Perhaps thinking of Jesus’ parable of the pearl of great price, Jim Elliot once wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” My family and I had the privilege of seeing such a spirit at work as we spent a semester laboring alongside believers in China. We were excited to see how the Lord is building His church even in the midst of opposition and persecution.

In the kind providence of God, the Lord opened up an opportunity for me to teach at a university in China for six months last year.  It was a glorious experience, and during my stay there I was able to use my pastoral training to be a resource to the church.

As I was able, I began to get to know and help the local church. I met weekly with a pastor to discuss subjects like preaching, church leadership, church planting, and evangelism. We talked about counseling married couples, counseling those with depression or anger or suicidal thoughts, counseling those suffering from abuse or same sex-attraction, and so on. He and another pastor and five ruling elders serve a congregation of approximately 500 members that meets in multiple locations across a city of almost 10 million people. He and I developed a close bond of fellowship in the midst of hours of very practical discussion.

I also led a small Bible study made up of what the church called “workers” in the congregation. They were deacons and other lay leaders who play an important role in the life of the body. I taught on the subject of peacemaking, the biblical pattern of resolving conflict, which proved to be a challenging subject for the church in China due to some sinful, culturally-conditioned responses to conflict. As we labored through God’s Word, the Lord warmed our hearts to follow Him in this area.

Other doors opened for me to labor with the church. I offered marriage counseling and other types of counsel. In another city I led a four-day seminar—a more intensive, seminary-type class—on the subject of peacemaking. My wife and I also had opportunity to address two different gatherings on the subject of raising children and Christian education.

These experiences gave us an inspiring picture of the Lord at work in the midst of His people. Let me share several aspects about the church that will help you to pray for our brothers and sisters in China.

There is a recognized, national church, the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM). The three selfs are self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating. On the surface these principles are reasonable and were first proposed by missionaries, but in China they have taken on a very different meaning. They represent a fundamental posture against any Western influence. Isolated from the blessing of interaction with the broader evangelical church, the TSPM has become liberal in theology and maintains its place as an instrument for the secular government. Because of this, many believers have chosen not to organize TSPM churches, and in so doing have fostered the Chinese house church movement.

In recent years the government often turned a blind eye to this “underground church,” but that appears to be changing. As some news agencies report, the government has been increasing pressure against the church in China. This persecution takes many different forms: pastors arrested and jailed, church buildings demolished, meetings disrupted, publishing houses raided, and so on. In the city where we lived, six of the seven elders had been interrogated by local authorities. This included intensive questioning about the church as well as physical abuse. Elsewhere, a training center was raided and shut down, with the key leader going into hiding. There seem to be ongoing efforts to quell any organized religion, with attention focused in certain locations.

For the most part, despite governmental persecution, I did not find the church to be afraid. They try to be wise and cautious in order to avoid persecution, but at the same time they strive to be bold for the sake of the gospel. During my regular meetings with individuals and groups, we met carefully but not covertly. For instance, my Bible study met in a man’s apartment, and we also had the group to our apartment for supper and a meeting. We were also invited to a Thanksgiving meal with a group of about 15 believers. On this occasion our guide led us to the location through a side entrance rather than going in the front gate past the guard. She said her purpose was to have fewer eyes seeing us going in. On another occasion, my wife and I spoke to a group about raising a family and education. The pastor had thought to have the presentation at their church meeting location, but for safety’s sake we met at a privately owned coffee shop. This meeting was not announced publicly because of concern about a spy in the congregation. Members passed the information by word of mouth. Even so, there were over 130 in attendance!

In this context, the vibrancy of their faith comes through in several noticeable ways.

First, God has richly blessed the church with boldness to share the gospel and consequently He has also blessed them with many new converts. I came in contact mainly with Christians who were students, professors, or recent graduates who had come to know Christ while in university. At the Thanksgiving meal, our host invited the students to relate how they had become Christians. Many of them shared that the church had reached out and helped them in some practical way when they were in need, and then how they had shared the gospel, too. The church understands their context and ministers actively in it. I was challenged to develop a similar understanding of my own American context and to evangelize as boldly and vigorously at home as I saw in China.

Second, they are concerned to form Christian marriages and families. The Chinese culture brings various pressures on young couples. In many families both husband and wife must work long hours and maybe even several jobs in order to be able to support their family. This leaves little time for developing their relationship with God or with each other. Yet they passionately want to do so. In addition, the whole biblical idea of the relationship between husband and wife is countercultural to their upbringing and surroundings. In particular, most households also include one set of the spouse’s parents who are typically non-Christian. Values and expectations regarding marriage and child rearing are very different, putting the young couples in awkward and strained situations.

Third, they care about the education of their children. The public schools are decidedly atheistic and communistic. We saw many children going to schools wearing the red bandanas around their necks signifying their allegiance to the Communist Party. As I got to know university students, it was clear that part of their education had been to train them to think that there is no God. Christian parents are searching for alternatives to such education. Instead of public school, parents choose to start private Christian schools, or to homeschool, or to form co-ops. They make this choice even though opting out of the public system may mean fewer educational and economic opportunities for their children in the future.

Yet once again the church responded to this threat without fear. They recognize the choices that they are making, but press on, praying that God will provide for future education and vocation for their children. At the same time, some are praying and laying plans to meet the need of higher education either through cooperation with foreign colleges, or through founding Chinese Christian colleges, or through the careful demonstrations that their children educated in an alternative way are academically fit for public universities.

Fourth, they are profoundly committed to the church. They joyfully pursue all the marks of the church: the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and church discipline. Among the body they show love to one another through caring for one another’s needs even though most of them are not well off. Among the leadership, the elders bear an incredible load since many congregants are young and need discipleship. They give of themselves sacrificially in order to preach and teach and train their flocks. They do all this even though such steps may increase their likelihood to face persecution.

In many respects, the church in China reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the pearl of great price. Their lives exhibit conviction; they give everything for the priceless gospel. They have found the kingdom of heaven. They have found Christ.

Author’s name withheld. Some details in this article are purposely vague. The above image is for illustrative purposes only.