The Christian population in China could reach up to 300 million by 2030 despite the heightened persecution by the government.
Persecutions
Dr. Ron Boyd-MacMillan, director of Strategic Research of Open Doors explained the reason behind the strong persecution against Christians in China. He told the Express UK that the Chinese Communist Party under President Xi Jinping fears that the Christians will grow stronger in number. Thus, they heightened their persecutions against them.
“We think the evidence as to why the Chinese Church is so targeted, is that the leaders are scared of the size of the Church, and the growth of the Church,” he noted.
Christian Population
He also predicted that the Christian population in the communist country could reach up to 300 million by 2030.
“And if it grows at the rate that it has done since 1980, and that’s about between 7 [percent] and 8 percent a year, then you’re looking at a group of people that will be 300 million strong, nearly by 2030,” Boyd-MacMillan continued. “And, you know, the Chinese leadership, they really do long term planning. I mean, their economic plan goes to 2049, so this bothers them. Because I think if the Church continues to grow like that, then they’ll have to share power.”
Chinese Government
Throughout 2020, despite the pandemic, the Chinese government has heightened its crackdown on Christians. This 2021, it is predicted that the persecutions will continue to rise.
Recently, Chinese-American pastor Francis Chan has experienced firsthand severe persecution. The missionary and his family were forced to return to the US after Hong Kong rejected their visa. Francis’ family moved to Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong in February 2020 from San Francisco to serve as missionaries there.
“Before we had to leave Hong Kong, Justin, Peter, and I had seen the Lord plant three churches (house gatherings) with approximately 15-20 people attending each,” he said. “We had each been leading one church in each of our homes, but then, suddenly we learned that we had to leave the country.”
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Reference: Express