February 23, 2005

China Notes #13

Dear Friends:

On January 17, 2005, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new campus of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, China's leading Protestant seminary. The construction of this new campus in the heart of one of Nanjing's main academic districts, surrounded by many of China's top universities, is symbolic both of the progress being made by the Chinese church and also the challenges it faces.

Thirty years ago, during the Cultural Revolution, it seemed impossible that China would ever again have any Christian seminaries, and, as Bishop K. H. Ting pointed out at the ceremony, even a decade ago it would not have seemed likely that a Christian seminary would be given land in a district designated for state universities. However, the fact that Nanjing Seminary has been allotted such a location is one small indication of the increasing acceptance and recognition that the Christian faith is now finding in China. As noted by Professor Chen Zemin, Nanjing Seminary's former vice-principle, opposition to Christianity among China's educated classes is coming to be replaced by curiosity and interest.

In many ways, as Prof. Chen noted, intellectuals in research institutes and universities are now producing more and better materials on religion than the seminaries are. This confronts the church—and especially China's top Protestant seminary—with the challenge of producing church leaders who are prepared to bear witness to the Christian faith to intellectuals as well as to those with less education.

A location amidst state universities gives Nanjing Seminary a unique opportunity to bear witness to the Christian faith in one of China's leading educational communities. It also challenges the seminary to grow and mature so that its graduates can dialogue with those around them as equals. In many ways, the situation of Nanjing Seminary illustrates both the growing influence of the Chinese church, yet also the challenges it faces as it strives to train leaders for the next generation.

On a more personal note, Wei Hong and I are beginning our second year in Nanjing. I am busy and then some with teaching at Nanjing University, and Wei Hong continues to help the library of Nanjing Seminary catalogue its book collection. Over the summer we moved into a new apartment on the campus of Nanjing University, and our new phone number here is (86-25) 8359-6157.

God's peace to you all.

Don and Wei Hong

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 245