Why open a church outside of the existing, legal church structure in China?
JIN MINGRI: We felt that God gives us far greater opportunities outside of what the existing structure offers us. We want to emphasize openness, in terms of prayers and space, as well as the speakers we have. We are also open to the government and to society. We want to let our work be known. Q: But you don’t like the name “underground church”? You like something else? A: That’s right: an open and independent church. This is because “underground” belongs to China’s past, during a time where the environment forced churches to go underground. The church didn’t choose to go underground, but at the time it was not accepted by our society. Since 1979, our society has changed, and our people enjoy a greater degree of freedom. So our generation of church workers prefers to emphasize openness and independence. Q: That seems to be a trend recently: more pastors being open about their faith and speaking out about Christianity. A: We realize that many Chinese need Christianity. It changes their l
