中国日报：北京的家庭教会兴旺House churches thrive in Beijing
By Wu Yiyao and Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily) Updated: 2010-03-17 07:54
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The choir of Shouwang church sing hymns during a Sunday service on March 14. Shouwang church is a house church in Haidian district, Beijing. Wang Jing / China Daily
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There are more than 50,000 Christians in Beijing and many prefer a house church for its smaller congregation size. Wang Jing / China Daily
Churchgoers drawn by smaller congregations and more relaxed approach of authorities
Beijing has a growing number of, and an increasingly open attitude toward, "house churches," according to members of these churches and experts on religion.
"House churches" refers to Christian churches other than those government-sanctioned, officially registered ones, which include the Three Self Patriot Movement, the China Christian Council and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.
The increase in house churches is partly due to lack of space at official churches, according to Jacob Sun, a 38-year-old house churchgoer. Sun spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname and English first name, instead of his full Chinese name.
"Many of our practical needs, which are not satisfied at official churches, are well catered to at house churches," said Sun, who is also a philosophy professor at a university in Beijing.
He said he went to Three Self churches for five years after he was baptized in 1999, but then shifted to house churches for several reasons, the main one of which was overcrowding at the Three Self churches.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/metro/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20100317/00221917e13e0d0a67f524.jpg"Thousands of people gathered in the Three Self churches for Sunday service and sometimes you could barely hear anything," said Sun. "The congregation could hardly be considered intimate at that size."
There are more than 50,000 Christians and 17 Three Self churches in Beijing, roughly one church for every 3,000 Christian, according to a study on Chinese Christianity in 2008 by Duan Qi and Tang Xiaofeng, from the Institute of World Religions at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
When the congregation size is smaller, as it is at most house churches, it is easier to develop a close rapport with fellow churchgoers, said Abel Li, a manager with a technology company in Zhongguancun. Li also spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname and English first name.
"My church's congregation of 300 members is ideal for me," said Li. "In a small congregation like this, I have more opportunities to communicate and build relationships with other churchgoers before and after services. We have also fellowships for people who have things such as occupations in common."
The other reason for the growing number of house churches could be a more tolerant approach by authorities, according to an academic who studies religion.
"The authorities have a much more open attitude toward discussion and debate on house churches," said Cao Zhongjian, an expert on religion in China at the China Academy of Social Sciences, in an annual report on China's religions in 2009.
This more open attitude has allowed some house churches to establish permanent venues. In the past many often had to continually shift location, jumping from office buildings to canteens to small apartments.
Li's house church will soon have a permanent location in a large apartment in an office building in Zhongguancun, Haidian district. The congregation raised 22 million yuan to buy it.
"We don't have to wander from one place to another, or crowd in a small apartment," Li said.
Many house churches do small things to foster a sense of community among congregation members and attract potential new members.
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Lily Zhou, a 25-year-old fine arts student in Haidian district, said her house church's publication was a major factor that drew her to the church, which has a congregation of just 50, more than five years ago. Zhou also spoke on condition of being identified only by her surname and English first name.
The 120-page quarterly, which is available online, gives Zhou "a sense of belonging", she said.
"As a fine arts student I have to leave Beijing for painting and miss Sunday services from time to time, but I can always follow what is happening at the church and feel connected to other churchgoers through the publication," said Zhou.
Despite their growth house churches in Beijing continue to operate in a gray area.
"There is currently no law legitimizing house churches in China, but China's constitution and international convention allows freedom of religious belief" said Yang Fenggang, the director of the Center on Religion and Chinese Society at Purdue University in the US.
And although house churches may continue to increase in number in the capital and establish more permanent venues, they likely have a long way to go before receiving any kind of official approval, according to a worker at a Beijing Three Self church who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"Some house churches have already attempted to officially register with the authorities, but their applications were denied because their clergyman had not trained under Three Self system," said the worker.
《中国日报》2010年3月17日焦点报道：
家庭教会在北京茁壮成长
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北京守望教会的历史
1993一对年轻夫妇创建团契
1994租用公寓敬拜和聚会
1997圣诞赞美诗颂唱，几百人归信
2002建立13个团契，团契带领人被按立
2005 申请家庭教会登记，制定信约、章程，开始公开聚会
2007 递交登记申请，被拒绝
2008从团契到堂会的转型
2009 启动建堂事工
2010 完成选举和印证新一届长老和牧师。建堂在年底前完成。
教会会友更喜欢小型聚会，政府态度更加宽松。
目前北京家庭教会在不断增长，政府对家庭教会的态度也更加开明，一些教会会友和宗教专家这样认为。
家庭教会是指没有得到政府批准、未正式注册的基督教会。政府批准的教会包括三自爱国运动，中国基督教协会和中国天主教爱国会。
“家庭教会增长的一个原因是三自教堂过于拥挤。在三自教堂我们很多实际需求得不到满足，家庭教会让我感到亲密温暖。” 38岁的家庭教会会友孙先生（Jocob）说。他是北京一所大学的哲学教授。（他要求报道中只用他的中文姓和英文名，而非中文全名。）
孙先生自1999年受洗后他在三自教会聚会5年，以后很多原因让他转入了家庭教会，其中一个主要原因是三自教堂过于拥挤。“几千人挤在三自教堂做主日崇拜，有时候你根本听不清在说什么。那么多人一起聚会，也很难建立亲密关系。”
据中科院世界宗教研究所段琪和唐晓峰的2008年中国基督教研究报告：北京有5万基督徒，但只有17个三自教堂，平均每3千基督徒才有一间教堂。
“像家庭教会，聚会人数比较少，就比较容易建立亲密的团契关系。” 李先生（Abel）说，他是中关村一个科技公司的经理。（他也要求报道只用他的中文姓和英文名。）“我们教会有大约300名会友，对我来说就很好。”李说，“像我们这样会众少一点，敬拜前和结束后大家就能在一起聊聊，彼此建立联接。我们也有团契，比如从事同一行业的人在一起。”
家庭教会数量增长的另一个原因是政府当局的态度越来越宽容。据一位宗教研究专家说。据中国社会科学院宗教研究专家曹中建在《中国宗教蓝皮书2009》的话：当局对于家庭教会问题的讨论和争论表现出更加开明的态度。
因政府的开明态度，一些家庭教会开始建立自己的固定教堂。过去家庭教会一直在不停地变换地方，在写字楼，餐厅和小型公寓之间辗转。李先生的教会很快就会在海淀中关村的一个写字楼里有永久的教堂场所，是会众捐资2200万购买的。“我们不用再搬来搬去的了，也不用再挤在小房间里了。”李说。
很多家庭教会都从小事上着手，以培养教会团体的亲密感，吸引那些未来的新成员。周（Lily）一个25岁学美术的海淀区的女学生，她说5年前她加入现在这个50人左右的教会，当时最吸引她的是教会办的每期120页的网上季刊。（周要求报道中只出现她的中文姓和英文名。）周说：“这份季刊让我有一种归属感。我是学美术的，经常要到外地采风，有时不能来主日聚会。通过季刊我就可以知道教会的情况，也感到和大家是相联的。”
尽管家庭教会在不断成长，但目前仍处在法律的灰色地带。美国普渡大学宗教与中国社会研究中心主任杨凤岗谈到：尽管目前家庭教会在法律上仍没有合法地位，但是中国的宪法和国际公约都明确规定保障宗教信仰自由。
三自教会的一位工作人员（要求匿名）谈到，尽管家庭教会的人数和资产不断增长，并购置固定场所，但要获得政府的许可，尚有很长的路要走。他还说，一些家庭教会曾经尝试向政府正式登记，但因他们的牧师未经三自教会系统培训，所以登记申请被拒绝。
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