CHINA — China’s rural house churches are reeling from the impact of rapid urbanization. The flow of young peasants to the cities in search of employment has become a tidal wave.
When the communists came to power in China in 1949, only 10 percent of the population was living in cities. Now, about 20 million peasants migrate to the cities every year, many of them Christians. By 2015, the Chinese government estimates that fully half of the total population of 1.3 billion will be urbanized.
House church evangelists admit that almost all of the Christian young people in rural congregations have left to find jobs in the cities, leaving many house churches with a lack of trained young pastors. However, positive opportunities do exist. Christian migrants could become a potent force for urban evangelism
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