There are 1,400,000,000 people in China. Around 30,000,000 Chinese openly identify as Christians, though it's believed there are tens of millions of more who are silent due to fears of persecution. In total it's estimated that there's about 67,000,000 Christians in China, about 45% of whom belong to the state Catholic and state Protestant Churches run by the Chinese government; the rest, which compromise about 55% of the Christian population in China, belong to underground Churches which are deemed illegal by the Chinese government and are heavily persecuted.
Christianity is the fastest growing religion in China. It's estimated that more than 600,000 people were baptized in 2014 in China. Somewhere around 85% of Christians in China are Protestant (mainly Evangelicals) while just under 15% are Catholic and around 1% are Orthodox. China is projected to become the largest Christian country on the planet between 2025 and 2030.
Christianity has had a long history in China, arriving in the 7th century A.D. through Nestorian Christianity. By the 13th century it had gained considerable influence as a minority religion and several Mongolian tribes were a part of the Nestorian Church. Latin Catholic missions were sent into China at this time and Catholics and Nestorian clergy actually worked together with each other to convert the Chinese people. However by the 14th century the Ming dynasty enacted heavy persecution against Christianity and the Nestorian Church as well as the Latin Catholic Church were completely wiped out in China. From the 16th to 18th century numerous Latin Catholic missions, primarily undertaken by Jesuits, took places in China. In the 19th century Protestantism was introduced into China and began to take firm hold during the 20th and 21st centuries. Despite coming under communist rule in 1949, Christianity, particularly Protestantism but also Catholicism, has continued to grow significantly.
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in China.
>Pic 1 shows believers praying in an underground Catholic church not approved by the Chinese government.
>Pic 2 is of a woman worshiping in an underground Pentecostal church not approved by the Chinese government.
>Pic 3 shows faithful Orthodox from China worshiping in a Russian Orthodox church in Russia. Currently the Orthodox Church is not recognized in China despite the Russian government trying to persuade the Chinese government to do so the Chinese government still refuses.