingdom.

The findings reinforce related research disclosed recently in “The Quiet Revival” Report by the Bible Society showing an increase in young men becoming Christians.

Danny Webster, director of advocacy for the U.K. Evangelical Alliance, commented in a news update that “more people are approaching churches and exploring the Christian faith — and in this area smaller churches are seeing salvation at a comparable rate to large churches.”

“What I’m seeing as I travel around the country are churches that are adapting well to the landscape, serving their communities wholeheartedly and growing numerically as they confidently share the hope of Jesus with those around them.

“There’s an openness to the Christian faith, especially among young people, which is reflected in our new Changing Church report. The next few years may well be even more dramatic in this time of spiritual openness.”

The data showed that average church attendance has been upsurging by 13% since January 2020, which is still considered an “underestimate of what’s happening across the U.K.” by Webster.

Larger churches have grown at the same time as smaller churches shrunk, he said, meaning that “the overall attendance change across all the churches surveyed was 22%, with larger churches seeing significant growth disproportionately contributing to that number.”

Churches with 47 or fewer members dipped by 15%, but a quarter of churches with more than 165 members grew by 21%.

The Evangelical Alliance had anticipated a decline in weekly church attendance, a trend now confirmed by data showing a drop from 90% in 2020 to 78% in 2025. However, most respondents who no longer attend weekly still participate in church gatherings about three times per month.

“The changes to church life we are witnessing are not evenly distributed, and beyond the findings of this research more is needed to understand how different denominations are faring, how churches in different parts of the country are growing or declining,” wrote Webster.

“What is clear is that in the UK people are coming to know Jesus as His good news is confidently shared. It is an encouragement for us to continue to follow Him, and help others come to know Him.”

See the full report here.

This article was originally published by Christian Daily International

SEE ALSO

Revivals Index – history’s mighty revivals

Revival hits army base – 2018
Revivals Across the South of USA – 2018
Revival in America’s Largest University – 2018
A ‘surprising work of God’ in Asbury chapel – 2023

Fresh Outpouring at Asbury University – 2023
American Revival Reports – 2023
A year of revival on college campuses – 2023
Revivals in 2024
Largest baptism events in US history – May 2025
Revival Reports 2025
England – 2 million Brits are trying church again – 2025

Revival Blogs

Blogs Index 1: Revivals

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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Church growth in Saudi Arabia

Church growing in Saudi Arabia faster than global average

By Daniel Corado –
Dr. Ahmed Joktan, who was beaten and scarred, had a gun put to his head, for converting to Christianity, hides his identity still because the danger is still there.

 

In Mecca – the crown jewel of Islam — immediately after he read the Koran and prayed to Allah during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Ahmed Joktan, the son of a grand mufti, was visited by Jesus in a dream.

“In my dream, the balcony opened up, there was this light, and I heard a voice saying, ‘Come to me,’” Ahmed says on a Gateways Christian Fellowship video.

Ahmed converted to Christ in New Zealand where he was studying English. He now lives in the West. Hundreds of thousands of other Saudis who converted remain in Saudi Arabia, boldly serving the Lord at the risk of being hanged.

Saudi Arabia is iron-clad closed to the gospel. Evangelizing is illegal. Bibles are outlawed. Apostasy is punishable by death. Non-Muslims are not even allowed in Mecca, where Muslims believe Mohammad received his visions and Abraham once lived.(1)

Oswaldo Magdangal led a church in Saudi Arabia for 11 years.

 

 

Despite the risks, Christianity is burgeoning, even approaching 10%2 of the population, says Oswaldo Magdangal, who pastored an underground church for 11 years as a Filipino worker. He was caught and almost hanged in 1992.

“Saudi Arabia has the largest secret congregation in the world, and it’s mainly Saudi citizens,” Oswaldo told God Reports. The younger generation is especially open to the Gospel. “Christianity is all over, in Mecca, Riyadh, but the biggest growth is in Jeddah.”

Is revival happening in the underground church?

“Saudi Arabia’s rate of Christian growth is about 65% greater than the global average,” says Bruce Allen, with Forgotten Missionaries International, using statistics from Joshua Project. “Just because we hear that a government is closed to the gospel doesn’t mean the hearts of the people are.” (2)

Until the new Crown Prince took over in 2017, Saudi Arabia was the home of one of the most extremist brands of Islam, Wahhabism. Of the 19 hijackers involved in 9/11, 15 were Saudi nationals and most of them followed the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. Osama bin Ladin was Saudi and influenced by several extremist ideologies, including Wahhabism. School children have been taught in Saudi schools to fight the West.

But when Mohammad bin Salman took over, he liberalized the kingdom significantly. Fanatical clerics were jailed, preachers were told to tone down their messages, women were allowed to drive, schoolbooks were re-written to encourage moderate faith.

Most importantly, the religious police were stripped of their authority.


Wally Magdangal

Negotiations are ongoing to build churches on the peninsula; if neighboring United Arab Emirates has allowed compounds to open for churches, why not Saudi Arabia? There are now Bible printing houses (printing in Tagalog and in English), Oswaldo says.

But on the downside, congregations still can’t rent hotel conference rooms or public buildings, he adds.

“There is a major increase in church attendance, particularly among the younger generation,” Oswaldo says. “There are now Saudi pastors.”

From the Philippines, Oswaldo worked as a guest worker in charge of civilian employees for the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia. His wife worked in the Armed Forces Hospital. They had good connections.

But their connections were not good enough to save him from the religious police. When he was holding services in the desert (to avoid being discovered by the religious police), an AWAC plane during the Gulf War detected his meeting. The religious police caught him in Riyadh, the capital, he says.

He was imprisoned, interrogated and flogged on every part of his body, even the bottom of his feet. He wasn’t told the charges against him until his trial: blasphemy.

Oswaldo despaired. Interrogators demanded the names of his converts and associates in spreading the Gospel.

“Eventually I was so weak, they placed the pad of paper in my lap, and they forced the pencil into my hand,” Oswaldo said in Christianity Today. “I was weeping, and I said, ‘Lord, you’ve got to help me here,’ and I began to write the names of Billy Graham, Charles Spurgeon, and others. After a few days, they were so mad, because they’d been all over Saudi Arabia looking for those people.”

He was to be hung on Christmas Day, a date selected to mock his faith. Not only the Philippines appealed to King Fahd, but also the US, the UN, Amnesty International, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, and the Pope.

The church was praying, both outside and inside Saudi Arabia. His Saudi converts did a biblical Jericho-like march around the Kaaba.

Pastor Wally’s supporters did a Jericho march — around the Kaaba.

Muslims march around the Kaaba as part of their religion. It is the most holy site in Islam. But when the Christian Saudis did it, under cover, they were signifying that Islam could not withstand the God of the Bible.

It worked. With only hours before the execution, King Fahd ordered Oswaldo’s release at midnight. Military personnel came to rescue him and escort him out. He and his wife had to leave the country within 24 hours.

Oswaldo – who goes by Wally – has not been back since. He tried to visit in 2022, but was denied an entry visa. Oswaldo and his wife hope to get into the country eventually and start telephoning their old contacts. Oswaldo believes he can get a meeting with MBS, at which he wants to present the gospel.

Ever since it discovered oil and became flush with cash, Saudi Arabia has used foreign labor for a full range of menial jobs. Some of those workers are Christian tent makers, like Paul, using their worldly skills to advance the Gospel where traditional missionaries are shut out.

Recently the tent makers have been joined by tourists. In an attempt to pivot away from an all-oil economy, Saudi Arabia is now wooing tourists. Who would have guessed that Christians would be among the first to come?

 

They visit the site where some believe Moses received the 10 commandments, Jebel al-Lawz, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, near the Gulf of Aqaba — and they pray.

(1) According to the Quran and Islamic historical sources, Abraham (Ibrahim) and his son Ishmael (Ismail) traveled to the site where Mecca now stands, built the Kaaba, and established monotheistic worship there. However, this narrative does not appear in the Hebrew Bible or other Jewish or Christian sources.

(2) According to Joshua Project, the percentage of Christian adherents in Saudi Arabia is 4.02% and the percentage of Evangelicals is 0.53%. The Evangelical annual growth rate is 4.3%, higher than the global growth rate of 2.6%.

If you want to know more about a personal relationship with God, go here

Related articles: 

  • Brother Rachid went homeless for two years in Morocco for accepting Christ.
  • 7th Century coins expose fabrications of Islam’s history
  • Does Islam plan to take over Europe with violence?
  • Is Islam inherently violent? Look at the history.
  • Why are Europeans converting to Islam?
  • Sharia law in London is practiced locally and internally.

About this writer: Daniel Corado studies at the Lighthouse Christian Academy in Santa Monica.

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I plant secret house churches

Iran: ‘I plant secret house churches because I was saved into one’

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I plant secret house churches

Nathan shares how he found Christ as a teenager in Iran and how God led him to launch a mission to equip persecuted believers. “I plant secret house churches, because I was saved into one,” he says.

This is his story:

I grew up in a Muslim family in Tehran, Iran. My mother, a devoted Muslim, taught me to follow Islamic practices diligently. However, fear of losing my parents haunted me due to uncertainties about salvation. One day, a Christian relative visited us and shared the gospel. Even though I’d been taught that the Bible was corrupted, her words resonated deeply with me. My mother surprisingly listened and questioned rather than getting defensive. Her claims of Jesus freeing us from fear struck a chord in my soul.

Later, I found myself on my knees, asking Jesus to save me. To my amazement, my mother was undergoing her own spiritual transformation. We, along with my father and brother, embraced Christ. A secret house church provided us refuge. Despite potential danger, the Holy Spirit emboldened us to share the gospel with Muslims.

‘We now lead an Instagram fellowship for secret house churches’

Over the years, I delved deeper into my faith, attending Christian conferences abroad and returning to teach in Iran. A dream of leaving Iran in 2013 came true as I became a refugee in the United States, fulfilling God’s promise. My ministry extended to social media, where I equip Persian believers through online education and mentorship. My wife and I lead an Instagram fellowship for secret house churches in places like Iran and Afghanistan, allowing us to reach Muslims globally.

The transformation was powerful – my once fearful heart was liberated by Jesus. My father’s passing brought sadness but also peace, as he embraced Christianity and found solace in his last days. I am now a church planting pastor and leadership coach in North Carolina, thankful for the journey that led me to Christ and my mission to empower persecuted believers.

Joel News International # 1315, September 15, 2023

Added to BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

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Ghana: Jesus Film Riders on a mission

Ghana: Jesus Film Riders on a mission

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Ghana: Jesus Film Riders on a mission
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival: www.renewaljournal.com

The ministry recently released a video featuring the Jesus Film Riders.

Five young men in Ghana spend their days riding motorbikes across the country on an important mission. Each of them carries a projection kit to show the JESUS Film in different villages, some of them unreached with the Gospel. They are called the Jesus Film Riders.

All of these young men are college graduates, devoted to sharing Christ. Their mission is not easy. They must ride across rugged terrain, often for hours, to reach remote and isolated villages. Each Jesus Film Rider must be willing to go anywhere, sleep anywhere, and eat anything.

Before they can show the JESUS Film in a new village, a visiting Jesus Film Rider has to establish relationships in the village. Sometimes they are able to provide water filtration units to meet practical needs and open relational doors. Once they have built trust and get permission from a “man of peace” in the village, the Jesus Film Rider is able to share the JESUS Film.

OneWay Africa Field Director, Mawunyo Kuuku Win-Tamakloe says, “They can’t believe that the Jesus they’ve heard of can speak their language. It’s always heartwarming when they find out.” Each film showing ends with a time of prayer and an invitation to follow Christ.

Since OneWay’s Jesus Film Campaign began in 2016, over 225,000 villagers have seen the JESUS Film. And 28,226 have committed their lives to Christ.

However, the ministry doesn’t stop there. After showing the JESUS Film, the rider will continue small group discipleship meetings in the village using tools such as the Bible Plus audio players. Eventually, the small group grows and often establishes a new church. Over several months, the Jesus Film Rider continues to support the village and trains new believers to disciple others. Then he moves on to the next village that needs the Gospel.

See a video featuring the Jesus Film Riders.

Source: Lyndsey Koh, JESUS Film Project

Joel News # 1266, July 12, 2022

SEE


Terrorist saved by JESUS film

The JESUS Film


Ghana: Jesus Film Riders


Radicals can’t stop the Jesus Film

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The Life of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story – Blog
The Life of Jesus: History’s Great Love Story – PDF

Contents of The Life of Jesus

Preface
Introduction
1 Birth and Boyhood
2 Ministry Begins
3 First to Second Passover
4 Second to Third Passover
5 Passover to Pentecost
Conclusion
Discussion Questions
Appendix 1: Chronology Chart
Appendix 2: The Feast Days
Appendix 3: The Gospels
Appendix 4: Alternative Chronology 
Appendix 5: The Shroud of Turin 
Appendix 6: Publications   

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UK: Black churches thrive like never before

UK: Black churches thrive like never before

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UK: Black churches thrive like never before

Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival:  www.renewaljournal.com
In the UK there has been a 5% national drop in church attendance, but a corresponding 18% increase in Black church membership.

According to the Evangelical Alliance’s Census, ‘Ethnicity and Regular Church Going’, this growth is reflected in Black church attendance being at least three times their proportion in the population. London is the best place to see this as 48% of all churchgoers are now Black, with the London Borough of Southwark having the largest concentration of African churches anywhere in the country. It has an estimated 240 Black Majority churches, with over 20,000 congregants.

What do we know about African churches, their Christianity and their rapid growth? Here are five things worth knowing:

1. African Christianity is active and engaged
African churches expect their members to become fully engaged and involved in the life and activities of the church. Their Christianity is part of everyday life, every aspect of it.

2. African Christians have a positive outlook on life
African church leaders are generally inspirational and often charismatic. Members are aspirational and have a positive outlook on life. They see prosperity as God’s blessing and find it empowering to pursue this.

3. African churches think big and stylish
African Christians think big. They love the term ‘my God is a big God’, which shows the limitless power of what God can do. Many of their churches started with a few members and in record time have grown into big churches. When African churches put on events and conferences, they are likely to be on a grand scale. When they buy warehouses, abandoned buildings, bingo halls, or former churches, they refurbish them to a high standard with a ‘wow’ factor.

4. Africans market and promote relentlessly on social media
African churches have a good grasp of modern communication and information technology. Typically, they are on all the leading social media platforms to grow their churches and attract young people to their services. Many are likely to have had an online experience before going through the doors.

5. ‘Reverse Mission’
Reverse Mission is a concept prevalent among many African Christians, who see their mission in Britain as a reversal of how the missionaries once brought Christianity to Africa. They now believe Britain needs re-evangelising and are committed to doing so.

Source: Roy Francis

Joel News # 1259, May 23, 2022

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BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 4: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

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UK: Black churches thrive like never before

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How Ukraine became a missions hub for Russia

How Ukraine became a missions hub for Russia

Heroes of faith

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How Ukraine became a missions hub for Russia
Renewal Journal – a chronicle of renewal and revival:  www.renewaljournal.com

At the beginning of the last century, a young immigrant from Russia to the US named Ivan Voronaev found himself in the midst of a revival.

This revival had started in a little store-front church on a street named Azusa in Los Angeles, but quickly spread across the nation and also impacted New York where in 1917 Voronaev pastored a small Russian Baptist congregation. He encountered the work, power and leading of the Holy Spirit there, as described in the New Testament.

Photo: The Voronaev family

Several months later at a home prayer meeting, Voronaev received a prophetic message, “Voronaev, Voronaev, go to Russia!” This would not be an easy task. The tsar recently had been overthrown by the bolsheviks, and political, religious, and social turmoil had produced much suffering.

In 1920 Voronaev went to Ukraine with his message of revival and set up headquarters in the port city of Odessa. In a few years of preaching, teaching and mobilising, he saw over 17,000 people encountering the Holy Spirit and following Christ. They fanned out across the Soviet Union, preached the gospel, and established Pentecostal churches. In 1926, Voronaev organised the General-Ukrainian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith, which provided fellowship for the growing number of churches. By 1928, the Union consisted of about 400 congregations with approximately 20,000 members.

Shortly after this revival, Voronaev and his wife Katherine were arrested by the communists and sent to the gulag where he died. His wife sat out her sentence of 25 years. Their story is shared in more detail on the website of the Assemblies of God.

Photo: Odessa before the Russian invasion

Meanwhile, Stalin uprooted millions of Ukrainians (as Putin is doing today), scattering them across the Soviet Union to Siberia and beyond to the Far East, unwittingly spreading the revival. Voronaev’s disciples became the foundation of the underground church of Russia. At the same time Stalin replaced the Ukrainians with millions of Russians, thus creating the problem we are facing today.

Ukraine has long been the spiritual center of Eastern Europe and beyond. Seven out of ten evangelical churches in Russia today have Ukrainian pastors. Ukrainian churches can be found all over the former Soviet Union; and all across Europe, the US and the world.

As the leadership of the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church met this week in Kyiv representing 1800 congregations, their senior bishop, Mykhailo Panochko, shared the belief of state officials that the church was a key element in the healing of their nation. “Don’t miss your chance to be part of great things God is performing,“ he told them. “God’s plans are surely higher than ours!”

Sources: Jeff Fountain, AG News

Joel News # 1259, May 23, 2022

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GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 4: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS & VIDEOS)

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George Chen – In the Garden: 18 years in prison

George Chen – In the garden: 18 years in prison

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George Chen – In the Garden: 18 years in prison
Persecution in 2022

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The World Watch List 2022

Around the world, more than 360 million Christians live in places where they experience high levels of persecution, just for following Jesus. That’s 1 in 7 believers.

During the 18 years Chen had spent in prison, when he had often worried that all Christians had been killed or fallen away from the faith, God had caused the three churches he had led to increase from a total of 300 to 5,000 believers!

See Pastor George Chen’s moving labour camp story – In the Garden – YouTube 5 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6dIi6k76MQincluding Chen singing ‘In the Garden’


George Chen 1932-2021

A Tribute by Paul Hattaway

George Chen was the very first Chinese Christian I ever met in my life. In the 1980s I was a new believer in Christ, saved just a few months, when the direction of my life was radically changed after hearing Chen speak at a church in my home country. I knew next to nothing about China at the time and my life was directionless. I had never had a single thought of going to China.

I was speechless after hearing the testimony of this man who spent 18 years in prison for Jesus. He had endured horrific conditions, and had not only survived the ordeal, but had emerged with an unconquerable faith! George Chen’s eyes shone as I spoke with him after the meeting. He encouraged me to unreservedly make myself available to God, and to consider being a “donkey for Jesus” by carrying Bibles across the border from Hong Kong to the spiritually starving Christians in China, who had been without Bibles for three decades.

As recorded in my biography, the Lord miraculously propelled me to China through a series of astonishing events, despite being a teenager with no money to my name. I found myself in China just weeks after that pivotal meeting, and I had also been exposed to a type of Christianity that was completely foreign to most Westerners. I recalled my meeting with George Chen in “An Asian Harvest”:

“His testimony impacted me deeply. in the formative time of my Christian walk. He had spent longer behind bars because of his love for Jesus than I had been alive at that time.

This precious man had learned to appreciate the small blessings of life…. George taught me that the kingdom of God cannot be defeated by evil men or governments. Whatever terrible things Satan and the world can throw at Jesus’ disciples, His purposes will not be thwarted.”  …

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3).

Churches throughout China suffered continual hammer blows throughout the 1950s and 1960s, as Satan’s fury was unleashed on them. One Christian who suffered greatly was George Chen (Chinese name: Chen Minying), who endured inhumane treatment at the hands of his persecutors, only to be preserved by the hand of God. He was even given an international ministry after his release from prison.

Chen was born in 1932 to a humble family in Zhejiang Province. The chaos engulfing China at the time caused them to move to Shanghai, where George grew up. After hearing the Gospel he surrendered his life to God, and the Holy Spirit gave him a gift of evangelism.

Chen founded three rural churches with a total of 300 members, most of whom he had personally led to Christ. The believers had a hunger for the Word of God and desired to spread the Gospel, which soon caught the attention of the Communist authorities. Chen was first arrested in 1960 and imprisoned as a counterrevolutionary.

For the first three-and-a-half years, George was one of five inmates crammed into a cell that was so small the men had to lie on their sides, head-to-toe, like sardines in a can. A wooden bucket in the corner of the tiny space served as the toilet for all the men. George was often so hungry that he ate toothpaste to satisfy his cravings. Chen’s wife and son were not allowed to contact him during his incarceration, and for years he was oblivious to the fact that she had died, and his son had been killed by the Communist authorities.

In 1964, Chen was moved inland to a prison labor camp in Anhui Province, where he served a further 14 years.


Inmates at a prison labor camp in China in the 1970s.

After months of backbreaking work, seven days a week, the prison leaders were infuriated that they had been unable to make the evangelist deny his faith in Jesus.

They ordered Chen to perform the worst job in the prison, daily shoveling human excrement to be used as fertilizer. The massive amount of waste produced by 60,000 prisoners flowed into a large cesspool a short distance from the cells. He later recalled the struggle of those long and difficult years, and how he was often troubled by thoughts that God had abandoned him:

“I spent my days deep in human waste, turning it with a shovel to make compost. They thought I would be miserable, but actually I was happy. It smelled so bad that no one came near me, so I could pray and sing aloud all day.

If I was not a Christian I would have died, because the smell was maddening, and the stench terrible. But I enjoyed being alone in the cesspool, so I could pray to our Lord, recite the Scriptures, and sing hymns loudly.”

To counteract the thoughts that he had been forsaken, as he stood deep in human waste every day, George often sung the beautiful words of his favorite hymn, In the Garden:

“I come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roses And the voice I hear falling on my ear The Son of God discloses.

“And He walks with me And He talks with me And He tells me I am His own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known.”

Finally, in 1978, the political situation relaxed a little in China, and Chen was released from prison and placed under house arrest. Eighteen long years had passed.

When he entered prison, the Cultural Revolution had yet to begin, and Mao held complete power. Now, the Cultural Revolution was over, and Mao was in the grave.

George was afraid that nobody would remember who he was. Most of all, he wondered if any of the Christians he had once known were still alive, or if there were any believers left in China at all. With trepidation, he slowly made his way home, not knowing what he would find.

For almost two decades, George Chen had been both burdened and blessed by the memory of his church members. Countless times, as he stood in the excrement pit, he prayed aloud for them, asking the Holy Spirit to sustain their faith and help them to overcome. As he got off the bus in his home area, he failed to recognize many of the buildings or faces of the people he passed.

Then, from behind, came a cry of shock from an elderly woman. “Pastor… is it you?” One of his former church members was still alive! In a typically constrained Chinese manner, the two did not hug, but shook hands as tears rolled down their faces. George was relieved. Now he knew that he was not the only Christian left in China. There were at least two!


Millions of books (including Bibles) were burned during the Cultural Revolution, creating a famine of the Word of God in China.

 God is Good

News of the pastor’s return spread throughout the neighborhood like wildfire, and soon the shining faces of many other believers pressed against the windows of a house he was invited to stay in. Many people were beside themselves with both shock and joy. They presumed the pastor had died decades earlier, and not a word had been heard to suggest that he was still alive.

The biggest shock was to come. When George asked one of his old friends if any fellowship of believers had survived, he was told, “Yes! God is good! He has sent His Spirit to breathe on us, and now we have many members. We are so glad that you have returned, because we do not have any Bibles and few of us remember many of the words of Jesus. Please teach us, pastor. Please!”

The Lord Jesus Christ, who promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church, had done a great miracle. During the 18 years Chen had spent in prison, when he had often worried that all Christians had been killed or fallen away from the faith, God had caused the three churches to increase from a total of 300 to 5,000 believers!

George was amazed, and he hardly slept that night as he tried to take in everything he had heard. His rejoicing was soon tempered, however, when he was told that his wife had died years earlier, and his young son had been killed. The prison officials had cruelly withheld this information from him.

Chen remained under house arrest until 1981, when he was “rehabilitated” by the government and his criminal records were erased.

Remarkably, for a man whom other Christians had forgotten about and assumed to be dead, God opened the door for George Chen to obtain a passport, and he shared his testimony in church meetings around the world during the late 1980s and 1990s. At each meeting, he invariably took time to thank the Body of Christ for sending missionaries to China in the past.

Chen remarried and spent much of his latter life traveling between his home and southwest China, where he ministered among ethnic minority groups, especially the Lisu people in the high mountains straddling the border with Myanmar. He was much loved, and he often drove a van hundreds of miles to deliver loads of precious Bibles to spiritually hungry Christians.

Although he officially retired in 2012 at the age of 80, George Chen continued to travel to China, where he advised house church leaders in Henan and Yunnan provinces. After many years spent ‘in the garden’ with Jesus Christ, his life shone into many dark places, and had become a sweet fragrance that attracted many souls to the kingdom of God.

Just a few months ago we received this photo of George. He looked fit and healthy, and we remarked that he would probably live to one hundred.

It wasn’t to be, however, and the Lord Jesus Christ finally called His servant home on October 27, 2021, when George Chen died peacefully in his sleep while in Hong Kong.

He was 89 years old.


George Chen in 2021, aged 89

Article edited from: In Memory of George Chen – Forever ‘In the Garden’

 

GENERAL BLOGS INDEX

BLOGS INDEX 1: REVIVALS (BRIEFER THAN REVIVALS INDEX)

BLOGS INDEX 2: MISSION (INTERNATIONAL STORIES)

BLOGS INDEX 3: MIRACLES (SUPERNATURAL EVENTS)

BLOGS INDEX 4: DEVOTIONAL (INCLUDING TESTIMONIES)

BLOGS INDEX 5: CHURCH (CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION)

BLOGS INDEX 6: CHAPTERS (BLOGS FROM BOOKS)

BLOGS INDEX 7: IMAGES (PHOTOS AND ALBUMS)

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House Church: The fastest-growing expression of church

House Church: The fastest-growing expression of church

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Joel News International, # 1231 | October 5, 2021
view on the web or translate
“The church has to become small in order to grow big.”
– Wolfgang Simson

Global: The fastest-growing expression of church

German missiologist Wolfgang Simson published a global status report on house churches, in his observation “the fastest growing expression of Christ-followers on the planet.”

House churches like we read about in Acts have been present throughout church history, but these groups were often sidelined and even persecuted by the mainline church. However, since the early 20th century, we see a major comeback of house churches. First in China, where some researchers speak of 160-200 million members in more than 10 million house churches.

Since the 1990s house churches also experienced a rapid renaissance outside China. In particular Egypt and India have experienced the emergence of large house church networks, and became modern-day apostolic epicentres for this global phenomenon. The sum total of all current believers in house churches in India alone, about 80 million, already outnumbers the Lutheran Word Federation.

Simson estimates the number of house churches in mid‐2021 as follows:

1) 10 Million house churches in China.

2) Since 1996, about 2 million house churches have been planted in India, Egypt and the rest of the Middle East.

3) 3 Million house churches have reportedly been planted by various missions collectives like 24:14 and T4T.

4) 2 Million house churches are not on the official radar. This includes movements like Hoffnung Deutschland (founded by Marcus Rose, about 1,000 house churches) and 20,000 newly planted village house churches in Uganda – many meet under a tree for the lack of a hut large enough – as reported by Riccardo Meusel.

5) 1.5 Million ‘ halfway houses’ for church misfits in the USA. According to American sociologist Josh Packard, in his book Church Refugees, the US experiences a gigantic church exodus of so-called ‘doners’ – people who are done with church, but not with God, and organize themselves in ‘halfway houses’.

6) 1 Million ‘doner’ [done with church] house church groups outside the US in countries like Australia, the UK, South Africa, Korea, Singapore and Israel.

7) 1.7 Million house churches inside businesses and Insider Movements. Insider movements are house church movements that do not openly identify with Christianity but remain outwardly loyal and therefore hidden inside existing religions like Islam, Hinduism, Shintoism or Buddhism. Many see their religious environment as their cultural heritage within which they have become secret followers of Christ. This phenomenon also exists inside secular groups, clans or tribes. An additional form of this are ‘business churches’, house churches that function inside a business as their cover. Close observers speak of about 500,000 ‘business house churches in China and 200,000 outside China.

8) 400,000 Informal small groups in mainline churches like the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches that fulfill a role in ‘re-evangelisation’.

9) 1 Million house churches in 20,000 smaller house church networks and so-called ‘Apostolic Networks’.

Small expressions are booming. Picture: tiny houses in Almere, The Netherlands.

There are several significant contributors to the expansion of house churches:

1) Mission researcher Dr. Todd Johnson, in his ‘Status of Global Christianity 2021′, lists 113 million ‘unaffiliated’ or ‘Crypto-Christians’ who are following Christ outside the official church system, often in private, non-public gatherings in homes.

2) An Egyptian missiologist reported that during the Arab Spring at least four million Muslims in Egypt alone have turned away from Islam – many in search of God.

3) A growing number of young evangelists, like Torben Sondergaard (The Last Reformation) and Werner Nachtigall (Global Outreach Day) are intentionally connecting evangelism with the immediate planting of house churches.

4) Several megachurches in the US feel called by God to be instrumental in the planting of house churches. Mission strategist Curtis Sergeant has created a web-based ‘simple church saturation’ project planning to plant one simple church for every 5,000 people in the US and for every 50,000 people globally with material currently available in at least 37 languages.

5) During the COVID19 lock-downs many traditional church members have been forced to engage in ‘stay-at-home-church’, and a significant percentage will continue in this mode. They organised themselves into neighbourhood churches in homes, sometimes with online input. These numbers are not yet fully researched but may be very significant. One thing is evident: the post-corona church will not be exactly the same as pre-corona-church.

6) A large percentage of the children of church-goers have said their farewell to ‘mum’s-and-dad’s church’ and are in search mode for community, values and lifestyles that are radically different. Abraham Piper for example, the son of famous US‐theologian John Piper, runs a TikTok account with more than 1.1 million followers where he is trying to deconstruct fundamentalist evangelical church culture in search of a new and non-religious framework for life. It is to be seen what forms of following Christ will emerge from this very explosive and creative global people group.

Source: Wolfgang Simson

Editorial note: Wolfgang Simson did not research house church networks empirically or scientifically. Such a research is fairly difficult, if not impossible, with organic small groups that in many countries operate under the radar. He used ‘informed estimations’ of ‘trusted insiders’. Obviously data from church leaders who estimate the size of their own movements, and don’t keep records (although many of the Indian movements track conversions and groups), are less reliable and can only be indicative. In the past Simson has exaggerated numbers, and on various occasions was not willing to provide the contacts of those he claimed to have spoken to. So it was not possible for Joel News to check these claims as thoroughly as we would like to. On a general note we can say: house church movements are surely one of fastest-growing segments of the church, and the drivers that Simson suggests are valid, but the exact numbers are debatable.

Germany: The secret behind 1,000 new house churches

One of the networks, Hoffnung Deutschland (Hope Germany), planted an estimated 1,000 communities in 20 years, which for Europe is quite remarkable.

When Joel News asked Marcus Rose, Hoffnung Deutschland’s founder based in Berlin, about the number of house churches in his network, he responded: “We crossed the 500 sometime in 2017, after which we stopped counting.” What also stands out is that most people in these house churches are new Christians. On the question how this remarkable growth happened, Rose remarked drily: “There are many reasons. The one I usually give is that we just never stopped doing the small things.”

Photo: Marcus Rose

In a podcast on missions he elaborated on this: “I always wonder why people ask me: ‘What is the secret of the growth around you?’ And I would say: probably the most important thing is that I would never ask myself that question! I consider growth in an individual’s life the necessary foundation for growth as churches. In 1 John 2:12-14 the Christian work is described as newborn babies who are supposed to become fathers with children of their own. The way to get there is by overcoming the evil one, by being so strong in Christ, his Word and the Spirit, that the world stops being the place where you get your answers from.”

‘Church is the most progressive institution in a country, with the power to transform’

“It’s a continuous process to encourage people on that track and to do it together, to put in their time, giftings and financial resources. The most important part of leadership is just observing: what do people already get from God, and how can we connect people with a similar vision?”

In another podcast, Rose shares his own life story – how he grew up in communist East Germany, and at age 15 had a personal encounter with Christ. When the Wall fell in 1989, even though he was still a teenager he contacted schools to ask if they were interested to replace the lessons on communism in the curriculum with the teachings of Jesus. This opened many doors, and 30 house churches were established.

Later on, in Thailand, like Jonah on the run from his calling, Rose discovered church as “the most progressive institution in a country, with the power to transform, because it brought together prostitutes and millionaires as new people in Christ.”

‘There was no formula, I simply connected with people I met’

Around 2000 he moved back to Germany with the explicit instruction from God to not work in the Christian scene, but to work under the radar, connecting with non-Christians and discipling them in the way of Christ. This was a challenge as East Germany was culturally atheist, almost immune to the Gospel. In the first three months in Berlin God gave Rose a kick-start with a handful of young people getting baptised. “There was no formula. I simply connected with people I met, showed genuine interest, told them I had come to Berlin to plant a church, and if they were open to continue the relationship, I got their number and followed up.”

It quickly spread to several other cities in Germany. Rose communicated from the start that his vision was to see communities started in every region and subculture, and for God to raise up 10,000 missionaries out of Germany.

Image: A visualisation of apostolic hubs and the explosive growth potential of house churches in regions and subcultures

From 2010 onwards the network developed what Rose calls “an apostolic pattern” that started to catalyse things. “God instructed us to divide Germany into 90 minute regions. The idea was that a German could get in his car or step on a train on a Saturday, drive 90 minutes to a place, do outreach there, mentor people, organise something, pray for sick people, do sports, make it a family trip. This is something that people dare to do, that feels very natural.”

‘Continuously ask God what He wants you to do’

Rose also helped new Christians to focus on what he calls ‘the three steps of spiritual planning’, as explained in a third podcast:

1. Ask God: what are the qualities He wants to establish in your life, and through your life in the world around you?
2. If you have security about that, then ask God how many of your resources (time, money) you should invest in that.
3. Then ask Him in which specific projects you should invest yourself.

“This creates an atmosphere in which people continuously ask God what He wants them to do. Not what the church expects of them, or what others might want them to do, but what God says.”

New Christians with an apostolic gifting receive personal coaching to start similar processes themselves in other regions and countries. This is how the multiplication takes place. Rose’s vision for the next years is to start and support 100 apostolic teams, with every team being unique in giftings and reach. Each team could support 100 house churches, reaching people Rose or the apostolic workers could never reach themselves.

Source: Marcus Rose, Hoffnung Deutschland

Small is the new big… Do you long to be part of this global movement? Consider supporting Simple Church Europe, a project of Dutch charity Joel Ministries. We equip Christians to start missional simple church groups in Europe that multiply.

See also

House Church: the fastest growing expression of church

Grassroots movements with no church buildings explode

Dinner Churches

House Churches, by Ian Freestone

House Churches in China (Barbara Nield)

China: how a mother started a house church movement

Laos: a church for the So

https://renewaljournal.com/2014/04/28/twenty-first-century-revivals-transforming-revivals/

Joel News – Inspiring stories on the advance of God’s Kingdom around the globe today, delivered once a week in your mailbox. We cover all continents and serve mission-minded Christians in over 100 nations.

https://www.joelnews.org

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