Chinese Christians share experiences with U.S.

Reverends from the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China (TSPM) visited the Chicago Bible Society Thursday and held a seminar on church life in China and the experiences of their congregations. Their presentation was well-received by the American Christians, who said they appreciated the opportunity to learn more about how Christianity was practiced in China. Reverend An Xinyi, chairman of the Jiangsu Committee of the TSPM, said there're various Christian churches in China, and church congregations in Jiangsu province range from a few hundred members to some 20,000. Yuan Shiguo, vice president and dean of the Sichuan Theological Seminary, told Xinhua that the Sichuan Christian community made efforts to cope with administration challenges due to shortages of church personnel. "One of our (methods) is to provide training to local people and let them help the pastors and officials ... We set up training centers and classes in local churches for non-Christian leaders to participate in." Yuan said he enjoys religious freedom in China, now home to about 23 million Christians, where he teaches the Gospel and share it with others. "We enjoy religious freedom in our country. In Sichuan we can go to many churches to do sermons and presentations," he said. He said a priority of the Chinese Christian community is placed on social service, and members of the community are running retirement homes and rehabilitation centers in Sichuan. The seminar was part of the exchange programs on the agenda of the Chinese delegation's U.S. trip, during which an exhibition was already held in Washington and Chicago featuring Christianity's development in China, and will then go to Dallas and Charlotte.