A combination of factors internal to China and in the external environment are reshaping the China ministry landscape. As a result the role of foreign Christian workers in China is changing. Central to this change is a shift in orientation from serving the church in China to serving with the church in China. Drawing upon recent survey data from Christian leaders in China we look at the changes currently underway and specific implications for those who serve.
Brent Fulton, author of China’s Urban Christians: A Light that Cannot be Hidden, serves as President of ChinaSource, an organization that engages the Christian community with critical knowledge for collaborating with and serving the Chinese church and society. Dr. Fulton holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Radio-TV-Film from Messiah College. An avid China watcher, Dr. Fulton has written and taught extensively on the church in China and on Chinese social and political phenomena. Since 1998 he has edited the “ChinaSource Quarterly,” a journal on issues in the church and ministry in China.