The Church Situation From 1975 To Present
In 1975, Richard Nixon, former President of the United States, re-established ties with Mao Zedong's government. Due to foreign pressure on human rights issues, their official policy changed to: "You can admit that you're a Christian but do not evangelise." The Cultural revolution had stopped by 1976.
Since Deng Xiao Ping's took over the communist regime, the situation has improved as their tight grip has been relaxed. In April 1979, the first church reopened and gradually other churches followed. The number of Christians increased rapidly during this period and numerous miracles occurred. Nevertheless, people that are caught preaching will face a minimum prison sentence of 3 years.
In 1980 a law was passed that allowed Christians to worship at specific locations and venues; evangelising elsewhere is prohibited. Seven prohibitions were listed. This includes: no secret family services, no building of churches, and no preaching.
After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 incident, Christians returned to underground services for only a brief period.
From 1996–present, China's welcoming open-door policy to foreign investors has lifted its economy to new heights and since China wishes to enter new markets and continue the prosperity, Christians can now hold services safely.
Of the current population of Chinese Christians, there are an estimated 2.4 million True Jesus Church members.
There is no well organised church governing structure so many areas still lack Bibles and other reference materials.
Read more about this topic: True Jesus Church In China
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