China's Urban Christians

China's Urban Christians: A Light That Cannot Be Hidden looks at how massive urbanization is redrawing not only the geographic and social landscape of China, but in the process is transforming China's growing church as well. The purpose of this book is to explore how Christians in China perceive the challenges posed by their new urban context and to examine their proposed means of responding to these challenges. Although not primarily political in nature, these challenges nonetheless illustrate the complex interplay between China's Christian community and the Chinese party-state as it comes to terms with the continued growth and increasing prominence of Christianity in modern China. ""As China continues to aggressively urbanize so does the church. This book provides well-considered, insightful information that helps those of us on the outside looking in to better understand the true state of the present-day church in China. A tremendous update that truly informs."" --Marvin J. Newell, Missio Nexus ""The daily reality for Chinese Christians has completely changed and yet many in the West are still viewing the situation through an outdated lens. No one knows this better than Brent Fulton, who has spent a lifetime engaged with the subject. Fulton presents the rapidly changing church as it actually is. China's Urban Christians is compulsory reading for anyone trying to understand this extraordinary moment in the history of the global church."" --Rob Gifford, correspondent for The Economist, author of China Road ""Looking beyond tensions between church and the Chinese Communist Party-state, this book superbly draws together scholarship and firsthand interviews in a highly readable fashion to present how today's most innovative Chinese Protestants are grappling with a wide range of complex issues. It shows that Christianity in China is far more nuanced than common black-and-white depictions of church-state conflict, even more complex than subtle grays could capture. If you read this book, you will marvel at the dazzling colors of a church in transformation."" --Carsten T. Vala, Visiting Fulbright Scholar, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile; Associate Professor of Political Science, Loyola University Maryland Brent Fulton is Cofounder and President of ChinaSource and the Editor of ChinaSource Quarterly. Prior to assuming his current position, he served from 1995 to 2000 as the managing director of the Institute for Chinese Studies at Wheaton College. Dr. Fulton holds MA and PhD degrees in political science from the University of Southern California and a BA in radio-TV-film from Messiah College. An avid China watcher, Dr. Fulton has written and taught extensively on the church in China and on Chinese social and political phenomena. Dr. Fulton and his wife, Jasmine, live in Hong Kong.