Three Self Church

In some places in China, the underground house church Christians can't get to the Three Self churches because the nearest Three Self church is quite distant. In other places, historical mistrust keeps them away, as there was a period in the past when the Three Self church served as the Communist government's informant and helped it persecute the underground church.

Due to the memories from those betrayals, many underground house church members still avoid Three Self churches even when told that they no longer need to show identification or register to buy Bibles at Three Self churches. Furthermore, many underground house church pastors are leery of exposing their flock to the Three Self church's "Three Self Patriotic Movement" theology.

What's wrong with "Three Self Patriotic Movement" theology?

The three ‘self’s are self-governance, self-support and self-propagation, which respectively reject foreign church leadership, foreign financing and foreign missionaries, while “Patriotic” indicates loyalty to China.

The three rejections have kept the divisive Western denominationalism out of China and thus aren't necessarily bad on their own. What is bad is that the Three Self Patriotic Movement tries to restrict Christianity. Consider some of the rules governing the Three Self churches:

• The Communist Party decides who can preach and what can be preached.
• Preaching should focus on the social rules and the social benefits of Christianity.
• Preaching outside the Three Self church buildings is forbidden.
• Evangelizing or giving out tracts is forbidden.
• Importing Bibles is forbidden, even if they are given away for free.
• Printings Bibles without authorization is forbidden, even if they are given away for free.
• Government officials cannot be Christian.
• School teachers cannot be Christian.
• Soldiers cannot be Christian.
• Police officers cannot be Christian.
• Children and teenagers cannot be Christian.

Three Self Patriotic Movement reflects the Communist government’s attempt to keep Christianity out of key segments of its society, reduce the Gospel to a set of moral rules that serve its social objectives, and to remain in control of what is after all a “Patriotic Movement”.

Are there no Christians in the Three Self churches?

Many who access the Bible at the Three Self churches are saved, and either remain to evangelize or leave to join an underground church or do both.

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Three Self Church

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Three Self Church