Winter into Spring IV: Chinese

As I pointed out yesterday, a number of CUs are actively seeking ways to engage international students in their events weeks. It is a joy for me to have been involved invited to help out with this. It is a great opportunity to share the gospel with such students while they are studying here. If they come to faith in Christ, then they get to take the Lord Jesus back with them to their families and friends. Friends International have staff workers in many towns and cities across the country supporting CUs and local churches in this ministry.

I have said before that CUs are doing so well in reaching out to sceptical British students, with their persuasive evangelistic approach. And many are putting a lot of effort into hospitality, especially in efforts to reach international students.

There are large numbers of students getting missed out, though, including British students from other religious traditions and internationals who have a strong sense of attachment to their own tradition. We need to be looking for ways to engage these folk as well as learning ways to be more sensitive to their heritage.

In the following blog posts, I will address ministry to such students grouped into the following categories: non-Muslim Africans, Roman Catholics, Hindus, and Muslims. But here I will start with a few words about the Chinese. A word of caution: this is all anecdotal; I have had little experience of this ministry compared with others. These are my observations and reflections only, not a thoroughgoing analysis.

In recent decades, in the West, there has been a significant movement of Chinese students to Christ, matching the great movement of Chinese more generally back home. I remember leading an Uncover John study with a tableful of Chinese students in Durham four years ago. They were so eager and so quick to pick up what we were sharing with them. I wonder if that window of blessing is closing now. I met many Chinese students on campuses over the past few months. In Dundee especially, I handed out hundreds of flyers to students from mainland China. But very few came along to events. Nothing wrong with the flyers – they were well-designed, and the information was clear. But there seemed to be a hardness I have not encountered before. Is it busyness? Surely that has always been the case. Could it be that the increasing hardness of the regime against the church in China is galvanising opposition against the gospel more generally? What about the Orwellian social credit system? Is that causing students to keep their heads down even when they are off camera and in another country? This is worthy of more research.