The Registered Church in China

“This is a much-needed book that offers an important corrective to many common misunderstandings and puts a human face on those who serve in the registered church in China. Official statistics indicate there are more than thirty million members of registered churches, but little is known about their structure and how they function. Ten Harmsel, who served in and alongside registered churches in China for ten years, provides a glimpse of their inner workings. Based on conversations with pastors and leaders around the country, he allows us to hear directly about the unique challenges and opportunities they face.”


—Joann Pittman, senior vice president at ChinaSource





“In engaging, easy-to-understand terms, Ten Harmsel draws together the latest scholarship on church-state relations in China with his own fresh perspectives to show readers what’s happening at the grassroots of Chinese Christianity today. . . . After reading this book, readers will come away with surprising new insights: that church leaders are satisfied in the work they do and that seeing Chinese brothers and sisters as only suffering in ‘persecuted churches’ tells only a partial story. It gives any reader a bird’s-eye view of important changes, a close-up understanding of new tensions in the Xi Jinping era, and a helpful understanding of how to walk beside and pray for brothers and sisters in the churches that are, as he writes, a ‘gift and blessing to all in China.’”


—Carsten Vala, chair of the Department of Political Science at Loyola University





“China’s registered churches are the most accessible and visible churches in the country, so it is frustrating we know so little about them. Wayne Ten Harmsel has finally provided an intimate look into these congregations. He worked with them for years, and now allows his friends and colleagues to speak for themselves. This book paints the most lifelike portrait I have read to date.”


—Daryl Ireland, associate director of the Center for Global Christianity and Mission, Boston University





“Wayne Ten Harmsel’s firsthand account and reflections on the Three-Self Churches is very enlightening. He dispels some misunderstandings about these congregations and their leaders and shows them to be largely pragmatic and evangelical in their beliefs and practice. Three-Self pastors, the author shows, focus on making the most of their opportunities to minister by finding ways to work around the restrictions imposed on them. In a climate of increasing government pressure, the registered churches make do by avoiding confrontations and focusing on personal salvation and discipleship. Ten Harmsel has traveled extensively in China and visited with more than a hundred Three-Self congregations. He offers rare glimpses into the thought and practice of these, the most public and accessible but often overlooked Chinese Christians.”


—Joel A. Carpenter, Nagel Institute, Calvin University





“Readers of Wayne Ten Harmsel’s The Registered Churches in China will find it very timely. The relationship between the Chinese government and religions, especially Christianity, is undergoing changes almost as momentous as the changes of 1980, following the end of the Cultural Revolution. . . . The author has a wealth of on-the-ground experience with the Christian churches about which he writes. . . . While more has been written on the unregistered ‘house’ churches, the story of the registered (legal) churches is equally important to the overall history of Protestantism in recent Chinese history. Ten Harmsel’s main aim in the book is to make up for this imbalance. . . . His ability to speak as an insider, and to have access to the other insiders whom he was able to interview for the book, makes the book uniquely valuable. . . . Filled with vignettes of Ten Harmsel’s interactions with religious people, government officials, and others he encounters in his many travels throughout China, the book has entertainment as well as historical value. Those fortunate enough to encounter it will find it a joy to read.”


—Christian Jochim, professor emeritus at San Jose State University