The Problem!

Most people are fully aware that cities around the world have seen an influx of huge numbers of Chinese short-term visitors, especially students. These include high school students, technical college students, undergrads, postgrads and visiting scholars. In some places there are also construction workers and businesspeople as well as accompanying family members.

Some of these visitors will encounter and respond to the gospel while overseas. Thanks be to God!

The Chinese Ministry of Education reports that 75% of students will return to China within five years.

Those who have stayed in touch with returning Christians find that 50-80% do not connect with the church and even abandon their faith within 1 year of returning.

Why is this? There are multiple reasons, but one key factor is that those who believe while overseas are generally discipled for the overseas context and not for the Chinese context. They do well overseas, but are unprepared for the challenges they will face back home as Christians, and so many don’t manage to bear up under the unexpected pressures and challenges and their faith fades.

How can we help them?

Below are some links to further resources on this topic.

A returnee called Xiao Ming

Problems returnees face

For more stories, see the Resources page and filter for Returnee Testimonies.

 

We hope the Chinese friends who have responded to our outreach efforts have indeed responded to the life-giving message of the gospel.  Yet we must bear in mind that they may have responded to something else. So it is an important priority to determine if they have genuinely repented and believed in Jesus.

It is good to ask them to share their testimony in their own words – without any prompts – and see if there is genuine understanding and clear embracing of core gospel truths. If possible, ask a Chinese speaking Christian to have this conversation with them in Chinese – this will be an even clearer way to assess where they are at in their faith.

See these stories from six young Chinese as they talk about what they responded to.

What did they respond to?

A common misunderstanding for Christians is that if we follow Jesus, everything will be just great.  We will receive worldly blessing now and eternal life in the future and life will be safe, comfortable and easy.  However, this is not true.  There are many examples in the Bible of followers of God who suffered for their faith.  Jesus himself said that if we want to follow him, we must to take up our cross (an instrument of death) daily.   We may experience some blessings now as we follow Jesus–a “taste” of heaven–but a life free of hardship is not the normal Christian life. The truth is that life in China is complicated and followers of Jesus often suffer for their faith.

We need to be honest and talk about trials, suffering and persecution with our Chinese friends – even if we have not personally experienced the kinds of challenges believers are facing in China.

Below are some further resources on this topic.

Cultural challenges facing Christians

Going home is not what I thought it would be

There are some important things we can do to equip our returning friends and help them continue following Jesus in China:

Being comfortable reading the Chinese Bible

Many Chinese who came to Christ overseas, are first exposed to the Bible in English (or the language of their host country), however when they return to China it will be important that they are comfortable using the Chinese Bible.  So they should make an effort to become familiar with it now. It’s OK to keep reading the English (or other) Bible, but they should make a concerted effort to read the Chinese Bible on a regular basis.

Which Chinese bible should I recommend?

Chinese bible apps

Praying in Chinese

Listening and talking to God is an important part of the Christian life. Many Chinese, who become believers overseas, learn to pray in English (or their host language) and don’t become comfortable praying in Chinese. This makes it difficult for them to have fellowship and worship with other Chinese. It will also make it very difficult to feel comfortable in a church in China. New believers should be encouraged to pray in Chinese – at least some of the time – both on their own and with other Chinese believers.

Discussing their faith and fellowship in Chinese

For those who have become believers through English (or a language other than Chinese) ministries, they may never have thought about or talked about their faith in their mother-tongue. This makes it challenging to have fellowship with other Chinese believers and very difficult to explain what has happened to them to their family and close friends. We know Chinese who have become so tongue-tied while trying to explain their new faith that their parents had serious concerns for their mental health, thinking that had fallen into a dangerous cult. New believers should be encouraged to spend time with other Chinese believers and practice talking about their faith in their mother-tongue.

Attending or at least visiting a Chinese Church while overseas

Although the church in China is quite different to overseas Chinese churches, there are still many similarities and spending some time in an overseas Chinese churches can be helpful to prepare them for life in China, even if they regularly attend a local host country church. Experiencing how Chinese believers worship and fellowship together will be helpful for their transition and future life in China.

What does it take for returnees to thrive? – Part 1

Experience shows there are some key areas where Chinese returnees will struggle. Discipleship that is focused on the Chinese context will be of great help to them when they return.

Family

Chinese culture is group orientated (collectivist) and the family is the most important “group” to which a Chinese belongs. Family relationships can be enmeshed, and parents often exert strong influence over their children, even after they have become adults. Decisions such as: What I study, Where I live, What job I take, Who I marry, etc. are not made by the individual alone, but with their parent’s involvement. Religious beliefs and faith are things that many parents have strong views on and they may see it as something that will cause problems for the family, so they may be opposed. There is no easy answer to this. However, there are ways to prayerfully prepare for and anticipate challenges related to these issues.

Marriage in the Middle Kingdom

Distance and Duty

Work

The challenge of transitioning from study to work is in itself significant. Some aspects are the same where-ever you are, but there are some particular realities in China that make it hard to be a Christian in the workplace. Long hours, unrealistic expectations and corrupt practices require prayerful and thoughtful responses. Talking these issues through from a Christian perspective before they return will go a long way in helping them.

Being salt and light

One in a Billion Engineer

Returning home with a degree and disillusionment 

Church

Probably the most difficult thing to prepare for is settling into a church. There are many factors that make this challenging, from cultural differences, to lack of resources and trained leadership. Just finding a church can be difficult and because of government control and pressure, attending church can feel like you are doing something illegal. Taking time to understand the context and situation of the church in China and preparing to engage are vital to a returnee’s ongoing Christian walk.

The church in China – Introduction

What does it take for returnees to thrive?- Part 3

Reverse culture shock

Chinese often feel that their Chinese-ness is in their blood and so they expect to easily pick-up-where-they-left-off and fit back in straightaway when they go home. However, they have changed, and China has changed and so most will experience some level of reverse culture shock. It’s important to consider this and prepare for the practical and emotional challenges it will bring.

Stages of Transition

Reverse Culture Shock

Pray

It is important to encourage returnees to pray for the transition that is coming up and encourage them to recruit others to pray for them, stay connected with them and hold them accountable.

Prepare

Taking time to prepare is vital. This means pushing our returning friends to think ahead. Sadly, many Chinese don’t want to think about going home, they may have hopes to stay overseas and the day of return may come on them suddenly, leaving no time to prepare. We serve them well by thinking for them, challenging them to start to prepare for and anticipating with them the unexpected realities ahead.  If possible, encourage your returning friend to attend a returnee retreat or conference.

What does it take for returnees to thrive? – Part 2

Maintaining devotional habits

Follow-up

It is vitally important that close Christian friends overseas stay connected with returnees after they return, at least until they have settled in a church and have regular, meaningful fellowship and pastoral care from Chinese believers.  It is good to consider in advance the practical details of how you will do this.

What’s next?

We hope this introduction has helped outline for you some of the ways you can help your returning friend prepare for their transition.  The resources you have been exposed to in this brief introduction are only a taste of what are available to you in the resource catalogue of this website.  Content is arranged according to the broad topics we unpacked above, so please dip into the resources tab and see what else is there that will help you serve your returnee friends.

Image by Sharon Ang from Pixabay