My name is Jordan Bradford. I was raised in the Cleveland Ohio area. My wife and I graduated from college last spring and now are first year teachers in China.
I once heard Lee Yih say that Jesus is spread in China on a person to person basis. While there are other ways to get the good news to people; it seems to me that personal evangelism is also the most effective way to share Jesus in Midwest America. So what is the difference between talking about Jesus to a Chinese person in Wuhan, China and an American in Upland, Indiana? From my little experience I have noticed two main differences.
First, there are a lot more Chinese people who have never even heard the name of Jesus. While ignorance of Jesus is probably becoming more common in America, the general public is still aware of Jesus, and if not Jesus, then Christianity. I would guess that 9 out of 10 people who I have talked to about Jesus in China had never previously heard of Jesus. This is both refreshing and challenging. I say refreshing because there is not always a pre-conceived judgment towards Jesus. Many of the people relate Christianity to America but they do not relate Jesus to Christianity. I try not to mention the word Christianity in conversations because that usually results in a comment like, “that is good for you westerners but that’s not for us.” But telling people about Jesus, and what He did for us on the cross, has almost always received a positive response. It is also a challenge because the Christian worldview is so foreign here that I sometimes need to explain some basic theology that I wouldn’t need to in America. In China it is not commonly understood that Christians believe that there is a Creator who made the universe and everything in it. If I am not careful a conversation that was once about Jesus and His grace can turn into a theological discussion about creation and evolution. Overall the lack of the knowledge of Jesus brings new challenges but also many opportunities.
The second main difference is that most of the Chinese converts that I know, and hear about, result in the “good soil” that Jesus describes in His Luke 8 parable about the four soils. I think that there are a few reasons for this true conversion but the main reason seems to be that the believers in China do not know any other way except the way of those that have told them about Jesus. They see their spiritual older brothers and sisters and how they take the Gospel to those that don’t have it. Just as a biological younger brother or sister these young believers take up after their spiritual siblings and immediately begin sharing the gospel with those that don’t have it. What a difference this makes in those young believers lives and what an amazing example it has been to me.
Sharing Jesus in China is very similar to sharing Jesus in America. There are definitely differences between Chinese people and Americans but Jesus is the same for everyone. His grace crosses cultures, borders, languages, and traditions.
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