This is a question I have been getting quite a bit. As anyone who knows me can attest, church is an important part of my life. Also, laws in China place many restrictions on religion. I have recently found out about the concept of expatriate churches. These are churches that are registered with the Chinese government for the purpose of ministering to the foreign population living in China. To attend, you must present a foreign passport at the door. Local Chinese are not allowed to worship here. They are expected to attend the churches in China designed for locals. While all this sounds strange to us living in the American south to check passports at the door, I think the benefits far outweigh the negatives. These expatriate churches provide a place for foreigners to worship and fellowship with other Christians experiencing the same things they are experiencing during their time abroad in China. What about evangelism? Well, I have also believed evangelism works best in the context of personal relationships. I mean didn't Jesus tell us to "Go" in the great commission, not for the non christians to "come" to us?
Here are two of the churches I plan to visit:
Beijing International Christian Fellowship
http://www.bicf.org/Has been described as a church with many nationalities. People from all over the world worship here. The church has probably about 2000 in attendance on Sunday. Could be compared to a modern, contemporary evangelical service in the U.S. Kind of like a large Crosswind service for those of you from Corinth. The church runs many small groups that meet in homes and runs a summer English camp for local Chinese teens.
Church of the Good Shepherd
http://www.cogs-bj.org/A smaller congregation worshipping in the liturgical tradition. This church is presided over by an ordained Presbyterian minister and contains Anglicans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians and other Protestant Christians. This would probably be a good small church. Whereas at the other one, I could probably blend in, sort of a Beijing Saddleback, this one would probably be more personal. An email to the pastor was returned in hours. This church's ministry seems to focus on feeding the needy in rural areas of China. Church seems to have a lax Lord's Supper policy, which could be a bad thing.
So it appears that I have two options for attending church in China. There are probably other expat (someone living outside his country of citizenship) churches but these will be my first ones to try. Overall, the church experience will be different. It will be a strange feeling to have to show my passport to get in the door, but I must always remember I am a guest in Beijing and must respect their laws.
