The up-coming Bible Ministry Exhibition of the Church in China, sponsored by China Christian Council (CCC) and National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (TSPM), will be presented at German Protestant Kirchentag in Cologne on 7-9 June and at Mission One World of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria (ELCB) in Neuendettelsau since 13 June,
2007 in Germany.
After the similar exhibitions held in Hong Kong in 2004, in
Los Angeles,
Atlanta and New York City in the USA in 2006, it will be the first time that the Church in China presents the exhibition in Europe, under the invitation of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and
German Protestant Kirchentag
.
The previous exhibitions were quite successful. In Hong Kong, about 30,000 people, and in thee major cities in
USA, more than 20,000 people attended the attractive event. The exhibit provides displays, pictures, art works and written histories about the development of Christianity in
China.
The theme of the exhibition is “A Lamp to my Feet, a Light to my Path” (Psalms 119:105). The exhibition will have 6 galleries:
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The Early History of the Bible in
China:
Along with the Nestorian missionaries, the Scripture was brought to
China as early as from
635A.D., Dang Dynasty. Through the 19th and 20th century, a great deal of works relating the Bible translation and publication was accomplished by foreign missionaries and Chinese Christians. That laid a solid foundation for the steady development of the Bible ministry of the Church in
China today.
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Bible Publication after 1980:
A great many bibles were destroyed as a result of the ten disastrous years of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). In February, 1980, National Committee of TSPM made a significant decision to renew Bible publication as soon as possible. From 1980 to 1986, 3 million copies of Bible were published. With the establishment of the Amity Printing Press in 1987, the pace of Bible printing in
China was accelerated. By the end of 2006, almost 43 million bibles of various editions had been published.
In addition, there are two panels for brief introduction of the Catholic church’s Bible ministry in
China.
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Bible Distribution since 1980:
CCC/TSPM hopes that through its earnest service, Bible will reach to every Christian in
China. Since 1990, a network of approximately 70 Bible distribution centers, sponsored by provincial and local CC/TSPM, has gradually been established in
China. The network guarantees quick delivery of bibles to Christians in cities, prefectures, countries, towns and villages throughout
China.
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Bible Ministries for National Minority Churches:
There are 55 ethnic minorities in
China. Their populations are much smaller than that of the Han Chinese, and substantial numbers of Christians are found among a number of these groups. Bible is an indispensable friend in their spiritual lives. CCC/TSPM has devoted considerable attention to translating, revising and publishing bibles in ethnic languages. Since 1980s, a total of 476,605 Bibles of different editions have been published in 8 ethnic languages, including Korean, Miao, Yi, Wa, Jingpo, Lahu, east Lisu and Dai.
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Bible and Church Life:
Chinese Christians love the Bible, because the Word of God is a constant source of help and aid to them at all times. Chinese ministers pastor their flocks through the Word of God, which becomes a living spring and a source of strength. Many Christians contribute a lot to the society with the encouragement of the biblical teachings. Furthermore, Chinese society also expresses considerable interest in the Bible, demonstrating respect and goodwill towards Christian faith. Bible is not only the Christians’ spiritual food, but also regarded as the
Golconda of western civilization and western culture in the view of academic scholars.
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Christian Art Works:
Many Chinese Christians have made repeated attempts to indigenize Christian artistic creation. Using Bible stories as themes, they delicately and vividly express the meaning of the gospel with a variety of traditional Chinese and other art forms, such as Chinese painting, calligraphy, paper-cut, carving and handwriting bibles, etc.. One of the rare art works is giant wood carving “The Life of Jesus”, which is 12.15 feet in length and 5.25 feet in height. 75 Bible stories with 1000 biblical figures are carved in sixty-layers on a 100-year-old block of camphor wood.
The main purpose of the historic exhibition is to bear witness to how Chinese Christians enjoy the religious freedom, how Chinese Christians love God’s Word, how the good news in the Bible has been spread, and how the body of Christ has been built up under the consistent guidance of the Word as well as how the Church contribute to the society in China today.
Since
China is increasingly in the news because of its rapid economic growth and its many cultural exchanges with
Germany, the exhibition is also intended
to bring new understanding, and to create greater dialogue between Christians in
China and
Germany. As Bishop K.H. Ting, a prominent leader in the
Chinese
Church, says: “the Bible unites us.” It is anticipated that the Bible Ministry Exhibition will bring unity and love of God between the two countries and two peoples.
In the meantime, CCC/TSPM appreciates EKD, Kirchentag, ELCB and all those who cooperate on the project very much for their encouragements, supports and prayers.
CCC/TSPM sincerely invites you to attend the Bible Ministry Exhibition to witness God’s marvelous work in
China.
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1, Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (TSPM):
In order to break away from the old image of “foreign religion”, Chinese Protestant Christians initiated the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in 1950 to realize the principles of self-governance, self-support and self-propagation of the gospel. The National Committee of TSPM was founded in 1954. Today, the vision of TSPM is to guide Chinese Christians to love the country and love the church, to glory God and benefit people, and to promote various church ministries with China Christian Council together.2, China Christian Council (CCC) was established in 1980. CCC serves to unite and provide services for churches in
China by formulating Church Order, encouraging theological education through seminaries and Bible schools, publishing Bibles and other Christian materials, and coordinating training programs for churches throughout this vast country.
3, Statistics of the Church in
China: According to a statistics several years ago, there were about 16 million Protestant Christians in
China, and the number is still in growth. In Chinese churches now, there are about 55,000 churches and meeting points, and more than 36,000 pastoral personnel including 3,700 pastors and assistant pastors, and elders, preachers or evangelists as well. There are also more than 100,000 church lay-workers helping to fulfill the ministries.
4, Theological Education: There are 18 theological seminaries/Bible schools in
China in three levels (national, regional and provincial), enrolling about 1,800 students. There are also provincial and local training centers. More than 26,000 lay workers have received basic theological training in the year of 2005.
